Blink, Dog Park, IRS Goof, Aunt Mary

 

To say that I am overly pleased having the motorhome so close is such an understatement.  The "Blink" cameras came in Friday, and I spent a number of hours learning how it all works, and got them set up Saturday for their first night of duty...that brings even another level of satisfaction to this situation.  

Above is a picture I captured from each camera, one looking to the rear, and one looking to the only entry to the storage area.  On Tuesday I am taking the motorhome for a drive, and when I park I am going to park just a bit further away from the fence, and at a slight angle, so that the rear camera will capture more of what is going on behind the motorhome.  Also, there is a tree which has a branch that is hitting the main entry door...I want to stop that from happening.  To get notifications I have to leave my kindle on with the Blink App activated, but that is not a big deal.  (We don't have smart phones, otherwise a smart phone would work too.)  Found a notification that I downloaded to my sounds which says, "Motion Detection", which I now have set up for ONLY the Blink Motion...before it was a general notification, and that was driving me nuts.  Overall I am pleased with the Blink System.  I did add a WiFi extender which allows the cameras to hook onto our existing WiFi system.  It only provides one bar, but it is ample for allowing the cameras to talk to the Sync Module 2 which captures and controls the cameras.  When the motion detection goes off, it captures a minute of video.  I can also manually activate the video, or take camera pictures.  Amazon owns Blink, and two outdoor cameras and the Sync Module 2 comes to $115 through Amazon.  I am opting for the yearly Cloud Service which will allow us to see what is going on inside the Condo when we are gone (will bring the cameras inside, of course), otherwise video would only be captured and stored on a USB drive, which you have to take out and put into a computer.

         

The first two times I took Indy to the Dog Park, she was the only one there.  I went at 10 am on Tuesday, and found eleven dogs there!  A guy I sat next to told me they come just about every day, some as early as 8:30, and by 10:45 they are all gone.  And yep, at 10:45 it was just Indy and I again.  On Friday we went back at 9:45, and there were 10 dogs there, a few that were not there Tuesday, so a few who were there Tuesday were missing.  So this is going to be our routine, go on Tuesday and Friday early enough to beat the heat and see other dogs there.  Saturday Marcia got her hair cut, so we went to the park which was nearby, and we were happy to find one other dog there at 12:30. 

On Thursday I gave Indy a much needed haircut.  It is nice to see her eyes again, and I am sure she enjoyed less hair the next day when we were at the Dog Park.  (Even at this earlier time period it is well into the 80's with humidity in the upper 70's!)

On Monday we got a refund check from the IRS...but we had marked that we were going to take the credit on our first quarterly payment, which we did.  I looked it up on the IRS website and they have a section on "Returning an Erroneous Refund."  This is what it says as it applies to us:

   If your refund was a paper Treasury check and hasn't been cashed:

1. Write "Void" in the endorsement section on the back of the check.
2. Submit the check immediately, but no later than 21 days, to the appropriate IRS location listed below. The location is based on the city (possibly abbreviated) on the bottom text line in front of the words TAX REFUND on your refund check.
3. Don't staple, bend, or paper clip the check.
4. Include a note stating "Return of erroneous refund check" and give a brief explanation of the reason for returning the refund check.

So we followed their directions, and I returned the voided check with an appropriate letter.  I always try to remember to take a photo of any letter I send to the IRS...you just never know, having that picture might save a penalty/interest charge if they don't get it.  Oh ya, they actually have us interest on the less than a hundred dollar erroneous refund check...I told them to keep that interest since I took the credit on our 1st Quarter Check (which I provided a bank statement copy for that check.  And YES, I erased our address in the picture.)

Well, my Sister Sandy heard from our Cousin Debbie that Aunt Mary passed away in her sleep Wednesday night / Thursday morning.  Here is a precious picture, which I shared on the blog back in late July, of Mary and Mom together.  We knew at that visit that Mary had stopped eating a few days earlier, and that it was just a matter of time.  This leaves mom the only survivor of the eleven children that Grandma had.

It has now been two weeks since I got the HHR out of the shop.  It 'seems' to be running ok, but I want to give it another few hundred miles before I write about it.  I need to take it back in a week or so because it does have a check engine light, but I read that with a new computer this is not unusual as the computer learns how the car operates.  It has 160,000 miles on it, and another 100,000 tow miles, so I don't expect it to be perfect...just hoping it gets us around town here and other areas we might tow it to.

Four Generations, All My Children, and Mom with Aunt Mary and 2 Cousins

 

Four Generations.  My mother, in the car, at age 92.  Me, in my mid-60's.  My son Michael in his mid-30's.  And our new 'Baby A'.  (Again, the parents do not want baby's name or close-ups of the baby out on the net.)

