Peregrinating
2017

December

1 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

I connected to Verizon this morning and everything was 'normal' for about 10 minutes. That was long enough for me to get my email account open and make note of the Spam in my Inbox that I needed to filter out. That was it then for a little over an hour, no connection although Chromebook claimed there was a strong signal.

It is not that I have a lot to say this morning but I do like to say it. Verizon showed that I used very little data yesterday, even less than Chrome Data Saver showed which I can not remember happening before. Verizon is having problems; Verizon outage map. I needed a connection to find this of course. HA This has put me over an hour late in my routine also which always discombobulates my entire day. But I'll manage.

My last breakfast batch still had a lot to be desired as far as the hull less barley was concerned. I like my pasta, rice and barley al dente but wat I got was somewhat firmer than that. I'm trying to cook some more today and will boil it all day if that is what it takes!

I did no drawing yesterday and may not do any today. I have been thinking about that panel #51 but no drawing - not sure there will be any.

2 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

The new breakfast batch is much better. I used more apple juice and water than previously and did not add any of the dry fruit and nuts during the cooking process. Boiled the hull less barley for an hour, maybe a little more, and then let it sit for about 3 hours.

At that point it was about the same firmness as my prior batch so I added what was left of that and boiled for another hour. Then added more dry fruit and nuts while still hot and let it cool for the rest of the day. I now have breakfast servings that I can re-heat with a bit of real butter that has barley that is almost perfect - chewy.

I also had some chicken pozole that cooked overnight in the Thermal Cooker that was ready for 'linner' yesterday. There is enough of it left that I should get 3-4 more meals. This morning I'll cook some salmon in the Roaster and will have 'linners' prepared for a week.

That is about all that I have going for me. I did try to do some more drawing on panel #51 yesterday but not sure that I accomplished much. So far I am just drawing lines, I don't know if I will be able to enclose the shapes that I want to be different colors. I'll keep poking at it.

3 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Early in his literary career, English writer Leonard Merrick gained a reputation as a serious writer who tackled tough social issues with unflinching realism. But in his later period, Merrick's style lightened considerably. In this collection of charming comedic short stories, Merrick's witty insight shines through. Many of the stories have the same characters speaking in the same vernacular which I think was a put down of the French, a British reading public would have loved them as I did. Some of the story endings have a twist which is a delight. Recommended!

The weather experts are forecasting the next two days to be rather poor. Tomorrow will be windy with a high of only 69° then Tuesday will be cloudy and cooler. Both days will have low temperatures in the low 50s and that is what I can expect for the low in the extended forecast. Time to put my wool shirt-jacket back to work.

I have checked the Sierra Vista library ebook offerings from time to time to see if they have acquired the last book in Harry Turtledove's The War That Came Early series. They have not. While doing that I happened to see that they have the three volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings.

It was not too long ago that I was looking for a free Kindle source for these books so I downloaded volume #1 The Fellowship of the Ring. There is a borrowing time limit so I got started reading it last night and have reached the Forward to the Second Edition. HA It is not overly long on the Paperwhite with about 8,600 locations so the time limit should not be a problem. The other two volumes were available yesterday, I can only hope that they remain available but then again I might not like the first volume and give up on reading them all.

4 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

I have a couple of busy days forthcoming and holding tanks that will probably require dumping during that time. To avoid that I decided to get that chore done this morning soon after I had breakfast. The pliers allowed me to get the fresh water hose connected to the faucet without any leaks but where it connects at Desperado still leaked as bad or worse than finger tight.

It was still a little cool to be outside especially when in the shade. It had not yet warmed to over 60° from the low of 55 with winds at 15-20 mph gusting to 25-30. The National Weather Service claims that the will be some 'Patchy Blowing Dust and Breezy' today and to expect Breezy for the next 4 days.

I think I'll give up on stained glass panel #51, maybe come back to it at some other time. I have made a good start on another pixel art drawing and it is starting to look like something which provides the impetus to finish it. I will be working on that for the next few days.

I completed another 10 days cycle of ibuprofen yesterday. Started with 2400mg/day for 4 days then 1600mg/day for 3 days and finished with 800mg/day. After 4 days at the higher dosage I felt better and wanted to take the least that I could and still see improvement. I didn't see that happen.

I'm now on acetaminophen for 10 days and will try to keep that dosage down as well. I don't know this for sure but the GoPo® seems to be helping reduce the amount of the other meds that I was taking before I added it to the regimen. Certainly no magic cure but I think it has helped.

A recommended read: Political Pizza by Jeff Thomas.

5 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Just another shopping day although I did go a day earlier than usual because I have a dental appointment tomorrow. Not much of a crowd this morning. I think the cooler weather and what the NWS calls a Breeze kept them closer to the fire.

Not cold with a low of 52° but only 58 at 10:00 and felt like 54 with the wind chill. The expected high for today is 69 but then 14 days of 70s with lows in the lower 50s. Pretty good, and those lower morning temperatures keep the Snowbirds in their nest until it warms up.

I'll be doing that also for the rest of today except for our afternoon walk. More pixel art drawing and more Lord Of The Rings reading. This was first published in the '50s and was a huge hit with the Boomer Generation in the '60s & '70s. I like what I have read so far and can see how it became a countercultural saga although I doubt that I would have read it as that then nor now.

