May 2019

May 2019

Wednesday 01- very windy. Exercised on the weight bench jogged and took Cassie for a jog.

I finished the second coat of paint on the new patio.

Thursday 02- very windy still.  I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Worked on the patio putting on a third coat of paint.

Friday 03- I called my doctor about the anti-inflammatory steroid pills Prednisone. I told him I’m only getting 2-3 hours of sleep a night, also it’s making me feel irritable and short-tempered. Oh, I got a whole lot of work on the patio and around the house because of the pills, but now I am feeling really burned out. He told me to stop taking them.

Saturday 04 and Sunday 05

Wow, coming down off the Prednisone is really bad. My body aches all over and has retained a whole lot of water which I’m expelling quite rapidly.

Monday 06- cloudy, windy, with evening showers. I did my stretches, jogged a mile with Cassie, worked out on the weight bench and punched the heavybag.

Tuesday 07- windy day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a bike/run.

FedEx delivered 2 lithium batteries... one had 13.9 volts, but the other had .69 volts. I’ll have to call MightyMax tomorrow and ask them what’s up.

UPS delivered my GenZe E-Bike, but it didn’t have a battery! I called and got a hold of John at the company and he is going to ship me out a battery right away and also a lock for the bike for my troubles.

I put another coat of paint on the patio.

Took Cassie out for an evening walk.

Wednesday 08- still windy. I did my stretches.

Me and Cassie went for a walk with Kjtel and Bodie and ended up at her house watching two episodes of GOT.

I received two ML100-12LI - 12V 100AH Deep Cycle Lithium Batteries I ordered. One had a charge of 13.9 vdc, but the other had a charge of .69 vdc 

I called customer service and was told to take the bad one to AutoZone and have it checked out, which I did. The store manager tried to test it and said to me the device he was using cannot detect any charge at all. I took the photos and emailed them to MightyMax for their reference. They emailed me a return UPS label I printed and taped on the battery package getting it ready to ship back to them.

Thursday 09- cloudy with a bit of wind. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went to Yucca Valley to the UPS store there with the bad battery to return it. Then I went to Home Depot to collect some wood I need for various projects.

Me and Cassie went for a night jog.

Friday 10- windy, cloudy with some rain. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

UPS delivered the new battery that was missing for my new e-bike. I put it on charge right away and will test it out tomorrow.

I worked on building a frame for the fan vent for my little trailer. I didn’t saw through the roof to put it in because it might rain today.

I went to the Friday night movies at the community center. Mack, Pat, Steve, Melody, a girl who rides horses, Lana and her husband (I didn’t ask his name), and Kip showed up and we stood around yammer on and about this and that and other things. The movies were western horror film called “The Burrowers” (2008) , written and directed by J. T. Petty. Evil creatures live below the surface of the prairies in Dakota Territory around the 1870s and prey upon the living. I’ll give it an S- for kinda scary.

Saturday 11 and Sunday 12- not feeling well again... very tired and just stayed in the house. On Sunday I couldn’t get any sleep until 6am or so, and then slept until 4pm missing the poet reading at Space Cowboy Books.

Monday 13- nice warmer day. First day I really felt better since I stopped taking those anti-inflammatory Prednisone steroid pills on Friday the 3rd.  I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went to movie night at our community center and watched “The Meg” (2018) directed by Jon Turteltaub and starring Jason Statham. It reminded me a lot of “Jaws” (1975) with those underwater shots with dangling swimmers’ legs. I could almost predict what was to happen next and most of the time I was right. I enjoyed the action and was nailed to my seat with anticipation a few times. Of course there were a few scenes that were over the top impossible.

Tuesday 14- warmer still but with a nice breeze. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and jogged a mile with my Cassie.

I did some writing in the book

Wednesday 15- a windy day outside. I did my stretches, exercised on the weight bench, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I wrote a bit in my book.

Thursday 16- very windy. I did my stretches and jugged up the hill and back down with Cassie; too windy for our usual mile jog.

Friday 17- less windy but still very windy. Not feeling very well and couldn’t sleep last night; must be my allergies kicking in again. I did my stretches and that was about all.

Saturday 18- another windy but nice day. I did my stretches, yoga, and went for a mile jog with Cassie

I cleaned up around the house, and swept the floor of my utility trailer.

I stopped off at my neighbor’s house for a birthday party for Sophia; absconded with a few cupcakes. 

I did my studies: the anatomy drawing book, pre algebra, Linux, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook; trying to get back on point with my studies.

I did my nightly exercises (finally) and went for a night jog up the hill and back with Cassie.

Sunday 19- Windy! I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

I again cleaned around the house; swept out the bathroom and washed the small trash container in there.

