Thursday, November 29, 2007

BINGO!! Tonight was the first bingo session of the season. A volunteer runs BINGO and our staff is responsible for setting up the hall and selling refreshments. This morning before we went shopping Bruce and some of the workampers learned how to make popcorn in the big time popper. YUM YUM. He now has another skill to add to his next resume. Bruce and I went to BINGO so we could learn what really goes on there. Neither of us won anything but we ate plenty of popcorn, drank sodas and Bruce had a float. We also learned what a dauber is. Our shopping trip for the park was a success in a couple of ways. We got back with everything we went for AND everything fit in the VW. We are just a hoot when we come back from Sam's because there is not room in that car for one more thing. Today we took the dog and she was not happy about having to share my lap with a big box of Christmas lights. She just did not understand that. There wasn't time to go shopping for my shoes but I'll try that again on Saturday. We did stop at a Ticketmaster outlet and purchase 8 tickets to see Evita on December 14. While we were gone today the workampers put up more Christmas decorations and did a great job. The park is looking very festive. That project should be finished up tomorrow.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Today was a much better day and for that I am so very thankful. Before I went to sleep last night I decided I needed to start reading a book that my friend Jane Porr recommended to me, "The Little Book of Letting Go" by Hugh Prather. The first few pages of the book really spoke to me. I slept like a baby and went to work this morning with a whole new attitude. Bruce and the workampers worked in the hall all day putting up Christmas decorations. I worked by myself in the office. I accomplished everything on my task list including my end-of-month financial reports. One of our workampers read my blog last night and felt my frustration. She came in today and offered to be my sounding board. What a sweetheart she is! She might be sorry for that offer. We feel really fortunate to have such a great bunch of workampers. This evening we had a pizza outing which the majority of the residents boycotted. We had a great time. Tomorrow morning Bruce is going to teach some of the workampers how to use the popcorn machine and then we are going to go to Phoenix. We've got shopping to do for the park and I NEED some shoes. Tomorrow will be a great day as well!!

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

m I still here??? If I am, then why am I still here?? Am I stupid? Am I stubborn? Have I been bad? If you figure it out will you let me know, please?? Sunday was another good day. Monday started off with a bang. The park got robbed overnight so everyone was really in a tizzy. The dirty devils even stole our coffee money box. We showed them though because we found the box in the dumpster. I guess they were mad because there was no money in the box. We had just emptied it to buy more coffee. Several bikes were stolen and the Catina was broken into. On top of that, the owners discovered that their identity had been stolen so all the park bank accounts were frozen which changed the way we could take payments. The Sheriff's Department came to investigate. That was a REAL joke. The Activities Office did not get robbed so we just hid in our own little building. The workampers started putting up all the Christmas decorations. I worked in the office with one of our new workampers. She is a real joy to work with and I am so thankful for her help. I wore my Santa hat all afternoon in an attempt to spread a little cheer. Tuesday I went back to line dancing. We worked on the honey, the electric slide, and candida. By the end of the hour I knew what I was doing but by the time I go back next week I'll likely get to start all over from the beginning. The only dilemma that confronted me in line dancing was a missing pot holder. I couldn't solve that one. After line dancing I went over to the office. I walked into about 10 questions plus Bruce telling me how some woman crabbed at him in the parking lot because we were collecting for the Arizona Opry way too early and she's on a fixed income. That just hit me wrong. I looked up her site number and marched right over to her house. She was really surprised to see me. I was sure I could win her over with kindness but I didn't do it. She ended the conversation by saying that I just need to understand that "WE DON'T WANT CHANGE AND WE DON'T LIKE CHANGE". I left there and ran home to get the food I had made for the ladies Bible study. I ran to the office just in time to be 5 minutes late for the Bible study. The Bible study hour was a wonderful distraction. We worked the rest of the afternoon without incident. At 5:00 we came home. Bruce started the engine for its monthly exercise. People were all looking out the windows. One called and wanted to know if we got fired. Several others just had to ask what was going on. They all thought we were leaving for sure. I do have to admit that when I heard that wonderful sound I just wanted to jump in and take off. We gobbled down some dinner and ran back to the hall for the lighting of the Christmas tree. Now we are hiding from the world in the comfort of our home sweet home. We haven't left yet because we are tough cookies and we want to prove to ourselves that we can do this. Bruce and I have decided that the underlying problem here is that right now the only people that are here are the residents that have been here for years plus the workampers. The residents are all mad at the park owners and the park manager. They take their anger out on anyone that remotely represents management. I believe that none of their griping is really aimed at us personally - just management in general but we get the brunt of their anger. I think things will be a lot better when some transients get here that aren't deep into park politics. I hope we are still here to find out!

