Sunday, February 28, 2010

We're home from Palm Springs. We were originally scheduled to leave on Sunday Feb. 28th which would mean we were travelling while Canada was playing the gold medal game against the US. My daughter has been following every game in which Canada played and really wanted to see the final game. We decided to change our plans and flew out Saturday instead so we could be home to watch the game on Sunday. It worked out well as it will give us an extra day to relax before going back to work and getting back into the routine of things. It cost us extra because there was a difference in air fare but I figure in the long run I actually saved money. Had we stayed in Palm Springs the plan was to go to the casino on Saturday night and that generally is not a good thing to do. So.........works for me!

The flight was uneventful and going through the border was a breeze. We had a fabulous holiday, however we're happy to be back home with our three fur babies. It will be nice to sleep in our own beds again.

Well, must run. It's been a long day and I need my beauty sleep. Caio!
I follow Mama Dinis blog and she had a link for a free digi stamp. I cruised on over to Motivet http://motivet.com/blog/?p=1724 for the freebie. Check it out - it's free and it's really versatile - would do for a get well soon, happy birthday ....any number of things.

A big thanks to Motivet for sharing this with us.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Yesterday we played a round of golf at Taquitz Creek Resort. It was a lovely day for golf and K and I were reasonably pleased with our scores at the end of the round. After a cold beer, we headed off to Lumpy's. We talked to a gentleman there about K's problems using her dad's driver. Turns out it will be very difficult for her to hit it well because it's a stiff shaft designed for someone who is a power hitter - which my husband was. Long story short, I bought her a new ladies Taylor Made driver, 5 wood and 7 wood. She has really taken to the game of golf and she needs the right equipment. She was surprised and pleased to have these new clubs. We traded in DH's old driver, 3 and 5 woods. I got very little for them but have no use for them so no sense in keeping them. I was able to put the amount of the trade in on the new clubs so it's all good.

This is an early birthday gift - her birthday is April 18th - but I thought she might as well have them now since we're here and playing golf. We play again tomorrow so we're looking forward to some improvement in her game.

The weather this last several days has been great, perfect for playing golf. Just not so great for lying around the pool. Today started out well but then clouded over with sporadic sun so I didn't get any pool time. My only remaining opportunity for pool time is Saturday so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's a good day!

Must run as I'm going to lie down for awhile and watch some of my decorating shows. Then at 4 pm we'll watch the Canada / Russia game. Go Canada!

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Our trip is winding down and we're just starting into our last week in Paradise. This time of the trip always makes me a little sad as I know our time here is coming to an end soon. SIL has invited us to join her and her husband in Barbados next January, however we haven't committed one way or the other. We'll need to sit down and discuss it. We're both creatures of habit and we really enjoy Palm Springs. However, Barbados is beautiful and would be a nice change. We'll see. Decisions, Decisions.

Both K and I are missing our "girls" - Socks, Kirby and Daisy. Even though our neighbour is taking good care of them, we feel badly for leaving them for so long. T says they're lonely and that Daisy, the newest addition to the family (10 months old) is the official greeter. Daisy comes running to the door to greet her and meows up a storm every time she goes over to feed them. Socks is still hissing at her every time she comes in - big surprise that ! I expect that Daisy and Kirby (who is our gorgeous maine coone cat) will be ecstatic to see us. Socks, not so much - she'll give us "the tail", meaning she is not pleased - for the first little while. Then the three of them will swarm us and we'll be subjected to mass cuddles and kisses. I can hardly wait!

My SIL left for Ottawa yesterday so it's just K and I here now. We thoroughly enjoyed SIL's visit and hope she enjoyed her trip as well. Now it's just the two of us for the remainder of the trip and we'll enjoy the wind down prior to going home. Today will be a day spent by the pool and tomorrow we'll golf again.

The weather here has cooled down a bit - the last couple of days it's been mid to high 70's instead of high 80's and 90's. The weather has been perfect for golfing - not too hot and with a little breeze. Regardless of the variation in the temperature it has been fabulous weather and we are thoroughly enjoying the pool and backyard.

