Wednesday, January 15, through Tuesday, January 28, 2014: Two More Weeks:

I went to Caruso's Top Shop & Auto Upholstery place Wednesday morning to show him pictures of our recliner that is having some problems with the vinyl's separating.  Bill Caruso's ultimate suggestion was to talk to the manufacturer of our trailer to determine if we could get some material to match.  I called Gary Mast, the parts manager at Coachmen, and left a message.  Wednesday night we watched Prisoners, a strange but fascinating independent (Redbox) film with a terrific cast---headed by Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman. 

Gary returned my call on Thursday and put me onto a contact person at Lippert, the chair manaufacturer.  He also gave me the Lippert part number Lippert had assigned to our recliners.  I left a message for the Lippert lady.  We watched the end of Prisoners again, to make sure we hadn't missed anything.  On Friday, the Lippert lady's assistant called to redirect me to Marie Barry, someone in their After-Market Division to help me.  Ms. Barry promised to chase down the cost and availability of both a new (matching) chair and the material itself.  We'll see what it all means in a few days.  Meanwhile, I finished Chasing The Dime, a Michael Connolly novel while Becky watched The Butler from the Redbox.  She didn't like it, saying the Oscars and Golden Globes didn't snub it---they justly decided it was not award-worthy.     

 

Late on Friday, Becky's sister Carrie and her husband, Brent, and daughter Devon arrived in the desert for the weekend.  They stayed at a huge Marriott condo complex in Palm Desert.  At about 9:30 Saturday morning, they came to our RV park.  They had expressed some interest in learning to play pickleball.  We integrated them into the rotation.  Carrie and I played one game; Brent played three. 

 

 

Carrie was pretty good for a newbie, I was awful, and Brent was amazing.  We met up again for dinner Saturday night at Cork & Fork, a restaurant in La Quinta we had never visited previously.  What a wonderful place.  The menu was varied, the food very tasty, and the service excellent.  We will definitely return. 

 

 

Sunday was football day---the NFL conference championships.  Becky and I watched the Broncos handle the Patriots to make it to the Super Bowl.  We then went to the condo where her sister was, and we had dinner there.  Carrie had made a delicious enchilada casserole, which we ate while the Seahawks beat the 49ers to get to the Super Bowl.  It promises to be an interesting matchup.

 

 

On Monday we recuperated from the weekend.  On Tuesday, Becky headed to Pasadena to see her father again, while I read and walked the dogs---several times.  Becky arrived with dinner from the Panda Express again.  That's becoming a weekly ritual, every time she returns from Pasadena  I'm not complaining; I love the stuff from Panda Express.  She also hit the Redbox and brought home Captain Phillips, with Tom Hanks.  Terrific movie. 

 

 

 On Wednesday, Becky went to lunch at The Elephant Bar with a bunch of women from the RV park.  Again, I read, and walked the dogs.  I finished The Narrows, another novel by Michael Connelly.  I really enjoy his work.

 

Thursday involved another movie by way of the Redbox---this time it was Blue Jasmine.  I'm not a big fan of most Woody Allen films, but this one was terrific.  And Cate Blanchett was spectacular.

 

 

Friday morning we met with Joanne Hurvitz, a personal trainer, and her manager, Tony Clerc, to set up a schedule for getting me in some sort of shape (other than ovoid).  One can hope.

 

Saturday morning, Becky went to Cahuilla Park with Larry Vogler to play pickleball with some higher-level players than abound on our park.  She held her own, though apparently wasn't a smash. 

 

 

 Saturday evening we met with Aileen Garrigues and Michael Penfield, two people Becky worked with (directly or indirectly) during her many years in the banking biz.  The two have been a couple for seven years.  He lives in Portland; she lives in Marina del Rey.  We had cocktails (actually, wine) with them at the La Quinta Resort, where they are staying for the weekend. 

 

 

 

Then we moved on to La Brasserie, a (Surprise!) French restaurant in La Quinta.  We’d never been there before.  I had onion soup and mussels, of course.  Everything was delicious.  We had a great time with Aileen and Mike.  Interesting people.

 

Sunday we shopped a bit at Costco and Wal-Mart, but otherwise just relaxed.

 

On Monday, Becky played pickleball at our own park while I had my first session with Joanne.  She didn't hurt me, and it felt good to do some exercises for a change.  The easiest part was doing pushups against the wall.

 

 

 

After the workout, I finished Breathless, my first Dean Koontz novel.  It was weird, but held my attention very well.

 

On Tuesday, Becky returned to Cahuilla Park to play pickleball with the big boys again, while I started The Appeal, a John Grisham novel..