 I did my studies: the anatomy drawing book, pre algebra, Linux, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Cassie and me went over to Kjtel and Bodie’s house to have a long walk, dinner, and watched the last 3 episodes of Game of Thrones. It was mighty fine show and sad that it ended.

I did my nightly exercises. 

Monday 20- still windy but not as windy as yesterday. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I went to the post office to pick up a part I ordered for my Honda Generator, went to Stater Bros (I ran out of butter) and picked up a few other items.

I took Cassie for an evening walk. 

Kelly my Guest came over for dinner and a movie.

I did my studies, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the biology book.

Again, I did my nightly exercises.

Tuesday 21- cold and windy. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I replaced the starter rope assembly of the Honda Generator with the new one I picked up yesterday. It was a bit of a challenge getting the nut off the rotor shaft but a little ingenuity and patience I got it all together, done, and working.

They looked a little thirsty so I watered them all the plants outside; they be happy now.

My sister Lynn called and we talked for over an hour about this and that and other things.

Kjtel came by with Bodie and we went for a walk all bundled in coats and scarves to keep warm in the cold wind.

I remembered to do my nightly exercises.

I did my part of my studies; mostly some online pre-algebra course, and the anatomy coloring book.

Wednesday 22- rained most of the day and was mighty cold. I did my stretches and took Cassie out for a short walk between the rain showers.

I did some of my studies...

Thursday 23- windy and cold. Took Cassie for a walk.

Drove truck back and forth on the driveway I’m creating to pack it down.

I did my studies.

Friday 24- a very nice day finally. I did my stretches and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

Saturday 25- another very nice day but with a tiny bit of wind. I did my stretches and went for a mile jog with Cassie.

I made my rice and headed on down to our community potluck. We were all happy and surprised to see Mary Kobal take up her usual seat at our dinner table after a two year respite. She arrived bearing peach and key lime pies along with a jolly old smile planted on her face being glad to be back home among her desert friends.

Chris VanNortrick stirred up her magical bean casserole. Cal Mayers and his daughter Tina brought a fruit plate full of fruity goodies. Elizabeth West with her Grandson in tow prepared biscuits and gravy for us to quickly devour. Yvonne Francis thrilled us with an Italian bean salad and her famous dump cake. Dyan Carroll loaded our plates with her amazing spicy but mild tamales, a tasty mac and cheese, along with a tossed green leafy salad. Charles Lange, Bruce Chronister, Gil Aiken, Mack Dodd, John Jacobsen, and Bruce Kroeze, donated huge amounts of kindness, friendship and support for our little community. We hope y’all had a wonderful Memorial Day as we did.

I did my nightly stretches.

Sunday 26- really really windy. I am lucky because just before the high winds hit I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went for a jog with Cassie my sweet doggie. And then all hell broke out as 60 MPH gusts hit our area!

I did my nightly stretches.

Monday 27- windy again, even rained a bit here and there. I did my stretches.

Jimmy called and we talked for over an hour. I cooked breakfast while we talked. I was so into our discussions that I forgotten to turn off the gas to the pan I cooked the eggs in. I only noticed after filling the room with grease smoke, making me open all the windows to air my little cabin out. 

Cassie and me were invited over to Kjtel and Bodie’s home to watch two episodes of HBO’s series “Chernobyl” wow! Can’t wait to see the rest!!! Very intense!

I did my nightly stretches.

Tuesday 28- a nice windy day. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile jog.

Wednesday 29- a wild and windy day. I did my stretches.

Thursday 30- windy still. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, punched the heavybag, and went for a jog with Cassie.

I did my nightly stretches.

Friday 31- a bit breezy and warmer. I did my stretches, yoga, and jogged a mile. It was too hot for Cassie to go along but I’ll make it up to her tonight.

I drove to Yucca to pick up a port-a-potty like you see on construction sites. Paid Hamid (a very nice easy-going fellow) $250 for it. 

I first stopped off at Bank of America to withdraw the money and found out they are shutting down this bank on September the 9th. The closest BofA is in Desert Hotsprings 40 or so miles away! I decided to close out my savings account and thinking of going to another bank or credit union with my checking and money market account too. 

Cassie and I went for a bike/run. She was overjoyed because we haven’t done it for a while. 

****************** Poems May 2019  *****************

Never give up! Never stop learning! Never stop asking questions! Never let others stand between you and your goals!

~RD

The writing of a book is never complete even after it is published. There’s always something nagging at the author’s mind of a bit of a thing to add or change. This is why the souls of writers haunt the halls of libraries, coffee shops, and old bookstores... they just can't seem to let it go.

~RD

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April 2019

April 2019 

Monday 01- a hazy day but nice. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a long walk. 

Kjtel came by in the afternoon for a cup of tea and a chat.

Tuesday 02- cloudy day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a long walk.