Here is the proud father bringing Baby A out to meet Great-Grandma and Grandpa (that's me)!

They are a lovely little family, and Baby A will be well taken care of by Anna and Michael.

We then headed over to a nearby park and met my daughter Stephanie (sitting), son Ryan, and his wife Kaelyn.  This was the first time mom had the opportunity to meet Kaelyn.  They were out in Sacramento over Christmas, but one of them (Ryan/Kaelyn) tested positive and had to isolate the entire time they were here.  We all stayed at a nice social distance for outside, which is good because mom tested positive yesterday...and thank goodness she is doing ok so far.  Covid is going through the Assisted Living Facility like the fires are going through the forests here.  We are lucky this is her first case, and that the current Covid is not nearly as dangerous as it was two years ago.

A little over a week ago two of my cousins, Stephanie and Yvonne, both daughters of mom's youngest brother Paul who died a couple of months ago, came through town.  We all met down at our cousin Debby's house, where Aunt Mary lives.  Now you have to remember, Mom and Mary came from of family of 11 children, all born from the same parents.  Mary is # 8, mom is # 9, and they are the last of the 11 children.  I knew their mother very well, but their father died in 1942.  They had one brother, Jimmy, who died in the war (WW2).  I knew each and every one of their other brothers and sisters.  Cousin Stephanie is who I adored her name so much that I convinced Shelley, the mother of my children, to name our daughter 'Stephanie'.  Cousin Stephanie is a year younger than I, and Yvonne is nearly four years younger than I am.  I have not seen Yvonne since sometime in the 1970's.  I last saw Stephanie in 1980 at a family reunion in Santa Cruz, where just about everyone of my Uncles and Aunts were in attendance, except Uncle Jimmy, of course.  Grandma was there too!  I can remember about a half dozen of these type of reunions in my lifetime...that was the last one I know about...Grandma only lived a couple more years.

Stephanie took these pictures of the get-together, and thankfully gave me permission to use them.  This sequence of five pictures above with Mary and Mom interacting is very precious.

Since Stephanie was taking the pictures, I did not get into one with her and I, but above left is one of Mary, Mom, Yvonne and I.  The picture to the right is my cousin Debby.  She is fortunate to live next door to her daughter Tara, along with Tara's husband and two girls.  Good support for help with Aunt Mary, and Debby also helps with Tara's children as needed.

This week is retirement week for sister Sandy.  After Friday, she is officially retired, and Friday is a personal day off, so Thursday is her actually last day of working.  Today they (her work) took her and about 30 other staff members she worked with over the years out to a nice Mexican Restaurant.  Since many have worked from home since 2020, they have not seen each other in person very many times the past two years.  She really enjoyed the honor they gave her...along with the gifts of coffee liqueur, sparkling wine (California's version of Champaign), some chocolates and some flowers.  Sandy has always been a hard worker, and I know they are going to be very sorry to see her go.

Speaking of going...we hope to hit the road by the end of next week to start our trip home.  Just hoping that I don't come down the Covid, because if I do, then Marcia is sure to also.  So far I feel fine, and have tested negative the past three days.

Two Week Update - Pics From Mother's Day, Visit with Aunt Mary, A/C Problems, Car Update

 

On Mother's Day we had mom over for Hamburgers, Salad, Deviled Eggs, and a special surprise visitor...

... Pattie's daughter Ashley who not only surprised Grandma, but surprised her mother too!  It was an enjoyable afternoon, mom stayed for a good four or five hours, and it was a memorable Mother's Day for all.

Earlier this week Mom and I went to visit her older sister Mary.  It was a GREAT visit despite the news the day before that their youngest brother, Paul, had passed away.  Mom came from a family of ELEVEN children.  Mary is number #8, mom is #9.

About 18 months ago Mary, and her oldest daughter Debbie, moved to Elk Grove, which is south of Sacramento, from Escalon, about 80 miles south of Citrus Heights where we stay when we are in the area.  Elk Grove is only 30 miles away, so it is much easier/shorter of a drive.  It was interesting to hear them talk about their family, especially their mother who raised 11 children nearly single-handedly since Grandpa was more into the bottle than the family at times.  He died when mom was only 12 years old.  Of the eleven kids, ALL of them were successful in life.  Something like two butchers, three teachers, three nurses, one insurance agent, and one engineer or scientist, or both (Uncle Paul).  The eleventh gave his life in service of his country in WW2, just a month before the war ended.  Grandma sure taught her children how to work...as did my mother teach all six of us....as did most of my Aunts and Uncles teach their kids too.

