Katie’s teeth cleaning

The Cleaning

Last Saturday morning Katie and I walked over to the vendors across from the Big Tent.  We had an appointment at 10:30 to have Katie's teeth cleaned.  They do it without anesthesia, which I liked, and only charge $110, big dogs and small, which I also liked - and they take credit cards and cash.  If you are interested in having your dog's teeth cleaned, call for an appointment.  They are busy, but are still taking appointments.
 
We checked in early to see where they were and then came back at our appointment time.  I took Katie out of her stroller, leash still on, and handed her over to Gil.  She went right into his arms with no problem.  Everything seemed fine, so I walked away for the half hour it takes to clean the teeth.  Katie's teeth weren't bad, so it actually took a little less time.
 
When I got the call that she was done, I walked back to pay and retrieve her.  When I got there, Gil was waiting for me, with the fingers and back of his hand covered with Band-Aids with blood seeping through the centers of the Band-Aids.  He told me Katie had crate fear.  I've never had Katie at a groomers or vet where I left her, so I know she hasn't been in a wire crate since I've had her, but I don't know what happened before I rescued her.
 
There are two men who do the cleaning, one cleans while the other answers the phone and greets customers and takes the next dog back to wait for it's turn.  Gil said she was fine until he tried to place her into the crate while the other man was finishing with his current cleaning patient.  I guess Katie freaked out and tried to get away.  She slipped her collar and was going to get out, so Gil grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and she turned around and bit him.  

I was really surprised, she hasn't shown that kind of behavior at all and has never bitten anyone, so she must have been really scared.  Poor thing, and poor Gil!  Luckily his Tetanus shot is up to date, as are all Katie's shots.
 
He got hold of her and the other man put her collar back on and made it tighter so she couldn't slip out of it again. They didn't try to cage her again. Gil said she did really well with the cleaning part, no problems at all - she just laid there, wrapped in a blanket and let him clean her teeth. (They wrap them in a blanket like a new born baby so they can't wiggle and use an ultrasonic scaler and hand scalers to remove any plaque.)
 
Here they are - clean, pearlyl-white sparklers:
 


(It looks like there's a “lump” over her fang, but it's just the light – she doesn’t have anything wrong with her gums.)  She was fine when I picked her up, she had a cookie when we got home, and later ate a rawhide chew toy.  Her gums and teeth weren't bothering her at all.  What an easy way to have a pet's teeth cleaned (assuming they aren't afraid of crates).  And Gil said her teeth are very healthy, no problems at all.
 
Here's Gil - he was so great and kind and gentle with Katie.  Of course I apologized profusely, but I had no idea there would be a problem. We used to have a plastic crate, but it was different and I was always there with her.  Now I know to never leave her anywhere they will be putting her in a crate.  No boarding for her, I guess.  Unless I get a sedative from her Vet, which might not be a bad idea to have on hand.
 


Here’s their sign – Doggie Dental is located across the street from the Big Tent in Row “P” Space 29-30.
 


I would highly recommend Doggie Dental – they sure did a nice job with Katie, and even after her “episode,” Gil was as gentle as could be with her and even said they would be happy to clean her teeth again next year.  But we have agreed I’ll put a harness on her and they won’t put her in a crate. I’ll stay with her until they start the cleaning.
 
Hazel and I walked over there yesterday to make an appointment for Fleur, and I talked to Gil again. He only had one Band-aid on and his hand looked good.  He said it was fine.  :) 
 
NOTE:  For any nay-sayers and also for full-disclosure - I've read the articles about non-anesthesia dental cleaning and why it could be bad for our pets.  I've done the research.  Katie's teeth are good, didn't have a lot of plaque, she doesn't have bad breath and her vet said she could easily wait a year.  She has no gingivitis, and was a good candidate for this type of dental cleaning.  I'm not recommending this for all pets, just saying it was great for Katie.  If your pet has very bad teeth with plaque under the gums, I don't know if this procedure will remove the plaque or be appropriate, and you should ask your vet and/or question the technician.  A regular veterinarian visit with cleaning done under anesthesia might be better for your pet.
 
The Big Tent

When we walked through the Big Tent, it was crowded and got worse as we walked along.  I had Katie in the stroller, which is a great idea except when there’s a real crowd.  Then it was hard to keep from running the front wheel up the heels of the people in front of us when they stopped suddenly.  We hightailed it out the first exit I saw and walked home.  But it was fun to see all the excitement and we’re  going to head back there when the crowds abate a bit.
 