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Another great day off work! Seems like years since we've been to the office. Ha. We went to a couple little flea markets around here and then went to the big Mesa Mart, Camping World and Costco. We did get a new outdoor rug at Camping World and that was the goal for the day so we accomplished our goal. We met several park friends at the Big Wa for Chinese food and ate way too much. Saturday night I watched movies and talked with Robin, one of our workampers. Bruce and the dog got to watch the KU-MU football game by themselves. This was a no drama day and we are thankful for that!

Friday, November 23, 2007

A day off was enjoyed by all - especially Bruce and DeAnn! Oh how we enjoyed this day off. We didn't do one bit of "work" all morning. After lunch we went up to the Cantina. I did all of our laundry and Bruce worked at getting the plastic out of the roasters. The laundromat here is top notch. There are even some Maytag large capacity washers just like I have at home. If doing laundry can be a pleasant experience - I had one. We enjoyed some homemade beef stroganoff for dinner, watch Men in Trees and balanced the Activities Department bank account. I am happy to report, "That's all folks".

Thanksgiving Pictures

Here's a little look at what happened at Quail Run RV on Thanksgiving Day!!

The picture just to the left is Bruce working on the sound system with Jeannie, the manager and Bud supervising!

Pictures from Donut Day with Beaudry RV

Pictures from Veterans Day

This is DeAnn and Buddy, one of our favorite workampers. He's always got a smile and he's always willing to do whatever needs to be done! Here's the line up for food on Veteran's Day. It is supposed to be two lines down the center of the room with food being served in each direction. Here we are serving Veteran's Day lunch.

