There was nobody on the roads Friday, so the trip back to Palm Desert was a breeze. We dropped off all our stuff at the rig, then went to The Grand Paw to pick up Ramsey and Kelsey. As usual, the dogs were excited to see us (as were the people at TGP, which is a pretty expensive place). We stopped at the Indian Waters RV Resort on the way back to our park and let the dogs run in one of the dog parks there. What fun it is to watch them enjoy themselves in that atmosphere. It's too bad Thousand Trails doesn't have a dog park.
Saturday we went to the street fair at the nearby College of the Desert. Becky had seen a piece of artwork there last Saturday and thought we should consider buying it for our Williams house. We did, and we did.
Becky started walking the dogs back from near the fair, but called me after a while to pick them all up at Freedom Park, about a mile from our RV park. Everyone was tired. We just relaxed Saturday night. I watched a little of the football bowl games and Becky watched a redbox movie of little interest. I don't know the name. Sunday was mostly NFL football for me and dog-walking for Becky. I left the rig only to dump trash.
Monday was very cold, and we didn't do much except go to the dentist for our regular cleanings. We last saw this dentist three years ago, and remembered that he had been a little aggressive in up-selling his services. We prepared ourselves to be strong. It turned out that both of us were told our teeth and gums were in exemplary shape, and there was no attempt to add any recommendations.
Thank you, Dr. Hoolihan. In the afternoon, I returned to reading As You Wish. It is really a fun book to read, and at one point I was laughing so hard there were tears flowing down my cheeks and I could barely breathe.
Monday night we watched Pride from the redbox, a British film set in the '80s about a group of gays and lesbians who helped the Welsh coal miners in their year-long strike. It was fun, interesting, and a quite sensitive and gentle portrayal of the life of gays at the time.
Tuesday, I dropped Becky and the dogs off at the entrance to Sun City a few miles away, and they almost made it back before calling for a ride for the last four blocks. Becky had a hair appointment coming up and didn't want to risk being late. We loaded the dogs in the truck and dropped Becky off at the salon. A little later, I went to Gold's Gym for my session with Kurt
and on the way back picked Becky up on her way home from the salon. It was very cold and she was not quite dressed for it, so she was appreciative. Before dinner that night we watched most of The Equalizer, a pretty good Denzel Washington thriller from the redbox, and then finished watching it after dinner.
Early Wednesday morning we had another appointment with Valerie Masi, the dog trainer. Ramsey and I are making good progress. We even took both dogs out into the desert, with Ramsey on a very long leash, and he didn't even try to extend it out to its full length; he stayed close to Becky as if he was on his short leash. Good boy! As always, Kelsey just ran around and had a wonderful time, returning immediately when called.
I watched the end of The Equalizer again late Wednesday morning, since I had forgotten how it ended. We decided to celebrate New Year's Eve by having a late lunch at Sam's Sushi, watching a bit of football afterwards, and hitting the sack early. We did just that, and had a wonderful time. (We haven't stayed up until midnight on December 31 for many, many years. We don't miss the forced frivolity.)
New Year's Day was devoted to football, of course, but only after I powered down a batch of my traditional Ebbert Fizzes. I had also bought two bear claws for myself the day before (They were out of apple fritters!) but Ramsey got to one of them before I could protect it. After watching the Rose Parade on television, I finished As You Wish. What a delightful book. I intended to watch my DVD of the movie immediately after finishing the book, but I realized I left it in Williams. I'll have to look for it in a local video rental store.
I then settled in for some very rewarding football. I was absolutely thrilled that Oregon humiliated Florida State 59-20, and that Ohio State edged Alabama 42-35. While I'm sure Florida State and Alabama run excellent programs. I am equally sure that some of their success is due to effectively-taught arrogance. It was nice to see the air let out of their balloons.
And it was nice to hear the broadcasters lambaste the great number of Florida State players who dashed to the locker room immediately after the game, rather than stay on the field and exchange pleasantries with the winners, as is the custom.
It was an altogether excellent day, and a great way to end our first week back in the desert.
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