This photo is NOTHING like the crowds a little later – we were literally stopped in the center aisle and couldn’t move forward.  See those two women smiling at us?  That’s the kind of smile Katie gets when she’s in the stroller.  I get kick out of the attention she gets, and she seems okay with it, too.  :)
 


Below are a few photos of the rigs parked around my area.  In some places they are literally side by side or nose to tail, and there are RVs in almost all the available spaces closest to the wash near the Big Tent.  There is a regulation, "A minimum of 15 feet of space must be maintained between dwelling units."  It's so that emergency vehicles can get through, and I can see why that's a good idea.  I saw a couple of rigs almost touching, and if one caught on fire, there would be two rigs lost, and maybe more.  Luckily no one is that close to The Palms.
 


You’re Gonna Love This 

There is a road between me and my neighbors, Fay and Butch, and yesterday a truck pulling a trailer parked in the road right between us.  I saw Fay and Butch talking to the wife, who was out of the truck guiding her husband.  They went back to their site and the wife walked over and talked to the husband.  I assumed she told him this was a road, and she then went back to guiding him, but he wasn’t moving ahead, just getting situated.   It looked like he was actually going to park on the road.  I thought maybe Fay and Butch didn’t mention that they were in the middle of a ROAD (for friggin’s sake it should have been obvious!) so I went outside to let them know.  No point in them setting up their camp and then noticing they were holding up traffic; they would have to break camp and find another spot and start all over again.  That's another regulation:  "Campers may not block roads or trails commonly in public use with their parked vehicles, stones, wooden barricades, or by any other means."
 
When I walked up to his window, the husband rolled it down and I said, “You know, this is a road, you aren’t planning to camp here are you?”  He says Yes, he IS going to park here, kind of belligerently.  I said, well, you can’t, it’s a road, you’ll be blocking traffic.  (Meanwhile, two ATVs are at the end of the road by his wife, waiting for him to move so they can get through.  HELLOOOOO - can you spell R-O-A-D?)  I said, “If you move about five feet nearer to my motor home, you’ll be off the road and it’s flat there.”  You won’t believe what he says back to me.  “ I don’t like parking next to roads.  I’m parking on the road.  I do it all the time and I’ve never been told to move.”  So, he doesn’t like the dust of people driving on a road next to his campsite – his solution is to park in the middle of the road so no one else can use it.  I'm thinking, Oh, well then, that's okay.  As long as YOU'RE happy.
 

Meanwhile, the ATV drivers, shaking their heads, take a detour and drive through the area between me and my neighbor on the other side.  That is NOT a road, but I can see it becoming one if this jerk stays in the middle of the real road.
 
I told him the Rangers would be out to get him off the road.  Then he gives me the stink eye – and says, as he’s rolling up his window – “Well, I don’t want to camp next you YOU anyway!!!” and he drives off.
 
That was a pretty exciting meet-up.  Almost all of the people I meet are super nice and friendly, and this guy was a bit of a diversion - got my dander up - made my day.  GET YOUR BUTT OFF MY ROAD, BABY - WE ARE WOMAN, AND WE ARE STRONG!  I have to admit I was feeling quite feisty after our exchange.  LOL 
 



WELCOME to our new Follower, Dave!   Dave says in his profile that he has always loved to travel and has been to 47 states.  He hates to fly, so until they open that causeway to Hawaii, it will not go above 49. I guess he has one more to go, and I think it's North Dakota.  :)  Dave is married to Marcia and they have two dogs, Bubba and Skruffy, who are just darling.  Check out his blog, Going My Way.  Thanks for following along with us, Dave - Welcome Aboard!
 
And WELCOME also to our newest Follower, Catherine Roberts!  In her info shown, there isn't a blog, but here's what she says in part, "To those who might be interested I'm a Mum to a huge brood of boys, I adore my furry friends,Tilly, Fluffa and MIZ Bunny, I'm an artist, a knitter, a weaver, and photographer. I love motorbikes and wish I was 20 years younger to try adventure racing."  Catherine sounds very creative and very interesting, considering the fiber arts and the wish to be an adventure racer!  Thanks for following along with me and Katie - Welcome Aboard, Catherine! :)

From me and Katie, have a great Tuesday, everyone!  :)

Isn't this FUN?

This morning Katie and I went over early to the Big Tent Event area - Katie had an appointment.  I'll write a post about that next time.  Hint:  Katie 1 -  DentalTech 0.  OUCH!

While I was waiting for Katie, I walked through some of the vendor tents/booths and looked around in the Pet Patio.  I saw a really cute girly visor, but it looked too small for Katie.  I decided to bring her back in a little while and see what size she was.