6 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

My entire morning was taken up with getting to my dental appointment, the appointment and getting back into my space at the Park. The wind was Breezy, per the NWS that seems to mean they will be 15-20 mph with gusts of 30. Desperado and I thought there should be a wind warning for high profile vehicles, the Breeze was blowing us all over Interstate 8.

The appointment was with Dr. Karla Navarro, daughter of Enrique and niece of Jose Navarro the owners of the paint shop where I had Desperado painted a couple years ago. I gave her some dental history with the intent of making her my primary dentist and the two cleanings during the year while on my circuit.

I asked her for a referral in Naco or Agua Prieta where I could get my April cleanings. The Sierra Vista office that I have been going to is too expensive and I'm not convinced they do a very good cleaning. If she can not come up with a referral I think I'll go the Cochise County Clinic in Elfida. I went there once and the doctor that saw me spoke very little English so it was like being in Mexico.

Finished Book I in Volume 1 of Lord Of The Rings. It is not really my first genre choice but I need to expand my reading. HA The thing that I like least is the poetry/songs that are inserted as part of the dialog. I just never could get into the Beat Poets of the '50s and '60 and this poetry is of that nature.

7 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

I forgot to write about breakfast yesterday. That was at the Ocotillo Café in the Quechan Casino just off of Interstate 8 on the road to Algodones. This is one of the best gaming layout Indian Casinos that I have been in. Most of them just have long aisles with lines of slot machines. Whoever did this layout has some gambling and gambler knowledge.

The Ocotillo was rather upscale for me but had a surprisingly short menu. I got their Hash with poached eggs that was served over hash browns with a hollandaise over the eggs all in a skillet. Very good!

It is forecast to be a little warmer today with a high of 70° but colder the next two mornings at 47. I might wear gloves on my aching PsA hands. It was not very cold this morning with the low at 57 but a wind chill of 53 but it has not warmed up very fast. There is a NWS Red Flag Warning in effect for the Yuma area today they are expecting strong winds (gusts of 45 mph), low humidity and high fire danger.

Another good day to spend on the couch with Patches and my Paperwhite. Or, get some more of the pixel art piece drawn. I didn't do much of either yesterday with my routine disrupted by the dental appointment.

8 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

About the 1st of November I asked the fellow that does most of the landscape work here at the Park if I could get some more gravel at the front of my space where Desperado's front wheels were in a hole. He said that he thought they were going to get some gravel and he would try and have some for me.

That happened yesterday. I unhooked from electric and pulled out of the space and the dump truck came in and the manager directed it to dump at the back of the space. So I now have a thin covering of new gravel covering the space, much of it where a tire will never be and still a hole at the front. I could see that the fellow that does the work was sort of rolling his eyes when they dumped and he did the best that he could with what he was left to work with. The manager is just one of several reasons I will not be back here next year.

A very cool 48° this morning that had a feels like 45. The high is expected to be 69-72 but it is slow getting there with it only at 51 but 9:00 am. Hopefully the extended forecast of mid-70s for the high and lower 50s for the low will become reality.

Not much happening here. The News is all about harassment and resignations with one of them an AZ Representative - not my district. It is too bad that Senator McCain has not also resigned but I don't think he will live out his term.

9 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Today is shaping up to be be VERY low key, sort of like the past couple of days.

I have not heard anything from my Algodones dentist regarding a referral in Naco or Agua Prieta. I did find some dentists in Agua Prieta by doing an online Google search. I also found out that the dental clinic that I went to in Elfrida back in 2012 opened another office in Sierra Vista in 2015.

I have sent an email to that office asking for their price for a cleaning. Their response - telephone to talk to a representative. My response - your website has a VERY prominent telephone number but I had to search for an email address and use that, why do you think I did that? They said they would get back to me as a reply to that but I have not received anything.

They offer sliding scale pricing based on income also for which I may qualify. If so and it is less, including the cost of gas, than going to Mexico I'll use the clinic in Sierra Vista. However, I already see that they are a bureaucratic organization and may cost me more in aggravation just to save a few dollars.

I think there are a couple more days of pixel drawing remaining on this latest piece. Maybe another couple of days to finish The Fellowship of the Ring, the first volume of Lord Of The Rings. When I do finish it I think I'll read something else before downloading the second volume. I like it well enough to continue reading it all but not without a break.

10 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

I think preparing another batch of breakfast meals will be about all that I will accomplish today. I'll boil that hull less barley even longer this time and see if I can get it a little softer than the 'chewy' that it reached last time.

By not doing much of anything else these is a good chance that I will finish the pixel art drawing today or finish reading The Fellowship Of The Ring. There is even the chance that I will finish them both.

Is our federal government a mess or what?
"America's "global military presence" is not hyperbole, but a literal fact, as a new Department of Defense study has found that US military personnel are stationed in literally every nation on the earth. The report bluntly confirms that, "The United States has military personnel in nearly every country in the world, ranging from two liaison officers in Fiji to tens of thousands from all of the service branches in Japan and Germany, according to the report."
But perhaps more important and equally absurd (when one considers the original beginnings of the humble "republic" envisioned by founders like Madison and Jefferson) is the fact that America's world-wide military presence is such that the Pentagon itself can't track how many US service members are deployed where. A new bombshell article in Stars and Stripes military newspaper is non-ironically headlined, Report: 44,000 ‘unknown’ military personnel stationed around the world." - Dude Where's My Troops? Pentagon Loses Track Of 44,000 Soldiers

11 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

This is another pixel art piece that was called 'abstract' and like the one I did on 3 November I used colors other than black and white. I also put a border around it that was not shown on the cross stitch web page. It is an interesting piece but do not like how it looks as a pixel drawing. I like the cushion covers better and will next do one of the 7 that I have down loaded.