Well must go - I hear the pool calling my name. Caio!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

We golfed at Taquitz Creek yesterday - my game was less than stellar but I enjoyed the day nonetheless. The weather was absolutely fabulous! We have no idea what the temperature was but suspect it was close to 90 degrees. On Sunday it was 84 degrees in the shade by the pool and Monday sure felt hotter. We were late teeing off because of a backlog so we didn't finish our round until about 3:30, then we had a very well deserved glass of ice cold beer. Nectar of the gods!

I checked the thermometer this morning at 8:30 and it was already 70 degrees so I think we're in for another hot one. My kind of day - I so enjoy lying the pool when we're here. Plan is to have burgers tonight for dinner so it should be a very lazy day.

I've managed to do some journalling. I should have brought some supplies with me but didn't so I had to purchase them here. I've never really liked doing my backgrounds ahead of time but now I can see that doing that is the way to go. I realize that when I want to work on a page, I want to work on it now, not after I wait for the page to dry. It's a lesson well learned!

I'm happy with my supply purchases and since it's all "stuff" I can use at home, it won't go to waste. I'm hoping to do a few more pages before I go home. Will scan them and post when I get home.

Gotta run - I hear the sun calling my name!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

It was another glorious day in Palm Springs today. It was 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We spent the day alternating between swimming in the pool, floating in the pool and lying in lawn chairs by the pool. After such a lazy day, we decided not to cook so we went to Applebee's on Date Palm and had a lovely supper. We made it in time for happy hour and were able to enjoy a couple of half price margaritas and an appy before having dinner. Of course we couldn't pass up the dessert shooters and by the time we finished the chocolate mousse we were well and truly stuffed. Tough life :)

After supper we headed off to the Spa Casino for a couple of hours. Kerry and Joyce held their own, me ? Not so much. Hence why my visits to the casino are few and far between.

The issue with the tv has been resolved. The owner's son came by today and replaced the tv and left us a couple of bottles of wine to enjoy. A very nice gesture!

Sunday we're looking forward to another fabulous day in paradise! Pool time, relaxation, maybe some adult bevvies? Paradise!

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Today we golfed at Indian Canyons in Palm Springs. We had a tee time of 12:26 so we were starting to lose daylight by the time we finished. The day was spectacular and I played a good round. We played with a gentleman who was 83 and looked about 70. He was amazing and came in with an honest round of 90. When we told him that he didn't look 80 nor did he play golf like he was 80, his reply was that he didn't feel 80. He golfs in the summer and skies at Whistler in the winter. Unbelievable. It's so nice to see someone in his golden years who has such a full life and such a wonderful attitude. I sure hope I'm able to enjoy life as much at that age.

Depending on which channel you listen to, the weather tomorrow will range between 75 and 85 with the weather becoming steadily warmer through the weekend and into the beginning of next week. We plan take a few days to lay around the pool and enjoy the weather and will golf again on Monday.

Having a wonderful and relaxing time!

Tuesday, February 09, 2010

I'm happy to say that the issue with the TV is getting resolved. We reported it to the rental company and have had conversations with the owner. Thankfully he's very understanding and apologetic about the problems we're having and is not pissed with us. I feel badly that we've had to keep bugging him - he's looking into getting the problem resolved for us.

Last night SIL took us out for dinner. We went to a fabulous Italian restaurant, voted the best in the desert for several years. Formerly "Mario's", it's now operating under the name of "Di'Carlos". Great meal and great atmosphere. We ate out on the patio where the heaters kept us nice and warm.

My SIL got up ths morning before both myself and DD. She found a nice little present in the pool. A big fat rat, thankfully deceased! Thank goodness the pool guys came this morning to deal with it. They had just removed it when I walked out onto the patio. EWWWWW! Thank God one of us noticed before anyone jumped into the pool! More chemicals please!

After all my foraging for art journal supplies, I remembered (after I drove past it) that there's a Michael's very close to the house. DUH! I'm going to try to stop there sometime today or tomorrow to pick up the supplies I'm missing.

We're off to play some golf today and then we'll have a nice dinner at home.
Gotta run....Caio!

Monday, February 08, 2010

Dear SIL arrived last night and is settling in after a long trip. She and DD went swimming late last night when she arrived. Apparently the pool was nice and warm but the air was cool so they didn't hang around outside too long after getting out of the water.

