Ron and Pat In The Pool At Palm Springs

Yes, that's me in the pool! 

Can you believe it?

My first dip into a pool in almost fifty years was the week I was staying at my friend Glenn's home in Cathedral City. Oh how nice! 

The second week of our holiday in Palm Springs Pat and I were staying in a rental unit at the Ocotillo Lodge in Palm Springs. This complex of units, formerly a motel complex now individual condos, was formerly owned by the cowboy star Gene Autry. 

Gene Autry is long gone now but his picture was still hanging over the toilet in our rental unit. 

Pat and I checked out the huge pool and just couldn't resist. We both had to take a refreshing dip into the pool. I discovered that I have lost most of my ability to swim decently (if I ever had that ability anyway) but Pat swims like a dolphin. That guy can do just about anything! Our friend Glenn took the video.

More photos and videos will appear. I always say that after one of my holidays and neglect to post those photos and videos but not this time. I'm posting a lot of them! 

I had a two week stay in Palm Springs. The first week was at Glenn's home in nearby Cathedral City. He has a lovely home but I didn't want to stay more than a week. You know the saying "Fish and guests start to stink after a week." I was starting to stink. Better get out before I stunk up Glenn's whole beautiful home.

Pat and I loved the unit we stayed in. It was decorated Mid-Century style. Pat wanted to buy it right away. Unfortunately he didn't have the cash (at least $500,000). He bought a couple of lottery tickets on the off chance that he would win the jackpot of millions of dollars. That didn't happen either but we did have a good swim that sunny, perfect temperature day one February 22, 2025 in downtown Palm Springs California.

Adressing The Elephant In The Room

 

Me in our rental unit in Palm Springs after a dip in the pool

In this short post I will address the elephant in the room.

Maybe this "elephant" doesn't need to be addressed but I would feel more comfortable if I addressed it.

At one time I was a young man in good physical shape. 

I never had a weight problem.

I was healthy. 

I was fairly good-looking to some.

I was tall.

For a long time, I didn't look my age.

However, the past three or four years of caregiving (for Bill) and the stresses of life including my advancing age, has taken a toll.

Normally I wouldn't bring up this subject because "it is what it is." Normal people don't apologize for aging. But, I like many others, have a degree of vanity. 

Me at Atlantic City, New Jersey 1965

In all my past blog posts no one has ever seen me in swim trunks. That's because I haven't been in a swimming pool for over fifty years. The last time I was in a swimming pool was maybe over sixty years ago when Bill and I first got together. I was in much better shape then.

Now, after my holiday in Palm Springs, the last two weeks, I threw aside caution and took a dip or two in two different pools. I just couldn't resist folks! 

Yes, I exposed my arthritic twisted body. 

No, there is nothing I can do about my arthritis other than to slow its progression with exercise, which I am doing. But I cannot not "cure" my arthritis, which has gotten worse over the past two years. 

The fact is I AM AN OLD MAN and I look and feel it. 

I am in pain during all my waking hours. 

Generally in the two to three range, sometimes more. 

I have balance problems walking. 

My walking problems and the stiffness of my arthritis and my lack of muscle tone is a far cry from my youth. 

It is what it is. 

I don't know how much time I have left, but I just couldn't resist those pools in Palm Springs.

There, I said it. No need to advice on how I can stand up straight. 

I am old.

Pat and Ron in Glenn's Hot Tub

 Hey folks! I'm back home and I am exhausted!

I arrived home last night about eight PM after getting up at 3:30 AM yesterday morning to catch my 6:04 AM flight out of Palm Springs. 

What an eventful two weeks! 

So much to write about. 

But right now I have to recover. 

I almost didn't make it through the Dallas-Fort Worth airport yesterday for my connecting flight. 

One thing is for sure, if I ever do take any more flights, I will have to have someone with me. I cannot manage alone. 

I cannot.

But other than my physical limitations that this trip brought to my attention so graphically, I had a wonderful trip. 

Again, so much to write about and I will share all with you, my faithful blog followers.

Ron Swims In February

Hey folks! I'm here in California! I arrived after midnight on February 10th. Took me almost twenty-four hours to get here. That's what I always dread about these plane trips, all the hassle and aggravation and I had plenty this time. I should have arrived early but I missed my connection flight in Phoenix, Arizona because my flight from Philadelphia to Phoenix was stuck on the tarmac. The next flight was TWO AND HALF HOURS LATER!

Oh was I frustrated but I soon got over it. I was more exhausted than anything. It's very hard for me to travel now with my arthritis and carrying cane. 

All the while I was keeping Pat (in Canada) and Glenn (who was to pick me up at the Palm Springs airport) updated with me iPhone. 

All was well when I finally arrived at the beautiful Palm Springs airport and my friend was wait for me with the last leg of my long trip across the country from the snow of southern coastal Delaware.

When we arrived at my friend's house, he took me on a quick tour of his fabulous "movie star" home. I call it a "movie star" home because this is the kind of home you see in the movies. I told him he could rent this home out as a location shot for movies. And he could!