I had the choice of making tomorrow a very long day or break it into two shorter 'doing stuff' days. I chose the two days and this morning I had breakfast at my favorite restaurant and then went to the laundromat.

The last time I was here the Verizon signal was very poor but was fine today. I think the prior time was when they were having problems all over Arizona. I did some multitasking and got this posting started while the laundry machines where doing there thing. That is the easy part, the difficult will be when I try to put sheets and blankets back on my bed with painful hands/wrist/shoulders/knees.

James Howard Kunstler has a great blog posting that explains the unwinding of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet Abracadabra. Well worth a read!

12 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Used up a good piece of my morning at Foothill RV getting a new kitchen faucet. The good News was that once the new faucet was installed the water pump was working fine. That meant I saved some time but more importantly saved some money. The faucet plus labor was less than I had estimated and the shop proved their honesty by not replacing a water pump that I thought was going bad. A good RV repair shop!

Next door to Foothill RV is Foothill Eatery. I have eaten there before and had their Greek Omelet but had forgotten that it comes with tzatziki. O so good, I'll be back at least one more time before I leave here. Getting the vinyl screw cover trim on the outside of Desperado replaced will be one of those times.

The Customer Reviews at goodreads.com give this first volume of Lord Of The Rings 5 stars almost 60% of the time. I chose to edit this 3 star review because it was closer to what I thought of it. Almost chose a one star review but it went a bit overboard in its criticism. I'll get the second volume to read but not right away. I don't knows this but suspect that the book got much of it reputation from the screen plays that were written using its story line. Much like many of the other 'popular' books that became so after they appeared on TV or as a movie.
Tolkein is not a terribly good writer. He tends to go on in excruciating detail about trivial concepts. Parts of the book, such as Ent poetry, are downright painful to read. And his leaf by leaf descriptions of forests can get fairly trivial. Since he wrote this series, several other fantasy writers have basically stolen the story and rewritten it with higher quality prose. The notion of heroism in Tolkein is particularly worth noting. It is, so far as I can tell, the first set of novels that defines heroism entirely by internal features. The protagonist has no ability to fight, or to use magic, or basically do anything except to doing his best to do the right thing. This conception of heroism, which is what is what most people think of nowadays, is quite different than it was historically conceived (where heroism was synonymous with strength or ability, sometimes in conjunction with morality, but sometimes not). So, in this way, like so many others, Tolkein has had tremendous effect on popular culture. - Edited Customer Review goodread.com

13 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Until this morning I didn't notice that I left one of my big side window open all of last night. It didn't seem to make any difference in the inside temperature which gives you a good idea of how well Desperado is insulated. That is why it gets so hot during the summer and so cold during the winter; it is just a hard sided tent.

When I was putting my bedding back together I noticed that bottom sheet is just about ready to be replaced. The quilt that my mother made for me some 20-30 years ago has also seen better days and I ordered a wool blanket from Wal*Mart this morning to be shipped for pickup at the store that drive past on my way to Fry's. They claim that it will be there on my next shopping day - we will see.

I have nothing planned for today other than get started drawing a pixel art cushion cover and reading another Rex Beach novel. I may finish the book today but certainly by tomorrow; it is quick easy reading.

This blog posting has the same theme as many others that look to The Fourth Turning for guidance and inspiration.

"What all this means is that we are in the transition period between the third and fourth phases of American history. The first phase was the Colonial Period that lasted up to and included the Revolutionary War. Then there was the Constitutional Period that lasted until the Civil War. The third period was the Yankee Imperium, that lasted from the Civil War through the end of the Cold War. What comes next is debatable, but it is clear that the rest of the country is going to have a say in the political life of the country." -The Z Man The Fourth Stage Of American History

14 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

There have been more RVs arriving in my neighborhood, that being the western one third of the Park. Surprisingly there have also been RVs leaving. The one that I was most happy to see leave was the one with the spotlight that had been on my right. The neighbor's RV on my left is still there but they have been gone since about the first of the month and I'm guessing will not be back until the New Year.

The Yuma area is under another Red Flag Warning from the NWS. They expect winds in the 20-30 mph range with gusts of 45, low humidity and extreme fire danger. On the 7 Day Forecast page that is described as Patchy Blowing Dust and Breezy, the same is expected on Sunday. The low this morning was 46° but no wind and it is still calm at 9:00 am but just managed to warm up to above 50. Almost Wave heater time!

The Customer Reviews at goodreads.com says what I would have said about the book and the canal. I also agree with the reasoning behind selecting some of these authors that wrote novels with the current period as a background. Recommended!