Thanksgiving 2007

Thanksgiving Day 2007 was a busy day for us but in the end most everyone was happy. We started our day with a 9:00 a.m. all activities workamper meeting. Next we put the table linens on all the tables and started putting the turkeys in the roasters. That's when the fun started. I've used our roaster to cook turkeys for 17 years now and have never had a problem. This time the cooking bags started melting to the sides of the roasters. I think the problem was that someone preheated all the roasters so when the cold bags hit the hot roasters the bags melted. No problem. We cut the bags apart, dumped the turkeys into the roasters and started cooking. It wasn't long and I could smell hot turkey. They had the roasters turned up too high and no water in the pans. DUH. I came home to cook my mashed potatoes and just couldn't stand it so I went back to the kitchen to check on the turkeys. I turned them down again and was standing there talking to the cook while she basted a turkey. The baster got wild and hot turkey drippings shot down my leg. THAT WAS HOT. I grabbed my jean shorts and pulled them off my leg so I didn't get burned badly. After that everything went along great. At 3:00 all the workampers returned to the kitchen and we carved our turkeys. They were moist, tasty and nicely arranged on the platters covered with tin foil. The turkey platters were all sitting on top of the roasters with the roaster lids covering them. The appropriate people dished up the gravy and cranberries and we were ready to serve. I heard one of the workampers say, "OH NO". After the turkey was placed on top of the roasters, Bruce got the hair brained idea to plug in all the roasters and add a little heat. What he didn't consider was that would melt the plastic platters. One platter full of turkey melted and dropped into the roaster so when the appropriate server opened her lid, she found a mess and yelled. The cook and I both ran over there, grabbed the turkey off the melted platter and threw it on another platter and sent the server to the table. Good grief. At the time I didn't know it was Bruce that had plugged in all the roasters and didn't learn that until about 2:00 this morning. I had unplugged all the roasters earlier and never considered that someone would plug them back in. Oh well. The meal went off without a hitch. There was more than enough food and everyone seemed reasonably happy. We had only one minor injury and that was my head. I sat down in Bruce's chair and tipped my head back and smacked it right into the steel beam that was supporting the room. Oh man that hurt. I folded over and cried. I've got a good lump on the back of my head this morning. You should have seen the people gathering up the leftover turkey. You would have thought they were never going to get another bite of food. They were taking big containers full of turkey home with them. There wasn't even enough left for one turkey sandwich. I guess I'll go buy a turkey and cook it at home so we can have a sandwich. After the residents all left, we started cleaning up. We opened some wine and went to cleaning. Four hours later, the mess was cleaned up, the linens were clean and we were ready for some fun. Several workampers came to our camper and continued the fun. Everyone except Bruce drank too much wine and Kahlua . We were going to go shopping this morning but I didn't get up until 9:30. I woke up at 1:30 a.m. and laid there until at least 3:30 so I needed some sleep. At one point Bruce said, "OK magpie, shut up!" We are really thankful to have three days in a row off work. One thing is for sure, if I ever to get a real paying job, I will be much more appreciative than I was in the past. It's just too bad I've always got to learn the hard way.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! This morning Bruce went over to the office early so he could put the final touches on the newsletter and email it off to the printer. I had an appointment with a dermatologist for my routine semi-annual whole body check. After that I was going to get a hair cut, a manicure and a pedicure. It was my lucky day. I had four more places on my face that had to be biopsied. One on each side of my nose and one on the right side of my upper lip and one on the left side of my upper lip. I look like I've been in a cat fight. I'll get the results on December 5. The good news is that according to this doctor (and the last one too) I don't have any skin damage except on my face and my upper chest. Anyway, I came home after she scraped my face off because I didn't feel like telling anyone why I was all scratched up. I skipped the beauty things for today. I saved lots of money. We both worked this afternoon. The lady that is doing the cooking is doing a great job. She's got all the turkeys ready to go in the ovens. She's got the gravy base all ready and she's got the cranberries all cooked. She is organized to the max and I love it! I think tomorrow's dinner will be wonderful. After work tonight 7 friends came over and we had some good laughs. Then we all went to Pizza Hut for dinner. It sure doesn't seem like Thanksgiving here. It was 80 today and just beautiful. It's supposed to get cold tomorrow - in the 70's and then way down to the 60's. We are not working Friday, Saturday or Sunday and we are THANKFUL!! Bruce talked to the nursing home today. His mother is able to walk in a walker and is participating in the therapy. She still is not eating anything inspite of the medication that is supposed to be improving her appetite. Bruce's aunt and uncle are going to take Thanksgiving Dinner to the nursing home tomorrow evening. Happy Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Wow. What happened to this day? We got up early and went to the kitchen. We put 13 of our 15 turkeys in tubs and covered them with cold water to thaw them. We had a nice walk around the park and came home for breakfast. I decided I'd go to line dance this morning and act like a real human being (as opposed to a tired workamper). I got there just as the class was starting but that didn't stop a woman from telling me that I needed to find the horseshoes she couldn't find. I got away from her and ran to a place in line across the room only to be grabbed by another woman that NEEDED to tell me that she wants to start the miniature golf league in December instead of January. I told her we'd take care of it after class but she sure did run to me every chance she could get. When line dance was finished one of the residents sought me out and asked me what I was doing there. Hmmm. I told her I was line dancing. She said, "Oh, you don't have to work on Tuesday anymore?" I just couldn't help myself. I told her that our contract called for one person to work 21 hours a week and both of us have been working 80 hours a week so I would line dance if I wanted to line dance. She said, "OH" and took off. By the time I got to the door the horseshoe woman and the mini golf woman were both with me. We got to the office and Bruce was working on the newsletter and all the workampers were sitting around laughing and talking like that's all they had to do. I spoiled that party by asking them if they had written up their work plan for Thanksgiving Day. Of course that got them busy. I had Bruce make a call about the horseshoes and they were delivered. Maintenance had just been there to fix the leaking toilet in the men's room and someone came out and told us there was water all over. (Remember the head maintenance man got axed). We reported that to the office. I answered too many questions from all kinds of people in the office. Next I got the miniature golf league set up and came home for my shower. I was in a mood! In 20 minutes I was back to work. The day went better from there. I think the word got out that it was just better to stay away because there was only one person that came in the rest of the day. We got the newsletter written and delivered to one of the workampers to proofread. I went to the kitchen and unpacked the new roasters I bought last night. The manager came in and told me to be sure to put water in the bottom of the roaster. I had to get out the instruction manual and show her that we did not put water in the bottom of the roaster because of course she doesn't believe anything. To that she said, "I don't know why I'm even talking because I don't know how to cook." I wanted to scream, "SO GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" I drained the water off the turkeys and put them back in the fridges. On the way home we met two couples going out to dinner so we went along. Now Bruce is back at the office correcting the newsletter so it can go to the printer in the morning. Jasmine and I are watching dancing with the stars. I just have to sit back and laugh at us. I can't wait to get back in the morning to see what tomorrow will bring!