I woke up at 730 this morning to the house alarm going off. I guess DD forgot to tell her about the alarm so of course as soon as she opened the door to the patio it went off. Luckily when the alarm company called this time, I actually knew the abort code and security code for the alarm. Thankfully no need for police attendance!

We're having issues with the tv in the living room. For some reason we are getting a totally blank black screen. We're getting audio but no picture. I've reset it several times but it's not correcting the problem. Pain in the ass! I have no idea what button I touched (totally by accident) to make us lose video and no matter what I touch I can't get it to come back. I really don't want to be without tv in the living room for the remaining 3 weeks - but I'm really embarassed to have to call the rental office, yet again, because of a problem with something. I'm really hoping that we can rectify it soon. Always something!

I felt the need to do some journalling so DD and I went out and foraged for supplies. I was able to get almost everything I needed at a very reasonable price. The only thing I couldn't find was a white prisma pen so I purchased one of those white out pens figuring I could use it in a pinch. The other thing I'm missing is a brush for my watercolour pencils - guess I'll improvise with some Q tips. So far I haven't done any journalling but hope to do some soon. Maybe later today.

Well must run as I feel the need for some pool time! Wish me luck with the TV. Caio!

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Today was a bittersweet day - it would have been DH's 60th birthday. DD and I golfed at one of his favourite courses and then toasted him with a beer afterwards. The day was lovely and DD and I enjoyed it very much. The weather was fabulous - somewhere in the neighbourhood of 80 degrees. They didn't pair us with anyone so it was just us girls, very relaxing. The game was much better today and we managed to trim 10 to 15 strokes off each of our games.

Not much planned for tomorrow. The weather people say the temperature will be high 60's but we find that the temperature in Palm Springs is usually about 10 degrees higher than the temperature in LA at any given time. I'm looking forward to getting some pool time.

We had issues with the garage door on Monday. Appears it came off the rails and jammed up big time. The repair guy came by yesterday and just shook his head at the way it had been installed
in the first place. He was amazed that it had worked at all. He managed to get the door down for us but we're still waiting for it to be replaced. I'm really hoping that gets done some time this week because I will need to get into the garage to do my laundry. Worst case scenario, I guess I can wash some stuff by hand. That usually is not a pretty sight though!

Must run. Caio!

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

We're now in Palm Springs. We drove down to Bellingham Wednesday night and crossed over at Aldergrove. The border guard was very pleasant and didn't hassle us. It was a fast, pleasant and painless experience. Apparently we only look like terrorists and/or prostitutes in the light of day!

Weather in PS is good - still a little cooler because of the bad weather everyone is having up the coast but nothing to complain about. My youngest SIL is coming to stay with us for 2 weeks and arrives on Saturday. We enjoy her company and she and K get along famously so we're looking forward to her arrival. The other relatives will not be joining us this year so it's just the 3 gals - no boyz allowed! It should be fun!

We've been enjoying the peace and quiet - no stress and very relaxing. We spent the day in the pool Saturday and Sunday and golfed yesterday. The golf game was less than stellar but considering that this is our first round since this time last year, it could have been worse. We had a great time and that's all the matters.

I had computer issues again when we arrived - not sure why but never could get access through the house. I was not prepared to sneak out under cover of darkness again this year to find free wi-fi. I had visions of being pulled out of my car by the cops because I was acting suspicious. So.... We bought one of those Verizon stix, cost me a fortune but at least we have access when and where we want it. I'll have it the next time we venture south so I guess I can somewhat justify the extravagance. I bought 500 MB but am quite certain I will have to reload before mid month. Who knew we would use so much bandwith. I'm sure part of the heavy usage is Kerry's crazy Farm game....whatever!

We've been to the casino twice - just an hour or so each time - no need to get carried away and the marathon gambling visit is definitely not a good thing for either of us. I got lucky last night and won $500 on the slots! That was nice and, of course I enjoyed gambling when I was winning. And I cashed out while I still had my winnings. Bonus!!

Gotta run cuz the bandwith meter is definitely ticking :) Caio!