This book has some great descriptions of the Panama canal as it was being built. I do not know if the author witnessed it first hand or not. In addition we are treated to some fun New York night life and general attitudes of party going youth of the day. Modern authors writing period pieces rarely if ever come up with these sorts of details that authors who were actually immersed in the period could. This is why I read even inferior books written by those living at the times presented.
The story does have some Victorian throwbacks in terms of its treatment of women. The knowledgeable experienced woman is seldom rewarded, whereas the overly obedient barely out of childhood types win the day. There is some other predictable storyline elements as well, however, the characters are well drawn with most being three dimensional. It is a quick and fun read overall. - Customer Review goodread.com

If we could only get rid of President Trump and have a Political Correct president in office we could then implement this NY City policy nationwide. Maybe all get get together and sing Kumbaya.

"New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has an $800,000 program in place that uses taxpayer money to pay criminal suspects and court defendants with gift cards in exchange for taking a survey about the friendliness and comfort of Manhattan’s courtrooms and NYC criminal Justice system, the New York Post reported.
The survey asks participants to rate the courteousness of judges and prosecutors — and even courtroom temperature. Those who complete the 144-question survey get a $15 Dunkin’ Donuts gift card. The program is from the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice." - Just when you thought Liberals couldn’t find a new level of Stupid

15 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

The Breezy day that was forecast yesterday did come about in the afternoon with a lot of dust in the air but the gusts remained well below the expected 45 mph. A warmer morning walk today but it will be getting colder starting on Sunday with lower high and low temperatures. I might have to get that Wave heater fired up before Christmas.

The cross stitch patterns that I am following for my pixel art drawings give the DMC thread colors that are to used. I found a website that converts those DMC thread colors to Hex color codes that browsers use to display the color on a computer screen. The cushion cover that I have started uses a couple of pastel colors that looked rather washed out. I guess I need to get more of it drawn to tell for sure but for now I'm not so sure that it is going to look very good.

Save this link so you can read it again the next time someone says there needs to be more money for education. The United States spends more per student than any other country in the world and produces academic idiots that think they are educated. You need not read the entire report, the Overview will suffice.

I followed a link trail from The Virtual Economy Is The End Of Freedom by Brandon Smith to find that report. That blog posting is well worth the time it takes to read it in my opinion. I pulled only one quote from it but there were many to choose from.

If you cannot manufacture a useful thing, repair a useful thing or teach a useful skill, then you are essentially useless in a real economy. If you do not have localized trade, you have nothing. If you do not have the mindset and the community of independent people required to protect your local production, then you will not be able to keep the economy you have built.

16 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Red sky in morning, sailor take warning. That is what we had this morning - the sky was on fire. One of those classic Arizona Highways photos of an Arizona sunrise. I think we have a low pressure front, or maybe it is a high front, moving in and that will give us the Breezy and lower temperatures that the NWS expects tomorrow.

I'm getting ready for it by doing some more cooking today. Put some cod in the Roaster and boiling up another batch of my barley with fruit and nuts breakfasts.

I also dumped holding tanks and took on fresh water. I was going to do this tomorrow but if the weather is going to turn then I thought today would be a better time. I probably could have waited for it to warm up some more however because it was only 51° while I was out there doing it. DUH

17 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

In 1919 Margaret Sanger, who had divorced her husband, began a decades-long affair with H. G. Wells. A barely fictionalized Sanger is the hero's lover in this autobiographical 1922 novel. A few customer reviews commented on the slow beginning of this rather short novel. The hero's lover does not come on the scene until about mid-book. Not a typical Wells book but covers much of the same ground that he has written about in prior books that I have read - socialism lite. Not recommended unless you are reading everything that he wrote.

A beautifully developed characterisation of a man with genius torn by a belief in a new age, meeting a woman soulmate who can never be one, and the social realities of England and his wife. - Customer Review goodreads.com

I received an email that said my pick up at WalMart was ready. I'll be out and about on Monday to get groceries and to check out one or more RV Parks as a possible stay next winter. One strike against the Park that I am most interested in already is they do not provide an email address on their web page. If they do not communicate using email then that could be a deal breaker.

I also question their sewer hook-ups based on one of the reviews and do they or do they not have restrooms and showers. They have a 'sister park' that provides the same incomplete description of what is available. That is strike two.

"Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it. While it lies there, it needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it. And what is this liberty which must lie in the hearts of men and women? It is not the ruthless, the unbridled will; it is not freedom to do as one likes. That is the denial of liberty, and leads straight to its overthrow. A society in which men recognize no check upon their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few." - Judge Learned Hand, The "Spirit of Liberty" Speech

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilisation, it expects what never was and never will be. The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents. - Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to William Charles Jarvis

What is now called the 'deep state' and/or the 'swamp' was called 'double government' by Walter Bagehot when he explained 19th century government in England. Michael J. Glennon, Professor of International Law, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, published an article National Security and Double Government in 2014 that explains double government in the United States. It is a long article, with 621 footnote citations, as professor writing must be but well worth the time to read if you want to understand how the 'swamp' came into being and why it is so hard to drain.