The rest of Monday, November 19, 2007

The good news is that I went back to bed this morning and slept for a good 1 1/2 hours. What a blessing that was! This morning I got to do something that I always enjoyed from my "real" job-new employee orientation. The rest of our workampers showed up today so I gave them all my little dog and pony show at one time. I think both couples will work out nicely. We now have our full staff. The Manager offered to hire us more help today but we declined. We have all the help we can manage at this point. This afternoon I wrote six pages worth of articles for the December newsletter. Bruce spent the entire day working on his portion of the newspaper as well. After normal business hours we went into town to purchase 2 roasters, 15 turkeys and everything else we need for Thanksgiving dinner. Our workampers held a bake sale this morning and earned $69.15. That paid for the two roasters and a couple of turkeys. We had a real surprise at the grocery store this evening. Instead of paying $.49 a pound for 2 turkeys and $.79 for 13 turkeys, the cashier gave us all 15 turkeys at $.49 a pound. The normal sale price this week is $.99 a pound so we saved $60.00 on turkey. I love a good bargain--even when it isn't my money. Now it is 8:25 p.m. and we've just finished dinner. I'm ready to get on the couch and settle in for a little television.

Very Early on Monday, November 19, 2007

Since my car ordeal I've been BUSY!! ha. Friday was an annoying day but we both survived. We had our big donut day with Beaudry RV. Bruce was in hog heaven spending the morning with the salesmen. They brought three RVs and four motor scooters to our park. After they left Bruce went on the hunt for the parts for the car. He managed to finally get the parts and get back to our RV about 5:00 that afternoon. By then I had finished a day at the office, cleaned the RV and managed to work myself into a real tizzy. After he got home he went right to work on the car and finished installing the new power steering pump about 8:00. Some very nice friends came by and helped hold the light for him because of course it was pitch dark out there on the ground. He is such a good sport and didn't complain one bit about lying on the ground for 3 hours. By 8:15 we were up at the hall for a going away party for our head of maintenance. The party was just ending so we were back home before long. Saturday morning we went to a Ohio State/Michigan football party. That was a great distraction for us. Bruce managed to get a few zzzzz's out there in the sun. He carefully positioned himself in the back of the gallery so no one even knew what he was up to. Saturday afternoon we went to Casa Grande and did a little shopping. Somehow we managed to leave Bruce's white socks at the condo and with the threat of cool temps (in the 70's) he decided he might need to wear his tennis hoes so we made a visit to the new Kohl's store. Saturday evening we went to the dance. Only three of our workampers bothered to show up so we had the great pleasure of putting away the tables and cleaning up after the dance so we could then set up for church services. Always a joy! Sunday morning started with a wonderful breakfast served by one of our neighbors. The park residents are starting to warm up to us and are inviting us into their inner circle!! I guess we've passed the initial test. We had biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon and juice. We gobbled that down and headed to the hall for the worship service. There were only about 20 people at worship. We've got our work cut out for us in that arena as well. Sunday afternoon Bruce got busy and reviewed his mother's assisted living bills for the past two years. When he was all finished he came to the conclusion that the assisted living center had actually refunded $10.67 more than necessary so that chapter in finished and he's happy. In all of our craziness we managed to miss our friend Myrna's 60th birthday so we invited them over for dinner and drinks Sunday evening. We invited another couple and then some more stopped in so we had a good time. We all went to the golf course for dinner. Cooking is something that is just not necessary when there is such a good place close by! I finished the night with a great telephone conversation with my best cheerleader - Michelle. She works so hard at keeping me on track and for that I am very thankful. Now it is 4:53 Monday morning. I've been awake since 3:00 and decided to make good use of my time instead of lying there being mad about being awake. My mind is thinking about how to cook 15 turkeys in 6 electric roasters and one oven. It's also thinking about all the newspaper articles I need to write today. Oh yes, and we've got to get all of our January posters designed and printed by the end of the week. That is something I had just plain forgotten about. November has just slipped away quietly. I can hear Bruce and Jasmine sleeping pleasantly back there. Maybe I should go jump on the man that took this great little job that was only going to require 21 hours a week of him watching other people work and nothing from me!!! Most importantly, I am thankful I can get up in the middle of the night and write about our meaningless little adventures. I am thankful that Bruce and I are both enjoying wonderful health. I am thankful that our kids are gainfully employed and reasonably happy in life. I am thankful that my parents are enjoying a period of wellness. I am thankful that Bruce's mother is where she is being cared for by very loving people. I am thankful for all of our loving friends. I am thankful for the freedom to worship my Lord and Savior!