I worked on the shower putting in the plumbing so it’ll drain outside. Took most of the day and still haven’t completed the job. I’ll have to work on this another day. So many projects, so little day to complete them all.

Wednesday 03- a very nice day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a long walk.

I drove to Yucca Valley and my guest Kelly went along for the ride. We stopped at the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions. I then dropped her off at WalMart to shop while I went to Home Depot to get materials for my new patio. Afterwards we both went to Stake & Shake for a hamburger and fries. 

Thursday 04- windy. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound weights, and went on a mile jog with Cassie.

I worked on the new patio.

I went to movie night at the community center to watch “Mojave” (2015) written and directed by William Monahan, and starring Oscar Isaac, Garrett Hedlund, Mark Wahlberg, Louise Bourgoin, and Walton Goggins. I kinda liked the movie with its unexpected twists and turns. I'll give it a 4.5 for succeeding in fooling me a few times :)

Friday 05- cloudy with wind building up in the evening. I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a mile run.

I worked on the new patio all day.

Saturday 06- a windy but a nice day where the dark blue expanse of the sky opened up and drew me in and all I wanted to do is kickback and squander time by writing poetry. I did my stretches and went on a bike/run with Cassie.

I did my studies, practiced my guitar, and read aloud from the biology book.

Sunday 07- a very nice day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I worked on the new patio again for most of the day putting up another cross beam. Slowly it’s all coming together.

I did my studies, practiced my guitar, and read aloud from the biology book.

Monday 08- overcast with a light breeze and temps into the high 80s. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog. 

I drove to the post office in Twentynine Palms to pick up some packages. I then went shopping at the supermarket there.

Kjtel came by with Bodie and we walked over to her house to have dinner and a movie: “The Highwaymen” (2019) Directed by John Lee Hancock. Starring Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, and Kathy Bates. About two Texas Rangers who went after Bonnie and Clyde in the 1930s. A very highly memorable movie that will come back to haunt you. The filming and directing was superb along with the stars who fit and acted their characters to a tee. It was nice to see the story told from the perspective of law enforcement exposing the wicked side to Bonnie and Clyde, and how the newspapers and radio romanticized them as heroes instead of the vicious violent psychopathic killers they were.

Tuesday 09- a very windy day. I did my stretches and stayed inside messing around with my antique computers.

Wednesday 10- still very windy! I did my stretches, yoga, and took Cassie for a bike/run. 

I worked on putting in the shower stall and hooking up the rest of the plumbing. What a big hassle it was. The whole shower is made of this hard to work with flimsy plastic sides that has to fit into these grooves. It took me all day to get them in placed, and once together had to remove it twice when the sides came undone. I felt like throwing the whole monstrosity outside in the dumpster.

Thursday 11- not quite as windy but cloudy and cold. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie.

I think I finished putting up the cross beams of the patio. I may have to put a few more on to make it a little more stable or maybe not.

I finished up working on the patio putting everything away and drove to the community center for movie night to watch, “Silence” (2019) Directed by John R. Leonetti. Starring Stanley Tucci, Kiernan Shipka, and Miranda Otto. The movie kept me entertained despite the errors. Everyone here kept asking why did they do this or not do that; leaving home without food was one, simple stuff like that. Oh, and coming to a highly secure fence surrounding a cabin and able to gain easy access by crawling through an oversized drain.  I’ll give it a C+

I remembered to do my nightly exercises... finally.

Friday 12- nice sunny but windy day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

I drove to WalMart to pick up a few items and then shopped at Home Depot getting some caulking for the shower and a drain pipe hookup. 

Made a Doctor’s appointment in Yucca Valley for tingling in my right hand little finger and my pointing finger that’s been bugging me for the past two months. I thought it would get better, but I was mistaken.

Saturday 13- a wonderful day. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog and later for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I did everything I had on my to do list for today: fixed leaky sink, caulked the whole shower, poop patrol, laundry and hung it out to dry, and did all of my studies, practiced guitar, and read aloud from the biology book.

Sunday 14- I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog and later for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I drove on down to JT for the poetry reading at Space Cowboy Books. I took lots of pictures to share and even read one of my poems.

I got back just in time for me and Cassie to go over to Kjtel’s house and watch The Game Of Thrones.

I came back to do my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Monday 15- a bit windy with clouds. I did my stretches, yoga, went for a jog with my doggie. Later we went for a bike/run and an evening walk. 

I did my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

I went to movie night but only stayed there for a little bit because the movie they were showing kinda sucked.

Tuesday 16- rain, cloudy, and windy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk.

My guest Kelly came over and cooked us up some yummy corned beef sandwiches. 

I wanted for a delivery of my Latin study books I bought from Amazon but they never came. 