Below is one of the owners, reaching for the only visor I liked for Katie - the one I thought was too small.  He's trying to gauge her size as he's reaching. Turns out it was PERFECT, as you can see above!

Here she is outside their booth with the other owner - this lady does all the sewing.  If you want something in the store, but in a different size or material or color, if she has the goods, she'll make it for you.  I was lucky that this one, hanging on the rack, fit Katie just right.  :)

So off we walked, and Katie didn't seem to mind wearing the visor at all.  I'm hoping it will shield her eyes from the sun, at least part of the time.  And of course - keep her hair from blowing in her face.  That's why I wear a visor. :)

We came upon another stroller, a real doggie stroller, with three little dogs in it.  So cute.  They were very interested in this pretty dog with the fancy visor, and Katie was very interested in them.

Here are our new visors, both pink.

I hung them up on my hat rack - doesn't Katie's visor look cute there?  Click on that photo, then click again.  Can you see the Roadrunner stitched on the front of my green baseball cap?  I love that one, too.

As we were trying to make our way through the Big Tent aisle, I saw this man - isn't he cute? - with an item I wanted.  The Miracle Whisk.  I stopped, ready to buy one, but he went through the sales pitch showing me how to get a half glass of frothed non-fat milk from 1/4 cup of milk. It's a non-battery whisk/frother and I've been wanting one for a while.  It will be great to whip cream, mix Medifast powders into cups of hot water, etc.  Quick and easy.  (I whisked up a Medifast Tomato Soup just now for dinner and it was perfect.)

Next I went to Sock ~ It ~ To ~ Me.   They had some sweatshirt jackets - a really good supply of all kinds and colors.  I went through them all and found one I love.  The sales person was really friendly and helpful.

Here's my new jacket - isn't it cute?  It will keep me warm, but not tooooo warm like my other jacket.  Some of these patchwork clothes are very bright, some are more muted and they have hundreds of them that are different from each other.  I really liked the bright ones, but when it came down to buying one, I liked the more muted colors.  $27.00 for the jacket. :)

Isn't this FUN???

From me and Katie, have a great Saturday evening, everyone!  :)

PS - ...and if you're at Quartzsite, Happy Shopping.

PPS - Debbie, mom of Elliott and Rupert and a Lazy Daze owner, rode her bike over this afternoon for a visit.  I'm so bad lately about taking photos.  I just don't take pictures like I did in New Mexico, and I didn't get a picture of our visit.  Next time.  Katie and I are going to walk over and see the Lazy Daze group tomorrow or Monday, so we'll get more photos then - of Debbie, Elliott and Rupert for sure! Thanks for visiting, Debbie.  :)

A little shower storage, and Katie’s new friend, Sunny!

First, I wanted to show you how I solved a little problem I had.  In the beginning I swore I wouldn’t store things in my shower, but little by little things seemed to end up there, just because it was such a darn good storage place.   I always had my laundry hamper there, but at first that was all.  Then I got a couple of spare kitchen rugs and I rolled them up and put them there, too.  Katie’s food bags are large and there wasn’t a good place to put them, so finally I started putting them in the shower, too.  All in all, still very easy to empty the space for a nice shower. 

Then the extra paper products went there, T.P. and kitchen paper towels.   I got a Costco shipment of Keurig K-Cups, and where else was I going to put them?  My extra water container, 1 gallon distilled water jug for the batteries, a decorative suitcase full of my kitchen spices, etc., etc.,  etc.   Little by little it was getting to be a bit of a pain to empty it all out every time I wanted to take a shower. 

I thought about it and thought about it, and finally found the perfect thing.  At first I wondered if it would be a mistake to buy one of these, but when I got it set up in the shower it was perfect! 

The three drawers hold everything except my distilled water and extra little rugs for the kitchen which fit perfectly along the side of the storage drawers.  My laundry hamper and storage for the coffee K-Cups fit nicely on top.

Now when I take a shower, I just put the hamper, K-Cup container, rugs and water into the kitchen and slide out the drawers and stack them on the couch. The frame lifts easily out of the shower into the kitchen and the shower stall is cleared to go in a minute's time.  After my shower I always wipe it down, then reverse the process to store the items again.  Easy peasy.

When we travel there isn’t enough room for the drawers to slide out – the accordion door keeps them in place if they do slide, but it doesn't look like they are.  By the way, I didn't put the wheels on - I wanted the flat bottom on my shower floor which seemed to be a better idea than wheels.  I bought mine at K-Mart in Blythe, but you can get them on line at Amazon.com.  I put a link on my right sidebar with a similar item in case you want to look at it.