Thursday, 11/15/07

What a day!! Today was supposed to be my first day off in two weeks. I was going to take one of the workampers to Phoenix to the airport so we left the park at 10:30. We drove to Coolidge and picked up my friend Myrna and headed for Phoenix. At 11:51 there was a noise from under the hood. We pulled over and called Bruce. I started the car and everything looked ok for about 10 seconds. Then the temperature shot up so I shut it off. By now I knew we needed to hurry up and get help or Marge would miss her airplane. I called Myrna's husband and he came to our rescue. He picked up Myrna and Marge and they headed toward Phoenix. Bruce had called our tow service so I thought it would be a few minutes and I'd get picked up. After several calls 2 1/4 hours, a visit from a police officer and a visit from a highway patrol officer Bruce borrowed a friend's jeep from our campground and he came and towed the car back to the campground. We'll be visiting with the tow service later about their horrible response. I was about 100 feet from a mile marker so I knew exactly where I was. The man that called me from the tow service told me they couldn't call a tow truck until I could tell them exactly where I was. Hmmm. If I say I'm on Arizona Highway 87 at the 154 mile mark I would think a tow service should be able to find me. Nope. They wanted to know which crossroad I had just crossed. How in the world would I know? Anyway, I'm back at the RV. Marge is on the way to Seattle. Bruce filled the borrowed vehicle with fuel and no fun or shopping was had by anyone! We thought he'd be able to put the new water pump in and we'd be in business tomorrow but that wasn't to be either. It's not the water pump but it is the power steering pump. Of course no one has that and instead of being $25 it is $274. Merry Christmas to us! Bruce has just gone to re-borrow the Jeep so he can go get the donuts for the Friday coffee in the morning and then go get the parts tomorrow afternoon when they arrive. I'd really like to forget this day. More fun at the park. The head of maintenance got fired today or resigned after being told he'd be fired. While I was stranded and Bruce was on his way to rescue me, the manager had a mandatory meeting and told all the workampers what was going on. Bruce called and told her he was on the way to get me and she assured him that we didn't need to be at the meeting. Today she loves us. Where in the world could you have more fun than this??

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

This was an interesting day. We both worked all day. Late in the day one of our workampers came in and quit. He arrived last week and just didn't like the job at all. The feeling was mutual. Last week I gave him about 10 choices of things to do but he wouldn't do any of them. After the last time, I told him to go to his RV because I was tired of hearing him whine. Later he came back and apologized. That day I was hoping he would quit but he didn't do it until today. He gave Bruce a lame excuse about having to go to Idaho for a hearing and about not liking the manager. After we got home from work he hollered at me when I was taking out the trash. He told me he just couldn't stand sitting around. I just ignored him and pretended I didn't hear a word he said. I wanted to tell him he wouldn't have had to sit around if he would have done one of the 10 things I offered him. Anyway that problem is resolved. He was definitely way too important to monkey around with this nonsense! We had our second potluck tonight and again it was a success. We tried a new style of seating so tomorrow we'll gt to hear whether they liked it or not. One of our workamper teams was in charge so Bruce and I didn't do anything. We do have to do a little adjusting though. The potluck started about 5:35 and by 6:30 they were putting away tables and chairs. We were still eating and it was so noisy from all the banging around that we could hardly hear ourselves think. You know they were in a rush when they were even too quick for me! Now I know how my family has felt for all these years.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Monday and Tuesday were regular uneventful work days for us. I tried staying home this morning but about 15 minutes after Bruce went to work he called me so I spent the rest of the day working. This afternoon we did find my RV keys. They were at Albertson's (grocery store). I had spoken with everyone I had visited and didn't find them so we decided we'd better call the stores I had visited. Luckily they were at the second place Bruce called. I'm really thankful they have been found. Another thing I am thankful for is a full night's sleep. Last night I slept from 10:00 until 6:00 this morning. Tylenol P.M. is my new best friend!