I did my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Wednesday 17- breezy but still a fine spring day. I did my stretches, exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells, and took Cassie for a mile jog. Later we went for an evening walk and a night jog.

I checked OnTrac online and their website said my Latin books were delivered. I called and spoke to the service rep. She said she would have the driver come by or call me today... they never came by or called.

I cleaned around the house straightening up the place and sweeping the dust bunnies from under the bed and in the corners.

I did my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Thursday 18- a very nice spring day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog and later for a bike/run and an evening walk.

I called Amazon about my missing Latin books. The Rep was very nice and said she would have my books reordered and sent to me on Friday and if my lost order from OnTrac magically shows up to just send them back if I can.

I did my studies, guitar, and read aloud from the biology textbook.

Friday 19- a fair spring day. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a short walk. 

I kinda got bored and drove to do some shopping in Yucca Valley. I went to Staters Bros, and WalMart. I got hungry and got a quick meaty cheesy burrito at Taco Bell... it had something hard I bit down on and it turned out to be Fritos corn chips! It was mighty good!  

Saturday 20- a windy day! I did my stretches. I wasn’t feeling all that great and spent the time in bed writing.

Sunday 21-  another windy day. I did my stretches, core trainer, exercised on the weight bench, hit the heavybag, and took Cassie for a mile jog and later for a bike/run and an evening walk. 

I worked on the new patio a bit, but because of the high winds had to quit.

Monday 22- 

I did my stretches and exercised with the 10 and 20 pound dumbbells.

Tuesday 23- yoga 

I went to Joshua Tree to the Beatnik Cafe to listen to a few speakers talk about climate change, stopping the trapping of Bobcats, and someone yammered on and on about owning a Tesla. I talked with the lady who spoke on Climate Change and found out she was promoting the Green New Deal; didn’t sound promising of passing through Congress to me, but then again I didn’t think Trump would get elected President. I asked the speaker who owned the Tesla how much he paid a month; $600! That puts it way out of my reach!

Wednesday 24- very windy. I dropped my guest Kelly off at WalMart so she can do her shopping and then went to my Doctor’s appointment in Yucca Valley for tingling in my right little finger and my pointing finger... he believes it’s carpal tunnel and gave me prescriptions to fill.

Thursday 25- windy. I went to have my blood tested at LabCorp in Yucca. Shopped at Staters Bros, and then stopped off at Star Pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled. 

Went to Thursday movie night but they had changed it to Fridays from now on and didn’t tell me. I wonder what that’s all about? :)

Friday 26- sunny and hotter. I did my stretches.

I worked on a few things around the house. 

I missed Friday movie night because I didn’t feel well.

Saturday 27- cloudy and windy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a walk. 

I cooked up some rice and headed on down to our community center. It took me awhile to notice (with all the yummy food around) that the theme for this month’s potluck was Easter with bunnies and colored egg candies decorating the fancy tablecloths. Dyan Carroll brought bunny treats of carrot cake, apple salad, and a biscuit and gravy casserole. Chris VanNortrick made us thump the ground and twitch our noses with a vegetable chili and veggie rice. Yvonne Francis proudly presented her four bean salad and scrumptious bunny lemon squares. Cal and Tina Myers hopped in with their mouth watering fruit tray fit for every bunny. Mary Rider hid her chicken enchiladas we had to hunt down. Pretty Patti Hughes came with her Easter basket filled with lemon breads and desserts. Charles Lange Bruce Kroeze, Gil Aiken, Mack Dodd, John Jacobsen, and Bruce Chronister, hopped on over telling bunny tales and donating large amounts of kindness and friendship. All in all it was a mighty fantastic Potluck.

Sunday 28- cloudy. I did my stretches and jogged a mile with Cassie. Hangnail on my foot is much better now.

I went right to work on the patio putting up reinforcement knee braces connecting on all the beams and posts; it doesn’t sway now, very sturdy.

Monday 29- windy and rainy. I did my stretches and took Cassie for a mile jog.

I went right to work painting and doing a wash of clothes. Then right in the middle of this large dark thunder clouds came whipping up my way. I continued to paint but I decided to leave my wash soak overnight. I had most of the patio painted before it just got too dang windy and cold.

Tuesday 30- very windy. I did my stretches. 

I hung my laundry out to dry that had been soaking all night.

I finished the first coat of paint on the patio, the wind was so hard it blew my ladder down twice before I had to call it quits.

FedEx delivered my two new 136 watt flexible Uni-Solar panels.

****************** Poems April 2019  *****************

Yup it's true... some people who borrow money have a lapse in memory when it comes to paying me back. I am not a bank I tells them. I really don’t expect to be paid back, I just gives them a bit of money and that is that. But when they comes back later asking me for more I says to them "What did ya do with the money I already gave to you?" I never had a one of them ask me again :)

~RD

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