Yesterday I went for a swim in his pool. The first time sine 1967 that I actually swam in a real pool. The last time I swam in an unground pool was when me and Bill lived at Cheswick Square in Roxborough (Philadelhia) Pennsylvania. That pool isn't even there now.

"How was the swim Ron"?  COLD! Even though this is sunny California and the temperatures was a comfortable 72 degrees, slipping my sagging 83 years old body in that clear blue pool water was an embracing chill. His pool isn't deep (only four feet) so there was little chance of me drowning what was good because I think I forgot how to swim. I did manage a pitiful doggy paddle and something called a breast stroke which was appropriate for me now in my old age, I have developed breasts. 

I uploaded a video my friend took of me but I'm not sure if it will post to this blog since I'm using my Macbook Air computer now instead of my old reliable iMac back at Casa Tipton-Kelly. He's a picture of me in said pool.

Me about to take The Plunge yesterday

I heard that six to eight inches of snow is forecast bad home in Delaware today. SOOOOO glad to be away from that. I have had enough snow this year thank you.

Pat is due down here Thursday. We'll stay here at our friend's place for another few days then this Sunday check into the VRBO Mid Center Modern villa that I rented for next week in Palm Springs. The next two weeks is Modernism Week (which Pat loves) in Palm Springs and that's why we're here in addition to escaping the cold and snow (it's also snowing in Canada where Pat resides).

I'll try to keep you all updated as much as possible which might not be possible when Pat arrives. He keeps me pretty busy seeing all the sights. 

Have a great day everyone!

Hiatus

 

Signing off now folks for a few weeks. Regular followers of this blog know why.

I'm packed and ready to go. Just missing the next snow storm. 

By the way, my new furnace is working great!

No Heat In The House!

 

Propane gas leak on my furnace

Yesterday I had my annual service call for my furnace. 

Bad news!

I have to replace the furnace.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Damn! 

This is the second furnace I've had to replace since I moved here in 2006.

The service company I use will be here tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM and I'm told they will be finished by 2:30 PM. 

There goes that day.

Well, at least they're not coming today in the rain. Yes, it is raining now. 

Well, at least it's not snowing. That's what I always think and say when I have bad news:

"It could be worse!"

The reason my furnace has to be replace is a propane gas leak. Check out the photo above. 

For my own safety the serviceman had to turn off my furnace thus I am sitting here right now typing this blog entry next to my space heater. 

My whole house is cold! 

It could be worse!

At least the really cold temperatures of the past month are gone. Still cold though, about thirty-five degrees outside and sixty degrees here in my house.

There is other news. I hate to conflate subject matter on my blog posts but I have to share the latest update about Pat's tiny house approval here at Casa Tipton-Kelly.

Yesterday I called my HOA president (who coincidentally moved here from Canada - what are the odds?) and it seems my HOA bylaws have to change for Pat to place his tiny home. I have to write a request and give it to the HOA board. They in turn will review my request and submit it to a vote of the homeowners in my development. If I get a two thirds vote then the bylaws are changed and Pat can place his tiny home here in my backyard. Fortunately our annual HOA meeting is going to be held (via Zoom)

Hey folks! The heat is back on!

The service guys finishing up putting my new furnace in this afternoon. An all day job.

I've been without heat for two days and nights. That's enough!

The service guys came early (7 AM) this morning. The left abut 3 o'clock. I now have a new furnace and it is beautiful and warm!

The heat is back on and I love it!

More about this latest drama in my life in a future blog post. I'm too tired now. I didn't get my daily nap. Ig is 6:20 PM now and I'm falling asleep but I can't go to  bed now because I'll be up at 2 AM tomorrow morning. My schedule may be disrupted but I have heat at Casa Tipton-Kelly again. 

Ah, warm heat. 

Pat's Tiny Home Choice (Probably)

Got an update folks! Pat and I are leaning (big time) towards this model, The Luna. 

It has all the elements that Pat likes. Modernism, clean lines and lighting. I like it too. Of course I also like my cluttered home. So here I can have the best of both worlds. My main living space will be in my home with all my "things" I've accumulated over my eight decades on this planet that give me comfort, and then I can "visit" Pat in his home at the other end of my back yard. 

During Pat and Glenn's visit this past June, we saw another Zook tiny home down here just off Route One that we visited. Pat fell in love with that model immediately. 

Me and Pat sitting in the A Frame model (which I will post a video of in my next blog post).

I only have one photo of it though because I planned to go back after Pat and Glenn left to take more photos. But that model is gone though, because that business (just down the road from my property here on the other side of Route One) was cleared a few weeks ago to make room for yet another development here in Sussex County. 

However, right now "The Luna" is the front runner. 