I mentioned before that the motorhome Air Conditioner had gone out on us.  I thought it was due to the capacitors, but when I replaced them, it worked for about 5 minutes and stopped.  Took it to the RV Shop that we trust here in Sacramento, and Nick said that the coils must have a leak, it won't hold Freon, and it needs to be replaced.  As he looked into a replacement, he found that YES, he can find an A/C and get it in within a few days, BUT the thermostat we have won't talk to the new A/C.  To put in a new thermostat, he would have to run all new wires, BUT, the new thermostat won't talk to the furnace.  There IS a computer type board that one can get which would allow the old thermostat to talk to the new AC while also talking to the old furnace BUT...there are none of these boards available right now, and the waiting list for one is VERY VERY LONG.  So I bought a Black and Decker portable AC to get us through this summer.

We located it in the passenger's driving seat, and vented it through the passenger window.  With the much appreciated help from my brother-in-law Arny, we fabricated the exhaust to fit the window to a "T".  There is no need for tape, as the window rolls up and holds the exhaust in place.  All of the plastic pieces were pieces provided with the purchase of the machine, and it was cut down and riveted together by Arny.  

When we travel it will all need to be put into the bedroom, but that works for me!  Total cost was $475, and it is quieter and just as efficient as the rooftop AC which, if we can ever get on, will cost somewhere around $2,000.  Perhaps some day the computer type board will be available...but for now we are in the cool, so to speak.

As for our HHR, well, it is working just fine, but I have not cleared the check engine light yet for what we hope is the final time.  Some of the articles I have read say that the HHR's computer can take up to 200+ miles to retrain itself.  I am just about there.  I also have a tire pressure sensor out on the front driver's side...so I need to get it over to Discount Tire to have them look into that.  I "THINK" I put four new sensors on when I got my last tire change 2 1/2 years ago, so perhaps this won't cost us anything.  It sure is a pain in the butt to see that flat tire symbol on every time I drive it, let alone the check engine light.

Our fearless cat hunter enjoys being "on duty" each and every day.  So far she has stopped one Grey Cat from sneaking up on a bird or squirrel, she chased a Black Cat she found napping next to the HHR back to its yard next door, with a slight tackle in the process which sent them both rolling on the ground, and just today she saw the Black Cat walking across the Cul De Sac and gave chase again to its home, where it took refuge under a car.  These incidents don't include the many times she has seen a cat up on the fence and chased it away.  So far I have identified five or six cats in the neighborhood which are tormenting this poor little girl.  I think she is having nightmares about them!

So all is good, and I will TRY to write again before so much time passes...but don't hold your breath.

Sisters Visit, Uncle Passes Away, Indy (Doggie) Update

On Monday Mom and I drove down to Escalon (near Modesto) to visit her sister Mary, who is about 20 months older than mom.  Cousin Debby lives right next door and we saw her too.  The bad news was given to us that just that morning Uncle Jim (Mary's husband, Debby's father) was in the hospital with Covid / Pneumonia / Alzheimer's.  He has been living in a special senior living facility for Alzheimer's patients, and that is where he contracted the Covid.  Well, we found out this evening that Uncle Jim passed away.  Since he did not know anyone anymore, it truly is a blessing, but it does not mean that it is easy to take.  He was a very nice, kind man.  I enjoyed listening to mom and Mary talk about old times...brothers, sisters, family stuff.  They really enjoyed their time together.  In a few months Mary and Debbie will be moving into a house in Elk Grove next to Debbie's daughter, which will make visiting with them much easier.

Little Indy is doing just great.  It is never easy for a dog to change families, and we worried about her first night with us on July 4th with it being loud and hectic...but she handled it without any problems at all.

She enjoys sleeping on Marcia's reclining chair (in the upright position) with her doggie bed (handed down from Skruffy), especially if I am in my chair right next to it.  It took three full days before we felt comfortable letting her have the run of the backyard, but on Tuesday we took her off leash and now she has explored the entire yard, and the garage, and has been willing to come back into the motorhome with very little coaxing.  She comes to me when I whistle and call her name, and she is slowly getting used to her new name "Indy".  Her and Bubba have bonded well, as have she with Marcia and I.  She is starting to get use to Arny and Sandy and Mom too.

Last night she rolled on her back while sleeping and I rubbed her belly...that was the second night she did that. She will sleep for a little while in our bed, but eventually she jumps down and returns to the chair.  Today, when I left for a bit, Marcia was taking a nap, and she jumped up on the bed all on her own (without coaxing).  This morning when I got up at 6:20 she was in the living area, two toys sitting on the carpet that were not there earlier, and her little tail just wagged and wagged.  So the transition from one loving home to another is going very well.