"The political process with all its politicians, its posturing, its political campaigns, its elections, and all of its quasi-religious ceremonies is in fact an elaborate opera played out by actors for your entertainment. The entire show is nothing more than an on-going intravenous drip of political opiates to keep the public in a stupor. Actual government policies are the result of a hidden government made up of unelected semi-permanent bureaucrats who kindly play along with the politicians, while doing almost all of the work of running the apparatus of government." - Ben Stone the Bad Quaker

18 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

I win my bet that Senator McCain would not vote on the Tax Bill. It looks like Arizona now has only one Senator representing it and he (Flake) will not run for reelection in 2018.
"McCain left Washington Sunday and is heading back to his home state to spend the holidays with his family. He will not be on hand for the final vote on the GOP tax passage expected for early this week. It is unclear when McCain might return to Washington." - CBS News

Shopping day plus an added stop. The additional stop was at an RV Park close to Fry's that had a web page Contact form but no email address shown. The other Park that I was going to check out was a much farther drive from Fry's than what I am doing now which is almost too far so I have scratched that one off the possible list.

The price is good for Yuma and very comparable to where I am now when the cost of gas it added. I will not know if I can get a reservation for next year until March so I'll wait until then and see if I get in or need to search for some other Park.

The wool blanket pick-up at Wal*Mart was easy as it could be. In and out in less than 10 minutes with the majority of that time walking to and fro from Desperado. No waiting in line and quick service. I may buy more often online at Wal*Mart if I can get this same service every time. The downside is they do not offer store pick-up for everything that they offer online.

My wool shirt jacket has a hole in the sleeve and is showing wear in other places as well. Went online shopping for a replacement and found something much like what I had some years ago at Woolrich. Ordered it today using the Yuma General Delivery shipping address. Will see how that works out. They have conflicting information on there web pages so I may get it delivered then again I may not. They have Free Shipping so if it gets returned because they used UPS it is going to at their cost.

That is about it for now. I need to do my daily web reading then get on the couch with my Paperwhite.

19 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Cold this morning with a low of 42° with a forecast that it will be colder yet Friday and Saturday mornings. The Wave heater come out of hiding and was fired up. Patches approved by hogging all the space directly in front of it.

This is another of Merrick's books that is made up of short stories that are also placed in France as the background. These are not comedic however, some of them could probably be classed as tragedies and others are feel good stories. The very last story does contain the same characters that are in the comedic short stories. A good sample if you have not read that book first. I could not find any customer reviews so this book is even less read today than most of his. They are good stories so that is a shame - recommended.

I am now in day 5 of another 10 days taking ibuprofen at a dosage level of 2400 mg/day. The prior 10 days of acetaminophen had been at 2000 mg/day which still left me hurting whereas after the first day on ibuprofen I felt some relief. I'm now also taking 3 grams of GoPo® every day which is what they recommend as the 'maintenance' dosage level. I do feel there has been improvement but I'm certainly not pain free yet - perhaps never will be again.

20 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

My posting on the 18th about ordering a wool shirt jacket said that I may get it and I may not. The shipper is Woolrich and when I placed the order I used a Yuma General Delivery address and they indicated that it would ship UPS or UPSP so they had a 50/50 chance of getting it right just by flipping a coin. If they had used some reasoning they might have increased their chances but apparently they flipped a coin and shipped it using UPS.

There is still the hope that the Yuma P. O. will accept the package from UPS. I have my doubts - we will see!

I have a neighbor that is across the street from me and one space to the west. In the past 3-4 days there has been at least 2 visits by County Probation Officers. One of those visits was yesterday when there was no one home.

Later in the day I saw the guy that they were probably looking for staggering around outside the Park model home. Then last night around 10:30-11:00 four County Sheriff Deputies came and took him away. They talked to him for 15 minutes or more outside before they took him and after repeated trips into the 'house' by one of the deputies. I think the 'lady of the hose' dropped the dime on him.

Late night entertainment. A quiet day appears to be on tap with me reading the second volume of Lord Of The Rings and drawing the cushion cover as pixel art.

21 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

The Woolrich shipping story continues. I sent them an email complaining about their using UPS to ship my wool shirt jacket via UPS to a General Delivery P. O. They replied that they could redirect the UPS delivery to a different address.

I did not want the package coming here to the Park because of two previous problems but gave them the Park address with my space number. The hope is that the UPS truck will come to my space and not leave the package with the office. Or, it may still go to General Delivery which may accept it or more likely refuse it. We will see.

I have drawn enough of the cushion cover pixel art piece now that I can see that it is going to look good. It is pale, that is the definition of pastel colors, but not as washed out as I thought it was going to be. I have a lot more remaining to draw. Maybe only draw it once, I lost about an hour of work that I had to redraw.

Good News - the Cliven Bundy trial was declared a mistrial. Bad News - the government will continue to press the case until they get a judge that will see it their way.

The government has unlimited time and unlimited money to press the case, the defendants will run out of both at some point. Even a not guilty verdict will not help, the government will continue to try and destroy the Bundy's. They fought back, and that kind of behaviour must be punished or other people might start to do the same.

22 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

The forecast low for this morning wa 41° so I wore my wool capote, wool cap and gloves - winter costume, because I have learned that the forecast low is almost always high. That was true this morning and the citrus growers have learned the same lesson. They had their wind machines working in the lemon groves north of the Park. The low was 35° with a 33° wind chill.

The first thing I did when I got back to Desperado was fire up the Wave heater so Patches could get warm. HA Still only 38, feels like 35, at 8:30 so it might not reach the expected 63 high for today. This little touch of winter will be gone by Sunday with high temperatures back in the 70s and the lows in the 40s and low 50s.

The weather is all I have to talk about today. Cold temperatures in Yuma is NEWS! The Chamber of Commerce does not want it to get out but it does happen and I'll bring it to you.

