I may not be as organized as Donna, but I do take care of certain things. One thing is my credit cards. I always handle them carefully and put them away before I sign a receipt or do anything else. That way, I never misplace them. I’m also careful about keys – I have a place for keys and try to always put them where they belong. That way, I don’t have to look for them and I haven’t lost a key in years – until last summer. While we were in Iowa for the RAGBRAI, somehow I misplaced the Spyder key. I  looked everywhere I could think of and retraced my steps before they were lost. I had to give up and break out our spare key.

Since then, we’ve been operating with only one key – no spare for the Spyder. This made Donna nervous – she almost locked the key in the frunk a couple of times and was also worried about losing the key and getting stuck somewhere. I meant to get one made while we were in San Diego, but I put it off. On Friday, I went to the Ride Now Powersports dealer – they carry Can-Am products – and I bought a new key. It wasn’t so simple though. The Can-Am key has a chip that is read by the ignition switch. The Spyder is equipped with an immobilizer system that won’t allow the engine to run unless the system recognizes the chip in the key.

Ride Now had a blank replacement key, but they don’t have a way to cut the keys. They can program the chip in the key, but it has to be cut first, so the key will turn in the ignition during the programming process. I took the new blank key with me. On Saturday, I set out to have the key cut. First I went to Ace Hardware on Main Street. No luck – they don’t duplicate automotive type keys. Then I went to Lowes – same story. I tried a locksmith shop on Power and Southern Avenue – they were usually open on Saturday, but not on the President’s Day weekend. Then I went to a Key Me kiosk in Bed, Bath and Beyond. They wanted to sell me another blank which they would cut for $73. I’d already paid $62 for the blank I had.

I did a search on my smart phone and found a mobile locksmith nearby called Sparks’ Locksmith. I gave him a call. He said he didn’t have a shop – just a van for mobile work – but I could come over to his house and he would cut the key in his van. He was a few blocks away off Signal Butte Road. I found his place and he cut the new key blank in less than 10 minutes and it worked in the ignition fine. He was a super nice guy and didn’t charge for the work. He just said think of me if you need to have work done or if a friend gets locked out. Sparks’ Locksmith – service 24/7 and no extra charge for after hours calls. His number is 602-301-8170 if you are ever in the area and need a locksmith.

From there I went back to Ride Now to have the key programmed. The service guy there told me on Friday that he would program the key for free once I had the key cut since I bought the blank from them. He tried to complete the program several times without success. Finally he got the service manual out. I read the programming sequence out loud to him from the manual as he went through the steps. Success at last – the new key works. I can cross that off my things to do list.

All that running around worked up an appetite. Donna grilled wild Alaskan salmon with garlic mashed potatoes and grilled baby bok choy for dinner. We always buy wild salmon and avoid farm-raised Atlantic salmon.

On Sunday, our friends Gerry and Cindy Dimassa came over to go bike riding with Donna. We met them about 12 years ago when we rode in the same bike club together. The last time we saw them was eight years ago in Paris, France – we happened to be there at the same time.

Gerry and Cindy are avid bicyclists and have ridden all over Europe. Cindy’s bike is really high-tech with electronic shifters – no cable adjustments needed!

While they were out on their ride, I tackled another chore. It was time to give the Traeger wood pellet fired smoker/grill and the Weber q2200 propane grill a thorough cleaning. Ash builds up in the Traeger and it needs to be cleaned out after four cooks or so. I cleaned the grates and build-up on the interior, then scooped the ash out.

Later, I put two racks of babyback ribs on the Traeger. I had dry-rubbed them with my favorite rub to cook them Memphis-style. We had company over for dinner. Donna met another professional organizer online, Barbara. Barbara and her husband Brent have just taken up the nomadic lifestyle and have been on the road in their class C Minnie Winnie since August.

Barbara brought a 7-layer salad. Donna made cornbread, sweet potatoes and green beans to go with the babyback ribs and we had a buffet-style dinner outside. We enjoyed a couple of drinks and talked about the lifestyle. Brent and Barbara are just getting into it and still adjusting. Like most newcomers, they’ve been pushing and covering a lot of ground. Their next stop will be an extended stay in Palm Desert.

The wind kicked up Sunday night and Monday was very windy – gusts up to 30mph – and we had a few raindrops. It was a good day to lie low and we did. A cold front blew in and we’re in for below average temperatures for the coming week.

Tuesday was cool, but the wind died down and the skies cleared. Still, the high only reached 57 degrees! We rode the Spyder over to a Mexican restaurant where we met our friends Mark and Emily Fagan (Roads Less Traveled) along with their puppy, Buddy, for lunch. We sat out on the patio in the sun since we couldn’t take Buddy inside. We had a good time catching up on their latest adventures. We last saw them in McCall, Idaho almost two years ago.

Donna made a turmeric chicken and rice soup for dinner last night. With the cool temperatures, soup sounded good – and it was!

The forecast calls for the cool weather to hang around for the rest of the week with daily highs around 60 degrees. This morning, it was 39 degrees out at 6:30am and the coach had cooled to a chilly 51 degrees. We don’t run the heat at night, we prefer blankets. But when I got out of bed, I turned on the heat pumps first thing!

*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to purchase anything, you pay the same price as usual and  I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!