I’m really happy with this new storage option.  And it looks so much neater now. 

The other day when we were taking our walk around our campground area, we ran into another woman from California, Linda.  As we were walking by, we waved and then I stopped to see her dog, who looked a lot like Katie.  His name is Sunny and he is a Deer Chihuahua, too.  The dogs got along great; there was lots of sniffing and circling going on.

Linda doesn’t have a blog, but she is a Follower of Me and My Dog  …and My RV! and as we were talking, she realized she recognized me, especially after I said something about “Katie.”   We had a great conversation and I went back another day to visit again and take some photos.

She had read about Katie’s new stroller and brought out Sunny’s pet stroller to show me.  I really like it, and some day might get one like that.  I find the one I have very easy to use, it just glides over the sand and rocks and uneven ground out here in the desert, but I’m not sure how I’m going to like it when I have to store it.  I don’t think it will be a problem, but we’ll see, and if I decide it’s too big, I might get one like Sunny’s.

It took me a while to find the right one on-line, so I'm putting a link on my left sidebar to the Amazon.com page for this particular stroller.  It's one of the least expensive at around $60, and one of the few with eight wheels.  Most have only two wheels in the back, and this one has two wheels on each side, front and back. Linda and Sunny love it, but I haven't had a chance to check it out with Katie.  I just want to easily find it in the future if I decide to purchase one, but if you are interested, too, this stroller is only for small dogs and cats.  I think 15 pounds is the weight limit.

As soon as she brought it out and opened it up, Sunny jumped right in.  He has a soft blanket on the bottom, and there was a chew bone in there, waiting for him.

He just settled in and started chewing on his bone, and Katie was VERY interested in that!

Then Linda told me about Sunny’s new camouflage visor that she got over in one of the animal clothing tents.

He looks like a dog model, doesn’t he?

You are SO CUTE, Sunny! 

And that’s about it for now. From me and Katie, have a great Friday, everyone – Big Tent tomorrow! :)

A visit to town and some Lazy Daze visits

I have so much to catch up on.  The Big Tent is UP!  We saw it going up day after day, first the support poles that have flags on the top.  One day I noticed all the flags flying.

Soon the roof was going up.

The sides were last, and now they are filling the tent with all their wares.

The other day Katie and I walked to town.  I used the stroller so Katie would be safe and if she got tired, she could ride.  It's also nice to carry purchases, since it has two places to stow away packages.  We walked through the wash and across the big parking lot and ended up on Kuehn St. at the western end of all the vendors.  Katie walked as far as the parking lot, and then I put her into the stroller.  She really loves it, and got a lot of attention.  I was surprised she had no reaction to all the people reaching down to pet her, and she also had no reaction to other dogs walking around her. She was fine with it all.

We went up and down the aisles and through all the little vendor tents that are already set up across the street from the Big Tent.  I got a few things I needed and really enjoyed the longer-than-usual walk.

Katie on the red carpet. :)

We only shopped on one side of the street, and will walk through the vendor tents on the other side next time.  As we were heading home, we walked toward Highway 95, completing a circle, and passed by a dog grooming business called Animal House - (928) 927-7068.  Katie was in need of a nail clipping, so we stopped and had that done.  They only charge $8, but I gave the lady $10, since she did such a good job, came outside to clip Katie's nails (I didn't want to leave the stroller outside while we went in), and she gave Katie a treat for being so good.  I'm such a big spender. LOL

When we left the groomer, Katie didn't want to get back into the stroller, so we both walked back to Highway 95 and stayed on the edge of the road a short distance until we got to la Posa West and headed through the campground to our site.  A good walk. 

A few mornings ago there was a knock on the door - we had a visitor.   It was Sarah who rode  her electric bike (very nice bike!) over to see if Katie and I were home.  She came in, and we visited for a while.  She was great with Katie, and of course Katie loved her!  Sarah is a Lazy Dazer, and is camped with the Lazy Daze group about a half mile from us.

I've been following her blog and she's been following mine, so it was fun to actually meet in person.  Sarah is a fellow Californian (Santa Barbara), so we have that in common, too.  When she left to head to town for a late breakfast, I told her Katie and I would walk over to her group and have a visit that afternoon.

Sarah and Katie:

So then later that afternoon we took a walk over to visit the Lazy Daze group.  They had quite a few rigs there already, with more coming in every day.  By now they really have a big group.  I visited with Jimbo, and met lots of new people.

Hi, Jimbo!