I was not overly pleased with Nikki Haley's appointment as United States Ambassador to the United Nations. I have also not been overly pleased with some of her statements since becoming Ambassador. But her speech to the General Assembly on 15 December 2017 had me cheering her on as I read it. I quote it in its entirety since the Lame Stream Media will not.

"Thank you, Mr. President.

To its shame, the United Nations has long been a hostile place for the state of Israel. Both the current and the previous Secretary-Generals have objected to the UN’s disproportionate focus on Israel. It’s a wrong that undermines the credibility of this institution, and that in turn is harmful for the entire world.
I’ve often wondered why, in the face of such hostility, Israel has chosen to remain a member of this body. And then I remember that Israel has chosen to remain in this institution because it’s important to stand up for yourself. Israel must stand up for its own survival as a nation; but it also stands up for the ideals of freedom and human dignity that the United Nations is supposed to be about.
Standing here today, being forced to defend sovereignty and the integrity of my country – the United States of America – many of the same thoughts have come to mind. The United States is by far the single largest contributor to the United Nations and its agencies. We do this, in part, in order to advance our values and our interests. When that happens, our participation in the UN produces great good for the world. Together we feed, clothe, and educate desperate people. We nurture and sustain fragile peace in conflict areas throughout the world. And we hold outlaw regimes accountable. We do this because it represents who we are. It is our American way.
But we’ll be honest with you. When we make generous contributions to the UN, we also have a legitimate expectation that our good will is recognized and respected. When a nation is singled out for attack in this organization, that nation is disrespected. What’s more, that nation is asked to pay for the “privilege” of being disrespected.
In the case of the United States, we are asked to pay more than anyone else for that dubious privilege. Unlike in some UN member countries, the United States government is answerable to its people. As such, we have an obligation to acknowledge when our political and financial capital is being poorly spent.
We have an obligation to demand more for our investment. And if our investment fails, we have an obligation to spend our resources in more productive ways. Those are the thoughts that come to mind when we consider the resolution before us today.
The arguments about the President’s decision to move the American embassy to Jerusalem have already been made. They are by now well known. The decision was in accordance to U.S. law dating back to 1995, and it’s position has been repeatedly endorsed by the American people ever since. The decision does not prejudge any final status issues, including Jerusalem’s boundaries. The decision does not preclude a two-state solution, if the parties agree to that. The decision does nothing to harm peace efforts. Rather, the President’s decision reflects the will of the American people and our right as a nation to choose the location of our embassy. There is no need to describe it further.
Instead, there is a larger point to make. The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation. We will remember it when we are called upon to once again make the world’s largest contribution to the United Nations. And we will remember it when so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit.
America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. That is what the American people want us to do, and it is the right thing to do. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that.
But this vote will make a difference on how Americans look at the UN and on how we look at countries who disrespect us in the UN. And this vote will be remembered.

Thank you."

23 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

The new breakfast concoction that I have been cooking up with hull less barley was cooked in apple juice. This was a mistake and the reason why I was boiling, boiling and never getting it any softer than chewy.

Yesterday I boiled up another batch but did it in water. Brought it to a boil uncovered for maybe 5 minutes then covered, reduced the heat but keep at a boil for about an hour and I had soft barley. I then stirred in the fruit and nuts while it was still hot but with no added heat and let it sit until cool. Much better! I think I could have added apple juice at that time also but elected not to do so.

The citrus groves had their wind machines working again this morning. Not as cold as yesterday with the low at 41° and a wind chill of 37. I did not realize how loud those machines were although I should have because I could hear them while inside Desperado. I walked south this morning, away from them, and could still hear them when over a ½ mile away and that is with my poor hearing.

I need to get out there and dump holding tanks today but the expected high is to be only 67°. I'm not getting out there until after 10:00 when the forecast is that it will be above 50. Try to get it done when it is warmer but the afternoon winds have not picked up.

I think I now have 2 packages at the General Delivery P. O. address here in Yuma. Or, I may have 3. I received two emails from a supplier that I placed an order for two items that claimed shipment but they both had the same Tracking #. Does that mean two items in one package or two packages but an erroneous Tracking # in one of the emails? One of the packages is a forward from my UPS Store that has meds from the VA. Nothing to be done about picking anything up until after Christmas. I'll find out then what I have or what I do not have.

24 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Shopping day with a breakfast stop. Ordered a breakfast that was not on the menu again. The Frey Special, one tamale, one egg, potatoes, beans, garnish that I eat as a salad, flour tortillas and coffee. I'm going to have them convinced that this should be a menu item by the time I leave.

A lot of other shoppers in Fry's this morning. Those people that get groceries every few days were in there because Christmas Day is the only day that Fry's is NOT open. Some of them had that glazed stare from too much shopping. Personal savings rate is at an all time low and Credit Card balances are at an all time high. This may be a shopping Last Hurrah; it will be interesting to see how it compares with 2018.

We have the Chamber of Commerce weather back just in time for the Holidays. The Weather Channel is forecasting the next 14 days to be in the 70s for the high and 40s or low 50s for the low. Within this past week I have noticed a number of Canadians have taken wing and settled down here in the Park. Tis the Season!

25 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Merry Christmas

Compared to most places in the country we had a relatively warm Christmas morning with the low at 42°. It is rather slow in warming to the expected high of 72. That will be about what we had yesterday and it was great.