Perhaps Pat and I will visit the Zook business in Pennsylvania this spring when Pat and I get married to checkout The Luna in person. I know exactly where the Zook business is located, Gap, PA which, coincidentally is where I bought my garden shed some years ago. This is an Amish business. My garden shed was custom built. I had windows with screens installed and even a cat door. All for only $1,700! Of course this was over twenty years ago. Here is a photo of that shed that I had originally placed on my Mother's property. After I moved down here to Delaware I had the company that made my shed drive it down here and install it on the edge of my lot. Here is a photo of that same shed now.

My garden shed on my property now. Pat's tiny home would be located off the right side of this photo. My garden shed is located at the left corner of my property. His tiny home would be located in the middle.

Here is a photo of Bill standing in the doorway of my shed. Bill loved that shed. Right now the trees and bushes are swallowing up the shed. I have to trim all that vegetation back this spring. I have to clean the inside too. You know me, I accumulate.

I am so excited about Pat getting his tiny home and being able to place it on my property. This is the perfect solution to our future living arrangements.

As I have posted before, the first time I visited Pat in his modernistic, minimalist home in Toronto, I knew we would probably have a problem living together. Here is a photo of Pat's former home in Toronto. 

And by the way, here is a picture of the front yard of Pat's squatter, druggie neighbors who continue to be a problem. I actually feel sorry for them in a way. What a shame to not only waste their lives (the woman who lives next door to Pat only yesterday asked Pat's neighbor on the other side for food yesterday).

That trash doesn't stay their long though because either Pat or his neighbor Samantha on the other side of the druggie house calls the City of Hamilton complaining about the trash and they remove it. What a way to live, huh? 

Pat will stay in Hamilton for at least another year before he moves down here to live with me in southern coastal Delaware. Hopefully by that time his problem neighbor situation will be resolved. Hopefully.

Again, I am so excited about having approval for our marriage and for Pat to move down here with me. We won't be living in the same house, sure, but we are living together. Just like we have been living together for the past eleven years since I met Pat. Until COVID hit and my three year stint caregiving for Bill, Pat and I were getting together every quarter (three months). Either here, Philadelphia, Canada and California. 

I'm pretty sure my traveling by plane days are over, just in time since Trump and his thugs are gutting our government safeguards so this is good timing. I can see where I could end up like Bill in my final years, needing a caregiver. And as I have said many times before, there is no way I will every go to assisted living. I can assure one and all, that will never happen if I can help it. Both Pat and I are working very hard to make this last chapter of our lives (this incarnation) the best yet!

Me and Pat at the Veggie Grill on 8000 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood, California February 19, 2017

Pat's New Home (or one like it)

 

View of the back of my house from the end of my pie shaped lot. This is the view Pat will have of my house and of course I can see his house. Yes, I have a LARGE back yard.

This is the view Pat will have of my house from his tiny house

Hey folks! Pat and I finally solved the problem of us living together when we get married.

Yes, we will live together but not in the same house.

Why?

Because we're two old men and we're really SET IN OUR WAYS!

Another reason is that Pat is a minimalist and I'm......well I'm NOT a minimalist. 

I'm not a hoarder but I do like THINGS. Plus I have all my memories which give me comfort. 

In my eighty-three years of stumbling around and poking my nose in places where perhaps I shouldn't in this incarnation on this earth, I have collected a LOT OF THINGS. And I intend to keep these things until I make my exit in this lifetime.

The answer to our living problem is a tiny home.

Pat has always liked tiny homes.

Pat lives in a tiny home now in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Pat's home in Canada (the one of the left with the yellow outline door) and yes, he's still having problems with his squatter neighbors. He won't have that problem here in Delaware with his tiny home. Peace and quiet here!

He is very happy in his home. But when we get married we do want to live together but as I said before we two are very set in our ways.

I want Pat to be happy and he wants me to be happy too. How to solve this problem?

The first hint of this answer came up last year when Sussex County approved the placement of tiny homes on properties. Sussex County calls these home "ADU's" or Accessory DwellingUnits. 

I always have a hard time remembering what that acronym "ADU" stands for. A typical bureaucratic term, right? God, just call it a "TINY HOME" already.

So now the question is do I have enough room on my lot for this tiny home. Absolutely!

My lot is .97 acres. Most of the rest of the lots in my 51 unit subdivision (called "Covington Chase") are 3/4's of an acre. I have one of the largest lots. 

My lot is pie shaped and backed up to a dirt road and a corn field on the other side of that dirt road. 

I deliberately chose a deep lot that didn't back up to anyone else's lot. I'm only bordered on the left and right side of my house by my neighbors. The end of my lot does not adjoin any other lots with houses on them. 

I have a row of pine trees bordering my lot. 

Pat's tiny house will be placed at the far corner of my lot in front of those bordering pine trees which will afford him privacy from the back of his house.

Here are the house plans. We haven't made a final decision on the exact house plans but it will be something like this. Very simple and plain, just the way Pat likes it. And of course we both want the house to blend into my property thus no two story house with cute little dormers.

So what do you think my friends?