I tried to get a photo of everyone there, but they were busy talking, moving around, doing things, so I got a lot of back-of-the-head shots.  

When I was getting ready to leave, Jimbo brought Chica out.  Here are a couple of photos of  Katie and Chica for all you Chica lovers:

Chica is such a sweetie pie!

We spent a bit of time there and then it was starting to get late in the afternoon and we headed home.   It's a perfect walk and really nice people, so I'm sure we'll head over that way again.  3 or 3:30 is a good time to visit because they gather in one place to share an afternoon visit at that time.  Katie always wants to walk around 3, so we'll head over that way again.

Still lots more to post, so I'll be back soon.  The Big Tent opens on Saturday - I'm looking forward to that and will get lots of photos then, too, to share with you.

From me and Katie, have a great Thursday, everyone!  :)

New Solar Panel Mod

Okay - I finally made a decision on what to do with my solar/generator/battery issues.  One of the campers parked near me when I was in La Posa South highly recommended this guy named Brian, who I ran into while filling my fresh water tank last week.

I told him one of my neighbors had recommended his solar work, and he asked what I needed, so we exchanged phone numbers and made an appointment for him to come out and see that I had, test my batteries to see if they were still good, and to check the amps on all my electrical gadgets.  Generally see what was going on, and how we could make it better.

Checking out the batteries

He ended up coming out three times, twice to check things out and then finally to do the job.  I have two Interstate 6V 225 AH batteries, wired in series, and Brian said they were fine.  He checked the amps on my electrical gadgets and they were good, all low amp hours.  Everyone says the wall controllers don't show correct readings, but mine measured correctly.

Changing the Catastrophe Fuse to the correct terminal.

This is what I run, as measured by Brian with his meter:

Amp draws per hour for electrical items in The Palms:
1.      Go-Power 1750 Inverter    1.2 amps
2.      Laptop computer                3.8 amps when not charging, up to 5 amps when charging
3.      Cell phone charging            minimal draw
4.      Coffee warmer                    1.3 amps
5.      TV and antenna                  2 amps
6.      200 W small inverter          minimal draw

I'm not running anything with a huge draw. If I run my A/C, coffee maker, microwave, toaster oven or hair dryer, I turn on the generator.



Brian said my batteries were fine, but there was a loose terminal wire that could make a difference - and he tightened it.  My T-fuse, or catastrophe fuse, was wired to a negative terminal instead of a  positive terminal, and he changed that. 

 He said I have exactly what I need, except this time of the year when the days are shorter and the sun is lower in the sky, it would help to tilt my solar panels.  So that's what we decided to do.  I was lucky, it was far easier and cheaper than replacing or adding batteries, or adding another solar panel. 

During the summer when we have longer days and the sun is high in the sky - traveling overhead - my batteries do a great job.  There are probably four months of the year that I'd need to tilt the panels, during the months with the shortest days while I'm here at Quartzsite.

Checking Amps

I got the tilt kits in town and Brian came out and installed them for me on Thursday, and boy, do I see a difference.

Removing the solar panels
 

Checking the wire - I think?
 

Attaching the tilt kits.
 

And they are tilted!
 

JOB DONE.
 

Both Friday and Saturday, when I rolled out of bed around 10:00 a.m. (yes, that's 10:00 a.m.)  my controller readout was 14.3 or 14.4.  That's a full battery bank, folks!
 
Beautiful job!  Don't they look great?



Brian Boone – (406) 270-4820  If you're going to call Brian, make it as early as possible in the season, because he's getting busy.  Right now he also has a full time job, so he's doing solar installs, consults, etc. after work and on his days off.  He's young and energetic, super knowledgeable, and honest, and he charges a very fair (low) rate for his expert work.

I highly recommend him and his work.  I'm expecting him to have his own full time business next year and if he does, he'll be a star in the solar industry.  I'm really happy he's here at Quartzsite so I can call him during the winter months if needed.
 
While Katie and I were walking this afternoon we met up with one of our readers, Linda, and her friend, Mel.  Their motor homes are parked near the Dingbats and as we walked by, her dog walked toward us on his lead.  He's a Deer Chihuahua like Katie.  I don't see many of this breed, so we stopped and talked.  Sunny is one year older than Katie and they are about the same size and color and seemed to get along well.

I'm going to bring my camera tomorrow when we're walking over near her campsite so I can get a photo of the two dogs.  It was nice meeting you, Linda, thanks for reading Me and My Dog  ...and My RV, and Mel - he doesn't have a computer, so he's not reading this - but it was nice meeting him, too!  :)

From me and Katie, have a great Sunday, everybody!