All I wanted for Christmas was relief from the PsA that has had me hurting since September-October. I am better so that wish has been granted but still not quite there yet - better but not great. The hands and writs continue to be the problem.

A good article, Beyond Cynicism: America Fumbles Towards Kafka’s Castle, by James Howard Kunstler that was posted on The American Conservative website. Rather ironic since Kunstler is a lifelong Democrat. I think he has become more and more conservative in his writing over the past 10 years however. I don't think he could have written an article like this 10 years ago and have it accepted by The American Conservative.

This is good News not to be found in the Lame Stream Media that is obsessed with removing President Trump. The $285 million sounds like a lot of money to us 'deplorables' but that is less than 10% of what the United States gives to the United Nations every year. It is a good start but 4 times that cut would not have been too much.

"Nikki Haley, United States Ambassador to the United Nations (U.N.), announced Sunday night that the federal government has reduced its contribution to the U.N.’s annual budget by 285 million dollars." - by Breitbart News

26 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Started my house cleaning routine this morning. Got the bathroom finished except the floor. I'll get to that later this morning which will be a test of how much better, or not, my hands and wrists are. Doing that and trying to pick up my cast iron skillet one handed are good indicators of improvement or lack thereof.

I'll leave some of the cleaning for tomorrow so I have something to do. HA The rest of today's activities will be more reading of The Two Towers, maybe finish it. More cushion cover pixel art drawing - not close to finishing. I can only work on it for about and hour at a time before I start making mistakes so it is best not to push it. I'll get it drawn but it is going to take time. I think all the cushion covers that I plan on drawing will be like this.

"[T]he public wants desperately to believe the media/entertainment industry. Deep down inside the public knows that if they question the media and if the media is found to be lying, then they (the public) will be forced to do something. And the public hates it when they have to do something, especially if by "do something" we mean research the truth, weigh facts, learn new things, and then act on that newly found information. It's easier to just trust the guy with the perfect hair and gleaming smile that they watch every night on the magic talking box." - Bad Quaker

"We shall not grow wiser until we learn that much of what we have done was very foolish." - Friedrich August von Hayek

27 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

I got most of my house cleaning taken care of yesterday. Today I was going go get Desperado's cab, windows and mirrors washed. I also need to wipe down the counter and stove top but that has all been postponed until tomorrow.

I also almost finished repairing one of two cabinet doors that keep falling apart when I open them. They were constructed using tongue and groove that fit tight when built but the wood has dried out over the years in the low humidity where I live. I had a third one that I fixed a little over a year ago using some Gorilla Glue that has stayed together so I'm hoping that I can fix these two.

The chore postponement was caused by my checking the Woolrich package shipping. On 21 December I wrote about providing them with the Park address but I think they did nothing because the Tracking showed that it was being held for pick up at the UPS Customer Service here in Yuma.

The label on the package did show General Delivery and don't think they would put in on a truck to delivery to the P. O. They might have if I had also included a street address. The P. O. where I also picked up two General Delivery packages today said that IF UPS had delivered it to them they would have accepted it but there would have been Postage Due.

I have received everything that I ordered but it has been a struggle. There has to be a better way. The forwarding charges from my UPS Store in Sierra Vista for accumulated mail and VA med mailings works out fine but is expensive. I need to talk to them about cutting those cost as well as forwarding other packages.

Running around town picking up packages has been my excitement for today. Now back to the usual!

There were a lot more 5 star reviews of this second volume, Books 3 & 4, of Lord Of The Rings. The Customer Review that I have selected and edited is somewhat is closer to what I thought of the book. The 5 star reviews are just way over the top with their gushing praise with the 4 star reviews sounding like 5 star wannabes. I'll take another break before reading volume III.

I enjoyed this second book in the series but I have to say, it was a lot slower than the first one. Due to events that take place at the end of the first volume this book is split in half; the first half follows the fellowship, and the second follows Frodo and Sam.
I found that the first half of this book was incredibly interesting and I got through it in one or two sittings. The plot was fast-paced, there was action and new characters were introduced. The Ents were introduced also and I loved the chapters following these creatures and Merry and Pippin.
However, the second half, which follows Frodo and Sam on their way to Mordor, dragged for me. I don't find this thread of the story interesting but am excited to carry on with The Return Of The King. - Edited Customer Review goodreads.com

28 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

I wore my new Woolrich wool shirt jacket paired with a flannel shirt this morning. A perfect combination for the 47° temperature but probably will not be warm enough to go much below 45 especially with some wind. About the same warmth as my previous wool jacket so I am pleased plus it looks much better

The chores that were postponed yesterday are on the agenda for today. I have vacuumed the cab area this morning but the window and mirror washing will happen after it warms up some more. Counter and stove top after 'linner'. I'll then have that all taken care of for another 3-4 weeks.

One other domestic thing to do today is cook a big salmon fillet in my Roaster. That will give me four maybe five 'linners' when I reheat servings of it along with some Chinese Stir Fry.

The rest of the day will be devoted to another Rex Beach novel and the cushion cover pixel art drawing. I did no drawing yesterday so that project didn't advance, maybe make some progress today.

29 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

I had a crowd show up yesterday. There was a woman with a pick up slide in camper (a big one) a couple spaces east of my neighbor on that side. She is now in the space right next to me on the west side and has taken the camper off the pick up so it appears she is here for awhile.