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Today was a very successful day for the Activities Coordinator and his helper at Quail Run RV Resort. Bruce and I were up and ready for duty bright and early this morning. We went over to the kitchen and got everything out of the cabinets and started warming the sloppy joes. We also started cutting up our fresh fruit. About 9:30 we headed back tot he RV for a quick shower so we could be at the 10:00 Veterans Day Service. We made it with time to spare. The service ended at 11:10 and by 11:25 our workampers had moved the 100 chairs that were set up for church, set up all the tables and rearranged everything for the luncheon. By now I was about a nervous wreck because I had decided that I made too little food. At noon the manager welcomed all the guests and we started the serving line about two minutes later. By 12:10 p.m. we had served 115 people and we had all kinds of food to spare! The ultimate compliment came from the manager's husband. He told me on Friday and that wasn't about to eat the sloppy joes because I ruined it by putting Worcestershire sauce in them. Well, he tried them and said he loved them. Thanks, Shirley Mae for the recipe. People were heaping praise on our operation and there was not one complaint. We cleaned up and were all ready to go home by 1:15. We have an awesome bunch of workers. Bruce and I came home and took a nap. Later we all met at the breezeway for happy hour. That was followed by a visit from Charles and Myrna. We had a full day.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Bruce is home! This morning I woke up at 1:30 so I got up and finished the laundry and did some other things around here. Then I went back to bed about 3:30. I awakened for the day about 6:00. I did all kinds of things around here and talked on the phone with my friend Chris. By then it was time to go get Bruce. I was right on schedule until I came upon a traffic jam on the north side of Tucson. Bruce called and said, "I don't see you". No kidding. Anyway, I was an hour late picking him up. He sat on the curb and visited with a couple whose daughter was also caught in the traffic jam. Oh well, he had a nice visit. We went to Sam's and Costco and bought the rest of the food for the Sunday lunch. That poor little VW was jammed full to the brim with watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes, apples, chips, pickles and everything else. We came home and had a nice dinner. I checked my grocery list to discover that I had forgotten the oranges for tomorrow so we went to Casa Grande. When we got home I gave Bruce all of his keys back and learned that I have lost my RV keys. I was like an absent minded professor all week. I'm afraid they went to the recycle bin with the newspapers so Bruce says he's going to the recycle bin in the morning. We have such fun!!

Friday, November 9, 2007

WAHOO!! It is Friday. I slept all night thanks to Tylenol P.M. What a blessing that was. This morning one of the workampers and I prepared the sloppy joes for Sunday's lunch. While we were doing that the "cook" came in and told me that she isn't going to be able to cook for us this winter. No problem. One of our other workampers owned a general store and cafe in Vermont for 10 years. She said that she would love to help with the cooking. Another blessing. I decided I had worked hard enough this week that I needed a treat. Another gal and I went to the golf course and had a nice lunch. This afternoon I finished up some loose ends in the office and made the work assignments for next week. The last event of the day was a very successful happy hour at the pool. We had more people than last month and the majority of them were actually residents and not just the workampers. In an effort to avoid the cleaning of the RV, I went to dinner with a bunch of friends. The food was AWFUL. We don't need to go there again. Tonight I did a bunch of laundry and cleaned the majority of the inside of the RV. I'm headed to bed. Tomorrow I get to go pick up the love of my life. He's coming home and I'm glad!!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Today was a normal day at the office. I accomplished everything I had on my list. This evening I had dinner with Carol and Frank Bowman. The workampers here have been great to me this week while Bruce is gone. I have avoided cleaning the RV all week. I've always got an excuse and today was no different. I finished up the grocery shopping for the luncheon this weekend. Bruce finished up all of his paperwork in Iowa and feels good about that. The therapists continue to encourage Doris to participate. The highlight of Bruce's day was a visit to an old friend - the mother of his high school sweetheart. He needed that positive note this week. Jasmine is ready for bed. She is in hope of sleeping until 7:30 tomorrow morning. I'm going to do all I can to make her wish come true!