Friday is Veterinary Day, and with that we will be making a followup appointment to get her fixed, and also set a day for her first grooming.  I gave her a bath today and she did not struggle with it at all, but did not like it when I cut some of her hair in her rear area on Monday, hence, a groomer instead of me at first.  Looking forward to finding out what breed they think she is, our guess is a Yorkshire mix.

Coronavirus Affects (Not Infects) Family, and Community

This 2015 picture is of mom and dad (left), Aunt Rosie (now deceased picture front right), Marcia and Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary (far right end).  Mary and mom are sisters, Mary being two years older than mom.  Rosie is the wife of their older brother Kenny, who was three years older than Mary.  Of the eleven children of Grandma Cline, Mary, Mom and the youngest of the family, Paul, are the only ones left.
 

Mary and Jim moved into an Assisted Living Center in Elk Grove California (southern suburb of Sacramento) this past Saturday.  On Monday, that Center went into a quarantine situation due to one of the residents being diagnosed with the COVID-19 Coronavirus...that person, a 97 year old female, passed away on Tuesday.  According to a news report today, none of the facility's other 143 patients are yet suspected of being infected.

The quarantine consists of trying to keep the residents in their apartments, having meals delivered to each apartment, and no group gatherings or activities.  Visitors are not allowed in the building, but residents can leave if they want or need to (such as doctor's appointments, or wishing to go live with a relative for a few weeks.)

Mom, who lives in an Assisted Living facility in Roseville (northern suburb of Sacramento) has not reported any cases at her place, but they too are taking some precautions. They still gather for meals in the dining room, but other group activities are canceled for now, and visitors need to stay within the residents apartment.

In the state of Washington, as of Thursday evening, 22 deaths are associated with the Life Care Center of Kirkland near Seattle. It’s been 13 days since this Life Care Center went on quarantine. Sixty-three residents have been infected...I could not find out how many of the 41 remaining infected residents are at the facility, in hospitals, or what.  Just because you are old and catch the virus does not mean you are going to die...but chances are higher for the elderly especially because many have underlying illnesses which has weakened their immune system.

 

Coronavirus has been around for a long time...but this new Coronavirus, COVID-19, is new.  Dad, pictured above in the ER the day before he passed away, was diagnosed with Coronavirus OC43, which is one of the viruses which causes the common cold.  His immune system was so shot that his lungs and heart could not handle this virus, leading to complications, which quickly took him away from us.  

There is much hype going on in the world over COVID-19.  I think over time history will show that COVID-19 is just another form of cold or flu that the world will need to deal with.  There is a huge probability that a vaccine will be created quickly which will keep this virus in check for the next flu and cold season next winter.  Countries of the world have decided that the best way to keep this virus in check for now is to keep its spread as small as possible.  Here in the US/Canada the NBA, NHL, NCAA have canceled their seasons.  Golf and NASCAR are still happening, but with no crowds.  Baseball's Spring Training has been suspended, and opening day has been moved back by two weeks.  Disney is shutting down all of its parks here in the states starting Sunday, and stopping new cruises from starting up until further notice.  The list goes on and on....

What all this means is that businesses and jobs will take a huge hit.  Next week the PGA's Valspar Championship takes place in Palm Harbor, just yards away from where we store our motorhome.  Restaurants, Hotels, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Bars, Tourist Sites are all geared up for around 150,000+ visitors.  The Valspar Championship raises lots of money for charity, around $2.5 million last year.  This year, as of today's announcement, will be a BUST!

Today on my way to do more work at the motorhome, I stopped by a McDonalds for a Diet Coke (all drinks are just $1).  It was exactly noon...I was the only car in the two lanes to give orders, but when I drove up to the window to pay there were two cars which has already paid awaiting their orders.  The parking lot had many empty parking places.  I typically avoid going to this McDonalds after 11:30 and before 2:00 due to the lunch rush...today there was no lunch rush.  I noticed fewer cars in the large Walmart shopping center and the Publix Shopping Center across the street.  Yesterday we met Marcia's brother Dean and wife Caryl at Mama Maria's for lunch.  We arrived at 11:30, left around 2:00.  They had about 1/4 of their tables in use at the most.  Many people are not going out to eat, not visiting tourist sites, stocking up on hand sanitizers, TP, Kleenex, and food.  Hunkering down at home is the thing to do right now for many.  Our church sent out a Facebook reminder about the Internet Live Stream of our services for those who understandably don't want to get out into the public.