Then there was another Airstream park next to her on the west side. Later in the day I got another neighbor across the street at a slight diagonal, next door to the Park model that had the Sheriff visit (they stopped by again a day or two ago but no one was at home). There has been a lot of furniture moving so I think the woman that lived there was probably renting that Park model and is in the process of moving.

I got my web archive pages set up for next month/year. Later today I need to get next month's Will Rogers weekly articles copied and formatted. I also need to redo EVERY week starting at 6 October 2017; lost all of them in some kind of screw up at my host server. That project will carry over into tomorrow unfortunately.

The House Intelligence Committee has issued a subpoena to David Kramer, an associate of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), over his connection with the controversial dossier containing unverified allegations about President Trump and his ties to Russia. Kramer is expected to appear in front of the House Intelligence Committee on January 11th, 2018; a spokeswoman for McCain's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Sen. John McCain said he did 'what any citizen would do' in turning over the dirty dossier, which contained unconfirmed secrets about the president-elect, over to the FBI. I look forward to Kramer's testimony supporting that statement.

30 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Just another shopping day. The only things that made it different were it was the last one I'll do in the year 2017. The other thing was that I went to Foothill RV and made an appointment to have the vinyl molding on the outside of Desperado replaced. The molding that I had the Navarro's instal was poorly done, a poor fit and has discolored a lot from being in the sun.

Yesterday the only things I did were re-do all the Will Rogers weekly articles from 6 October 2017 to 8 December and read a Rex Beach book.. I have two more weeks to do and then can start on next month. I don't know what happened to cause them to disappear but I don't want it to happen again.

President Trump has used the expurgatory 'Drain The Swamp' but I find the following to be an even better description of what he faces. He may cut some grass and remove some dirt but has not even touched "the rock", if anything he has protected the rock.

Those that are generally thought of as the powerful in the world are the politicians, but this is part of the illusion of government. When we look at politicians, we are as it were, looking at the grass on a hill. The grass is not the hill, and in fact the grass adds very little to the hill. But it's what we see. Like grass, politicians are seasonal. They sprout up quickly, put on a show and then vanish into the soil, their demise bringing life to the next seasonal explosion of drama, as the new generation of politicians reach for the sky. Politicians hold a temporary but obvious position that, no matter how it appears, has very little power. If you dig deeper into the hill you find the grass is rooted in the soil and the soil provides the nutrients that determine if the grass lives or dies. The soil is critical to the dramatic performance of the grass, so in that sense the soil, or better stated, the dirt in our metaphorical hill is the massive network of unelected bureaucrats, party bosses, lobbyists, and the permanent understructure of men and women that do the actual running of the day to day functions of government. The grass comes and goes, but bureaucracy stays. These people, the dirt of governments, do the actual developing of the policies and laws, they hand down the regulations, they introduce the politicians to the right lobbyist, to the right donor, and to the right power people in corporations and banks. These people determine when, where, and how tall the grass grows. And yet, the dirt is not the hill. The hill is in reality the rocks that thrust up from the valley floor. The corporate giants and the banking cartels are the rocks that are almost unmovable. The rocks determine if there is or is not a hill. The rocks are the true power. Everything else is on the surface protecting the rocks from exposure to the elements. So long as the rocks remain covered they don't erode and the hill lives on. Take away the dirt and the grass vanishes and the rocks begin to crumble and weather away.

31 December
Southern Mesa RV Park
Yuma, AZ

Another beautiful Arizona Highways sunrise which 90% of the Snowbirds will have missed. They will OH and AH over sunsets but few of them will get up to see the sunrises which in my opinion are even more spectacular.

I didn't find any Customer Reviews for this book by Rex Beach. I doubt that many people have read it within the past 20 years so it is not surprising that there were no reviews online. I did not think this was some of his better work so giving it a pass may be not all bad. There are some good descriptions of Sicily, New Orleans and the Mafia in both locations. Much of the action leads up to a fictionalized account of the March 14, 1891, lynchings in New Orleans. There were a series of lynchings of eleven Italian Americans, for their alleged role in the murder of police chief David Hennessy. It was the largest mass lynching in U.S. history.

I am cooking up another batch of breakfast barley. Soon after I post this to my website I'll finish next months Will Rogers weekly articles. Then it will be back on the couch with my Paperwhite and Patches. Maybe get some more pixel art drawn after doing nothing on it for the past couple of days.

A very pleasant 47° during our morning walk. There were scattered clouds which made for the the great sunrise but they coalesced into a cloud cover and it has stayed near that same temperature through 9:00. While the rest of the country freezes we will have a high on New Years Day of 77° if the weather guessers are right. The Chamber of Commerce will love it as will all the Snowbirds!

"Universal literacy was supposed to educate the common man to control his environment. Once he could read and write he would have a mind fit to rule. So ran the democratic doctrine. But instead of a mind, universal literacy has given him rubber stamps, rubber stamps inked with advertising slogans, with editorials, with published scientific data, with the trivialities of the tabloids and the platitudes of history, but quite innocent of original thought. Each man’s rubber stamps are the duplicates of millions of others, so that when those millions are exposed to the same stimuli, all receive identical imprints." - Propaganda, Edward L. Bernays