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Another early morning and another early morning call to Melissa. The trouble with waking up at 4:30 a.m. is that I am REALLY tired by 6:00 p.m. I'm a nut case! The work day was pretty smooth and we accomplished a few things. I did let myself get talked into a bake sale that will likely come back to bite me--thus the reason I was awake at 3:51 a.m. Thursday morning. After work Wednesday, I went to Casa Grande for supplies for the Veterans Day service and luncheon. It was my lucky day. Albertson's had ground beef on sale for $1 a pound and hamburger buns on sale for $1 a package. I loaded up my cart. I'll go back Thursday and finish the rest of my shopping. I've got the buns on the dash in the motor home and they are about to drive Jasmine crazy. She can't hear and she can't see much but she sure can smell! This job is really opening my eyes wider to people than the 30 years I worked prior to this. Working with all "retired" people is a totally different ball game. If I were to help the majority of them write a resume, the first thing I would put on their paper is "I HAVE AN AGENDA OF MY OWN AND I WON'T TELL YOU WHAT IT IS UNTIL YOU DON'T FOLLOW IT AND YOU AREN'T GOING TO CHANGE IT." I'll be so glad when Bruce gets back. We are an excellent team and I need to be reminded of that every now and again. Bruce and Alex pretty much finished everything they had to do in Iowa. Alex made it back to Topeka safely. I talked to Bruce about 9:00 and he was headed to bed in a state of exhaustion. Those two accomplished a tremendous amout in three days.

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Since Bruce is gone I don't have anyone to talk to when I wake up early in the morning. I had a great idea. I'd call Melissa. She starts work at 6:30 CST which makes it 5:30 my time. I laid there in bed until 5:31 and I called her. She thinks I'm nuts and feels really sorry for Bruce that he has to listen to me every morning. Oh well. I went for a nice walk around the park, had some breakfast and headed off to work. It was an uneventful day. One of the park residents is a singer/songwriter and he performed in the hall at 4:00. That was a fun event. I came home for a few minutes and was off to Lee and Pam Fairchild's for chili. Oh yum. It was sooooo good. I'm going to encourage her to let us use her recipe for the chili feed after our caroling night on December 22. Nothing is safe anymore. I'm always thinking about what I could use at the park. Bruce and Alex finished moving Granny to the nursing home. Alex decorated her room and made it look great while Bruce worked on paperwork. When that was finished Granny got to see her new room. She accepted it better than Bruce had expected. Yesterday morning she thought Bruce was "her husband". As you can imagine, all of this is taking its toll on both Bruce and Alex. They were really tired. Wednesday Bruce has more paperwork to attend to and Alex will head home. What a blessing Alex has been to Bruce this week!

Monday, 11/5/07

Bruce had a very busy day in Iowa. He made a definite decision on a nursing home for his mother and made all the arrangements for the move. He and Alex got her belongings all moved out of the assisted living center. They moved some things to the nursing home and took the rest to the farm. Tomorrow she will actually move to her new home. Bruce said that today was a better day for Doris. She was able to feed herself some breakfast and was able to get out of bed with the help of a couple nurses. She talked more today but had some trouble identifying who Bruce and Alex were. Bruce had the opportunity to talk with the doctor for a long time so I think he has a pretty good understanding of what the doctor has planned. Doris is scheduled for continuous therapy. As long as she is able and willing to participate, they will keep trying to help her get better. The doctor places her dimentia at the moderately severe stage. The social worker's assessment placed her at the severe stage. This is certainly a difficult time. This was Monday all day long for me and I'm glad there is only one Monday a week. I started the day very early. I woke up and remembered that I needed to close out my accounting records for October so I just got up and did it. My records showed I should have $.30 more in my money bag then I had so being the great accountant that I am, I took $.30 out of my purse and threw it in the money bag. Perfect! I knew I had dropped some dimes on the floor one day but didn't pursue the issue. It is resolved now. I went to work about 8:00. Another gal agreed to be in charge of the yoga tapes this week so I headed off to the office. I was working away like crazy when I realized that none of the workampers were there yet. Well. There was a workamper meeting this morning and they all went. Not me. I didn't even know about it. Oh well. I don't like meetings anyway. The only thing I can say about the rest of the day is that I'm glad it is finished. The residents are starting to come in and offer their advice. They ask me questions they know the answer to just to find out what I'm going to say. I'm sure going to love my life of leisure when this six month stint is finished. The next time I crab about not having a job I hope someone pinches me!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Another quiet day in AZ. I went to church here in the park and met our winter pastor. Jasmine and I hung around the RV until we went to Charles and Myrna's house. Myrna fixed a great dinner so we enjoyed that. I say "we" because Jasmine got her usual Pecan Sandies plus a little bit of roast beef. Bruce and Alex got to Centerville Sunday morning. Bruce's mom is not doing well at all and she is much weaker than he had expected to find her. He's meeting with the doctor this morning to get a better idea about what to expect. I've offered to fly home but he doesn't want me to do that. I'll stay here and work until he changes his mind. We are both really thankful that Alex is able to be there with him.

