Palm Desert...................Cold & Windy

Hello Friends,

I was a little disappointed that I didn't receive a single comment, on the blog site or through email, about the last entry I posted.  Well, it is a busy time of year, so maybe you were just too busy to comment.  I hope you are all well, and enjoying the spirit of the Christmas season now.  I finally got a chance to take pictures of our 

dear friends, Almita & Rueben.   We met them on a stop in Santa Rosa, NM and found out they often come to Wilderness Lakes, so we agreed to keep in touch here.  They taught us to play a game called Rummikub.  It was lots of fun, so I wanted to get one too.  Almita ordered it for me on Amazon, and I got it in just a few days.  We went to dinner at their RV another day, and she is a great cook!!!!  Her meatloaf was excellent, and she did glazed carrots with nutmeg.  I always used cinnamon on my carrots, but the nutmeg was much better.  

We left there to come here to Palm Desert on Thursday, December 10th.  The wind is terrible, and the car is constantly covered with sand.  Yikes.  It gets pretty chilly here at night too.

We are extremely dissatisfied with the US Postal Service, and I would like to tell you just why.  Most post offices accept mail sent to us via General Delivery.  I had ordered a beautiful, custom made doll for our baby grand daughter (who lives in New York state) from Mary's cousin.  Her cousin Silvia makes custom dolls and teddy bears, etc.  She lives in Las Vegas.  We had ordered a beautiful traditional Raggedy Ann doll, with a hand embroidered face and a custom made dress.  She called me that she was ready to ship it on Tuesday.  I gave her the street address of the Palm Desert Post office on Hovley Lane.  I was unaware of two things:  
1---This post office will NOT accept general delivery mail.
2---Silvia was shipping it via UPS.
She sent it on Wednesday, and was told it would arrive here on Thursday.  We got here Thursday and went to the post office Friday morning.  They told us that since they don't accept general delivery, it would have gone to the post office at Portola Station.  To make a long story short, after 7 days, and several visits to all three post offices, and numerous phone calls we still do NOT have the doll, and they claim it is not at any of their locations.  They have lied to me a number of times, and even put me on hold when they KNEW that the person I was told to ask for was not there at all.  I can't help but wonder if someone at the post office could have stolen the package.  Yesterday I got a call from UPS asking about it, and saying they too will look into it.  BUT the bottom line is that our grand daughter will NOT be getting her beautiful doll in time for Christmas.  I talked to Silvia today and have asked her to make another doll, but it will be a couple weeks after Christmas before we can get it and send it to our sweet grand daughter.  I am heart broken, and frustrated.  Please be advised that the post office cannot be trusted with precious items.  I was talking to our friend Gail today.  She told me that her dad had been a Post Master, and she said he admitted he had to go to small post offices to search for packages that the locals just didn't bother to deliver!  Before this week, I would have been shocked to hear this, but now I am not surprised by it at all.

Tomorrow we pack up and head out to go back to Wilderness Lakes.  I'm hoping we can get into a 50 amp site, so we can use our electric heaters, etc.  We will be staying there from 12/18--1/8/16 so once we get set up there, I will put up my Christmas decorations.  Hopefully that will help me get in the spirit of Christmas.  Right now, with all this, I'm just not feeling it.  
One more sad note is that I got a call from my sister Judy, in Minnesota, on Monday evening telling me that our sister Joan, in Georgia had died that morning.  I was very sorry to hear that.  I'm sure glad we went to see her when we were on the east coast.  Our hearts, and our prayers go out to her children, and the rest of her family.     

Well, I'm going to close now, wishing everyone a wonderful, blessed Christmas and a Happy and Healthy and Prosperous New Year.  Drive safely.  Please don't drink and drive.....and get to work on your list of New Year's Resolutions.  LOL