Muchacho Polaco

Dirty dogs got their showers today. There is a place near the house that works out pretty well.

The starter went out on our old Honda Element last week. That’s the problem with older cars. We were quoted $350-$500 here in Tucson, but forget that. We took it to Mexico today and repaired it there for $20. Four hour job / $5 an hour. This is the benefit living close to the border. When the clutch was going out last year, local quote wanted $1200. We took it to Mexico and paid $100. It seems pretty consistently 10% of the price.

While there, we decided to get a full check up on our blood and urine. We paid $60 and got the reports an hour later. For the most part, we are both healthy. Our blood sugar was a little high, but not abnormal. My white blood cell count is low though which could be related to stress. There are minor dietary changes that could help us both.

There is a young college guy from our church that we look after from time to time. He plays basketball in a wheelchair. Last night we were able to go to one of his games for the first time. It was a fun experience. This was his third game of the day and I am sure was exhausting. Even so, they won all three.

The pool is so blue at night! We still have to refinish our pool deck and then paint the walls, but it is all coming together slowly. We may add a pergola over our loungers and a few sun shades on the other end to provide some relief from the blazing sun.

When we got the house inspected initially, there was one place that had termites which was this beam. It was in rough shape, so today I had it replaced.

Cutting it out was the easy part. The existing beam did not have a proper footer which caused it to rot out. So I found a solid metal option.

This should help to reduce water damage. I plan to replace the facia on two of the patios this week and then will install gutters.

Had some slow but major success with the pool light. When I painted the pool a few weeks back I replaced the burnt out bulb that was there, with an LED multi color upgrade. The problem was the circuit had been previously cut, so I had to reconnect. No small task.

I installed a switch connected to wifi so I can put on timer and connect from anywhere.

Some good progress today.

I bought these seeds not realizing they take about 6 months to bloom. Given my history with plants, very unlikely to see that. Still, in the event they make it, I have my first sprout.

Last week was a RV, this week was much better. I am not a huge fan of Chandler, mostly due to the distance. Still, I am glad that I don’t live here.

One more Valentine’s. We had sushi and champagne.

I travel to Phoenix weekly and spend most of my week away from home. I have to find lodging on a weekly basis. I use airbnb and have stayed at a long list of places now. These days it’s hard to find options under $150/night. This week I am staying at someone’s RV in Mesa. Not my favorite. It’s compact but not the worst place I’ve stayed.