Therapy Dog Training - Mira Mesa San Diego, CA

The practice visits went well last week even though it was necessary for Karma to ride an elevator up to and down from the “meet and greet” sessions with some of the residents. She was gentle meeting the women (as it happens we only met one man and he just happened to be in the living room where we ended our visit with a debriefing). Karma positioned herself so that they could easily pet her. But after a few minutes Karma realized that there weren’t going to be any treats while we were in the resident’s rooms. So, she was ready to leave – no pulling or trying to leave but she was no longer interested in the residents. Since there were 2 of us human/dog trainees, sometimes just having the other team at the door distracted Karma. Ruthi on the other hand really enjoyed meeting and talking with the residents. Two of the women were very interesting and she is trying to see if these particular women don’t have friends or family nearby, she may arrange to visit without Karma.

Well, Ruthi and Karma finished the class. They learned a lot but are still unsure of whether or not this is an opportunity for them. One) there is the commitment, two) additional training and three) organizational certification.

The Perfect Place – Somewhere???

Here’s what we want in the place we finally put down roots (before we pass away, hopefully): diversity - ethnic, age, restaurant, movie theaters, etc. We like being near a major airport hub and would prefer good plentiful public transportation. The weather needs to be warm – between 60 and 80 is ideal!

So, where is that place??? Only in our dreams???

Therapy Dog Training - Mira Mesa San Diego, CA

Ruthi and Karma are thinking about doing “Therapy Dog” work. They are attending a 6-week course for the basics of the training and to identify the possibilities for Karma’s energetic demeanor. The 3rd class will cover many of the options for Therapy Dogs and the 5th class will be an actual facility visit with one of the instructors. So, we will see how it works out for both of them.

Recliner - Santee, CA

Boots’ chair, an IKEA light cushion lounger, has fulfilled its purpose and is in need of replacement. So, we have had our eyes out for a bargain. Wouldn’t you know it, a local wholesale outlet had a couple of choices and we bought a small leather recliner for a very low price. Now, the trick was getting it up into/out of the truck and into the RV. In case you don’t already know – the backs of recliners are easily removed (really the process is more awkward than complex). The store showed us how to remove and re-attach the back and they put the base in the back of the truck.

Off we go to the RV, putting the recliner back in the rig was easy and really a one person task. Then we back up the truck as close as possible to the RV door, moved the steps up out of the way. Then the two of us eased the base out of the truck and walked it over to the open door of the RV and put it onto the rug so that it could be easily pushed into position. Now we both have strained and sore backs but the recliner is in place and Boots is enjoying the new comfort of her recliner.(For a while anyway.)

After a week, it became clear that the recliner was not working for Boots’ body. The seat was a little long so that her legs did not bend down to the floor comfortably. The whole chair surface was a rigid and it did not look like time would change that. This particular recliner had a rocking feature – which we turned off. That did not seem to help either.

Once again, we needed to go back to the drawing board for a better solution; but first we needed to get the chair back off and both the back/base back into the truck. Do you have any idea how many retired men (or women, for that matter)) have bad backs? Everyone, it seems, that we asked for help. So, we again backed up the truck to as close as possible to the door, slid the chair over to the doorway, moved the stairs out of the way, and eased the chair out and into the truck bed. This was a little less stressful to our backs because we were a bit smarter this time. So, off goes the recliner to the wholesale store for a refund.

So, watch this blog for the follow-up solution, when we get one.

"No Poop or Pee" - Aguanga, CA

More “No” signs. On Ruthi and Karma’s walk to/from the off-leash dog park, they pass an RV site with a tiny little “fence” or “barrier” at the road edge. There is a sign on the “fence” that says “No Poop or Pee Here”. It has pictures of dogs doing their business inside the RED universal “no” circle. The challenge is that some dog has already pee’d on the sign and every dog going by needs to claim the space by adding their own pee.

“No” Café – County Line between San Diego/Riverside Counties

Do you remember the State/County Line bar/liquor stores from your teen years – the ready place for underage teens to buy their liquor??? Well, this place looked like it hadn’t done well over the last 50 years and had a junk yard attached, too. Even the sign had fallen down and we missed it going East but caught it on our way back West.

The BBQ Café had more “no” signs than we thought possible in one locations. Multiples of each “No Walking your Dog on This Property”, “No Walking your Dog in This Area”, “No Dogs Allowed”, “No Alcohol Pass This Point”, “Restrooms $5 or Order > $5”, “No Mayo”, “No Ketchup”, etc, etc, etc. Really seemed to have it in for dogs! Poor Karma had to stay in the truck. They meant each and every sign. When we got there a little late for lunch (2ish), we were limited to where we might sit, not because it was crowded (it wasn’t- only other person was at the bar) but because “there might be a birthday party” and they would need that space. Birthday Party???-We are in the middle of nowhere and that’s not even an exaggeration – 20 miles East of Temecula and nothing within 50 miles North, East or South of this location.

Luckily, the food was great (Black Angus burger (Boots) and BBQ Brisket (Ruthi)). Even the side Caesar salads, with crisp croutons, were very good. So, like our mothers’ (or someone) said, you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover.

TV Dies – Aguanga, CA

We have known that our ancient TV was on its last legs. It is huge and heavy, like an anchor! The video would go out occasionally. We would turn it off/on and then video would return. But not today, video would not come back. We kept the TV connected to the DirecTV DVR. With a little work, we could play the recorded news programs and listen to the audio without video.

Boots started researching and went looking for a new TV / flat panel. This provided an opportunity for us to see a lot of Temecula as we sought out Target, BestBuy, CostCo, etc. We narrowed it down by options and price to a Samsung or LG at Costco. After much thought, we decided on the simpler LG mostly because it was $70-80 cheaper. We elected to wait until we were back in Santee to simplify traveling with a loose TV.

At the Costco in Santee, the smart TV Samsung was $70-80 cheaper here than it had been in Temecula. So, we ended up with a “smart” TV – hoping it wasn’t going to be as complex as our “smart” phones turned out to be. We took the box home and began the install process. Moving the old heavy “anchor” to the floor out of the way was the biggest part of the job. Basically, we attached the TV stand, plugged the TV into power and the DirecTV DVR; and we were in business. Checking into our recording list we discovered that we had indeed recorded all of our favorites and were 4% from full!

Now all we need was for our local RV repair guy, Bill, to mount the TV. Simple, right - no! We wanted to install the TV in the cabinet space in such a way as to allow for more storage space behind the TV. We would put the DVR, and eventually the DVD/BluRay and Receiver below the TV mounting. The first mounting mechanism we had bought at Costco with the TV wasn’t going to work with the current cabinet structure.

Bill went away and Boots began the researching and shopping again. Once we found the mechanism that would work for our circumstances, off we went to our standard options: Target, BestBuy, Costco, etc. BestBuy had exactly what we wanted but the price was twice what Target’s option was, Costco didn’t have what we needed at any price. So, now what??? We went back to check online for other options and surprise surprise – BestBuy’s model was $70 cheaper if ordered on line and could be picked up at the local store so there was no shipping charge. How do these companies make any money???

So, overall the savings on the TV and mounting mechanism paid for Bill to come back and install it all, Whew! Now, we need to figure out how to secure the TV for when we travel. If it ain't one thing it's another!