It is going to be a tough 2-6 weeks.  Eventually people will get fed up with staying home.  The economy will pick back up.  Many experts are saying that by Summer, COVID-19, like the flu and cold, will slow way down until the next flu season.  Baseball, Golf and NASCAR will again have people in their stands.  The NBA, NCAA, NHL will have asterisk in their books showing why they did not complete the 2019-2020 Season.  Mickey Mouse will again have visitors, and cruise ships will come and go each week from the many ports.  Local businesses will again see normal use, those businesses which are able to survive this slow down.

As for Marcia and I...we are doing just fine.  We take the same precautions as we do with the flu each year because neither of us get the flu shot.  The last time I got a flu shot, back in the '70's, I ended up with the flu.  In my lifetime I have lived through the following pandemics (defined : prevalent over the world)---

Asian Flu (1957–1958) outbreak of avian influenza that originated in China with estimates of worldwide deaths ranging from 1 million to 4 million depending on source, and it is estimated that 70,000 died in the US.

Hong Kong Flu (1968–1969) which killed an estimated one million people worldwide.  People over 65 had the greatest death rates with US deaths of around 33,800.

Russian Flu (1977–1978) primarily affected people born after 1950, because the older generation had protective immunity resulting from prior experience with this strain. The 1977 virus was similar to other A/H1N1 viruses that had circulated prior to 1957. The virus was included in the 1978–79 vaccine.  Few deaths occured since this was primarily in young people.

Swine Flu (2009–2010) CDC estimated there were 60.8 million cases, and WHO stated that "199 countries and overseas territories/communities have officially reported a total of over 482,300 laboratory confirmed cases...that included 6,071 deaths", but later increased the estimated number of deaths to 284,500 people, about 15 times the number of deaths in the initial death toll, with 12,469 deaths in the US. 

I survived those pandemics, and I expect to survive this one.  Our thoughts are prayers are with my Aunt and Uncle, Mom, Euleda (Arny's mom), and other friends and relatives who are at that age where this COVID-19 is so deadly.  

NOTE: The local golf tournament has now been canceled.

Aunts, Uncle, Century Plant

Today we took mom and dad to the Escalon/Oakdale/Riverbank area to visit with my mom’s sister Mary, her husband Jim, and her sister-in-law Rosie.  Which to me means, Aunt Mary, Uncle Jim and Aunt Rosie.  Jim and Mary live in Escalon, Rosie in Oakdale, and the Perko's Farm Fresh Café us in Riverbank…all about 90 miles from Citrus Heights.  Mom was one of eleven kids, only her older sister Mary, and the youngest brother Paul are still living.  Sister-in-laws Rosie and Vera are still living too…we last visited Aunt Vera in the Kansas City area last year when mom and dad flew there in October and we were in the area at the same time to visit my youngest son.  From my mom’s side alone I had around 60 first cousins, and on my dad’s side I had eight from his older brother who, as a widow with four kids, married my Aunt Florence who had three…and they decided to have one together to make eight.  Yes, I come from a very large family in many ways.

     

Perko's is a nice, mainly California Central Valley restaurant chain.  I had been to a Perko’s before, but it has been a long, long time.  Glad to be back, pretty good for a Franchise style restaurant.  I think we need to go back for breakfast sometime…although Marcia and Aunt Rosie decided to have breakfast for lunch today.  

     

Uncle Jim and Aunt Mary are Almond farmers, pronounced “Amond” by them because when you harvest Almonds, you knock the “L” out of the little things to get them to drop from the tree.  When I was in my “youth” I would visit them in their old Modesto location where they also had Almonds. 

 

    

Someone got a haircut yesterday….it sure makes it easier to make those giant jumps (pretty high for a short legged little thing).  Bubba was sweating it out yesterday….but his turn is coming soon.

   

Bubba sure is Arney’s “Shop Dog”….

…and boy does he pick up “stuff” from the floor of the shop.

    

Ever since we arrived, this large, Asparagus looking thing has been looming over the shed from a next-door neighbor.

This shot (left) is from over the fence, best shot I can get.  The plant is a Agave Americana, also known as a Centuryplant.  The top will be a flower, and there will be a few shoots near the top that also flower.  The plant does this once, around the 25-30 years in age mark….and then it dies….the whole plant dies, not just the flower.  It's originally native to Mexico, Arizona, and Texas but cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant.  The ‘flower’ can span up to thirty feet, and I would say that this one is right around 30 feet in height. With California’s current drought conditions, I expect more and more cactus and other drought resistant plants and foliage will be showing up.  As a kid, with two rivers running through the area, water was cheap and plentiful…so I was use to seeing a lot of green, a lot of flowers, a lot of colors.  I am afraid that in the future, we will be seeing more and more brown unless the heavens open up and the rain comes pouring down.