Satuarday, 11/03/07

Today was a quiet day. Bruce is in Kansas City with the girls. Jasmine and I are in Arizona. We took a nice long nap when we got back from Tucson this afternoon. This evening we went for a walk and now we are watching tv. Jasmine likes CSI Miami!!

The Rest of Friday 11/2/07

"Save a horse, Ride a Bar Saddle"!! Yippee!!

Bruce is flying to Kansas City 11/3/07. He will have dinner with the girls, spend the night with Amy and drive to Centerville, IA Sunday 11/4/07. Bruce's mother has been evaluated and diagnosed as meeting the criteria for severe dementia. She is being dismissed from the hospital on Monday. Bruce has spoken with two nursing homes. He will make a choice Monday morning and move his mom Monday afternoon.

We spent the morning on the telephone but spent the afternoon having fun with Rob and Bev. We drove up the Apache Trail to Tortilla Flats. Canyon Lake is down 50 feet and is just about unbelievable. There is no boating allowed. I imagine that if Bagnell Dam would break, Lake of the Ozarks would look just like Canyon Lake does now. The water used to be all over the barren area in the second picture.

After our sightseeing adventure we went to Trader Joe's on a shopping spree. Yum. I actually cooked (salmon steaks) for dinner tonight. Rob and Bev headed back to Phoenix so they can catch a morning flight back to Kansas City. We had a great visit with them and it was so nice to have them here.

Bruce and I worked in the office for a while tonight. I've got his clothes ready for the suitcase except for what's in the washer and he's working on his mother's business. Good thing we don't like to sleep!!

Friday, November 2

Updates: Bruce's mom is not doing too well at this point. Her confusion is getting worse instead of better. She is able to get up with the help of two people but can't walk but a few steps. The nurses are feeding her but she isn't very interested in eating. The social worker is supposed to be doing an evaluation to determine what comes next as far as care and what is needed. Bruce is trying to figure out when to go back to Iowa. There are a lot of things in the works right now.

There are no "sexy witch" pictures from Halloween because the "sexy witch" was in control of the camera! She's a smart witch too.

Yesterday we spent most of the day with our friends Rob and Bev. That was a real treat. We took them to Hohokam in Coolidge, St. Athony's Green Orthodox Monastery, Mount Athos Restaurant and Cafe, and his favorite ice cream stop in Coolidge. Did you see anyone you recognize in their monastery attire?

Today it is yoga class for DeAnn, work a while for Bruce, then off to the Mesa Flea Market, Superstition Mountain and Trader Joe's!

Halloween Pictures

The first picture is of three of our workampers: Robin, Buddy and Shelley. Aren't they cute?

Then you can see what Bruce the Activities Coordinator was up to last night. First he had to open my wine bottle because I forgot the opener. Isn't he sweet? He'd do anything for me! Then the next picture is Bruce and "Hot Flash". It's too bad Bruce is so shy isn't it?

Halloween 2007 - BOO

Halloween at Quail Run RV Resort was a whale of a success! We've been on the constant run since 7:00 a.m. and right now it is 11.29 p.m. but it was a good day. I had my first yoga class this a.m. (yep, I said yoga). I don't know a thing about yoga but I've got a video so I'm set. There were 10 people in class today. I'm hoping one of them wants to run the video for the class because I am not fond of yoga. I want to do the walk aerobics class but I can do both if I have to. Tonight was our Halloween party. Our friends, Charles and Myrna came over from Hohokam to help us celebrate. We all went to dinner at the country club and man was that good. We'll be going back there. We had a big turnout for the party and almost everyone came in costume. We had lots of compliments and one guy told me this was the best party they've had here in 14 years. Considering all the complaints we hear, we are going to take this compliment to the bank! The old guys liked my witch costume a LOT! I was talking to a bunch of residents and one of them who was behind me decided to give me a little pat on the butt. He's really lucky he didn't get my elbow in his nose as he was sitting down and I was standing up. What I have to put up with! Our workampers did a fabulous job cleaning up and we were out of there in less than 30 minutes. We've survived our first month of workamping. The time went quickly and we've already made lots of memories. Later!