Monday, November 29, 2010

Not Feeling Well

Dawn started feeling bad Wednesday while she was cooking our Thanksgiving feast and on Thursday she was feeling worse. Everyone we know is coming down with this terrible stuff. It starts with the feeling like you have just been hit by a Mac truck. That’s followed with some serious nasal drainage and then there is the cough. We didn’t do anything much this weekend but lay around. Dawn asked me a couple of times if I could load a gun and shoot her. She was not able to enjoy our Thanksgiving feast at all. She hardly ate this weekend. We have leftovers but she can’t taste anything.

Friday, November 26, 2010

Thanksgiving Hang Over

We are currently suffering from Thanksgiving over ate hang over!!!

Why did we eat all that? Who's idea was it to graze every hour on the hour?

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Friends


Thanksgiving is a time for reviewing what we treasure,

The people we hold dear, Who give us so much pleasure.

Without you as our friends, Life would be such a bore;

Having you in our lives Is what We’re thankful for.

Poem By Joanna Fuchs

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Winterizing

Winterizing the fifth wheel is pretty easy. I open all the water valves and let the water drain. I did however have a problem with finding the right socket to fit the water heater drain plug. It took a while but I finally did find one and was able to drain the water heater too. I am embarrassed to mention that this is the first time I have drained the water heater. We keep the fifth wheel in an insulated building and have not had a problem with freezing. KNOCK on WOOD! Now I need a gallon of RV antifreeze to pour in the traps and we’ll be set.

Our winters don’t get very cold here in north Texas. I realize I need to drain the water heater on a regular basis anyway but have just failed to do so. The water was a little dirty but it was better than I expected. We have owned the fifth wheel two years and I really thought the water was going to be real nasty. I have now placed the socket that fits the water heater plug into a Ziploc baggie and labeled it water heater plug. It will be easy to find in the tool box next time.

A very good friend bought us a spark plug socket and extension that fits on the drill that allows us to raise and lower the rear stabilizers without the cranking with that metal rod. That socket is also in its own labeled Ziploc baggie. We are all for easy to find when you need it. We’re not planning on taking a lot of tools with us when we hit the road. Matter a fact; we have plans to go thru all our hand tools in the near future. We have some good Craftsman tools and we also have some cheap no-name stuff. We have at least five hammers and a ton of screwdrivers. We have a nice tool box that we’re going to take with us and it will hold only the tools we need.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Homemade Tex-Mex & Friends

We decided Friday afternoon that neither of us really felt like dealing with a garage sale this weekend. So instead I cleaned house and did laundry while Dawn cooked most of the day. We invited friends over for Sunday Tex-Mex buffet.

Dawn was in the kitchen with the oven on and the stove top burners loaded with pots of good stuff. The entire house was filled with the aroma of homemade Tex-Mex cooking. She was truly in her element. She was making beef enchiladas, chicken enchiladas, taco beef, chocolate crunch dessert, egg custard pie and Ritz cracker pie. She also made chicken spaghetti. Wow, it sure smelled good.

On Sunday our friends arrived about noon. We all prepared our plates with plenty of spicy homemade goodness. It was a wonderful mean and I do believe everyone had seconds!

We watched some Sunday football and played a little Wii golf before our company went home. Dawn made sure everyone brought their plastic bowls so that could load up on leftovers to take home.

We can’t have a frig full of Tex-Mex when Dawn is ready to prepare the Thanksgiving feast! We won’t have a lot of people show up for Thanksgiving because our family is small but we will have a lot of food!!

The smaller the family, the more room to stretch out after over stuffing your gut! I'm really not sure why I always manage to gain weight this time of year.

The weather is warm and very windy. Apparently that is going to change on Thanksgiving day. The last report was highs in the forties and lows in the twenties with the possibility of rain.

We do want to wish everyone a "HAPPY THANKSGIVING" and if your on the road TRAVEL SAFE

Thursday, November 18, 2010

New Wireless LED Lights

Dawn bought me some really neat wireless lights for my birthday. Two wireless motion sensor LED entry lights and a pack of three wireless LED spotlights with remote control. They also have a dimmer on them. She bought them at Costco. We just love that store.


The entry door of our fifth wheel doesn’t have a light above or beside it. The light is located towards the front of the trailer. When you open the door it blocks the light. Instead of mounting a light on the exterior we are going to try using the wireless motion sensor light. It is light weight and we can use Velcro to mount it. We plan on mounting it next to the door so that we will get the full benefit of the light. The neat thing about them is that they are battery operated and will detect motion within twenty-five feet in the dark. They do not come on in the daylight hours. They will go off automatically after twenty seconds of non motion. They are bright and rotate ninety degrees. They sell for $9.99 each and come with batteries. It has a one year warranty.



The wireless spotlights are nice in case the power goes off. They are also very bright. They have adjustable directional swivel and pivot heads. You can direct the light in any direction. We are going to place one of them near the stairs in the fifth wheel. It will be nice to have a beam of light shining on the stairs in the middle of the night. They sell for $19.99 per package and batteries are included. It has a 2 year warranty.




Can’t wait to pull the fifth wheel out this weekend and get the lights installed.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

It's the Holiday Season Again

I wanted to thank everyone for the birthday wishes.

Where has the time gone? It’s already time to get busy for the holiday season! Our calendar is full for the next few weeks.

Saturday we are planning a garage sale, weather permitting. We have a lot of Christmas décor that someone might have a need for!

Sunday we have friends coming over for homemade Mexican buffet.

Monday getting things done around the house before family arrives for Thanksgiving feast.

Tuesday more preparing the house for family before Thanksgiving feast.

Wednesday, cook all day for Thanksgiving feast

Thursday, eat and eat. Take a nap and eat some more!!!!

Friday, hang-over recovery from eating too much Thanksgiving feast.

This will be the last Thanksgiving at our house. We usually host Thanksgiving (when we are in town) and Christmas at our house.

We look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving in a different place each year. We have decided what we will do about Christmas yet. We’ll have to play that by ear.

The weather here in North Texas has begun to get cooler and the leaves are dropping from the trees which means I had to clean the gutters on the back of the house. We have a few large pecan trees in our back yard.

We love having the pecans but our gutters don’t. Dawn held the ladder while I climbed up and cleaned out the gutters. It is a nasty job! It didn’t take long but that is just one of many times we’ll have to do that before the trees are bare. We have learned a valuable lesson here. Don’t plant trees that close to the house.


We didn’t plant these trees. Dawn’s parents did and they weren’t that close to the house until we extended the patio.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Great Weekend

I am happy to announce that I made the transition into my fifties with little, to no effort.

I took the day off Friday. We were up early and drove a friend to the airport. At noon I had an appointment at the salon to get a temp. Now I am a kinky fifty year old! My hair dressers birthday is Monday so Dawn bought pizza and we had lunch together.

Friday night Dawn made reservations for us at the Old Warsaw. It is a wonderful old restaurant in the heart of uptown Dallas. We like to eat there on special occasions.

Dinner was great. I had the Asparagus soup, Jumbo Lump Crab cake, Grilled Filet Mignon topped with crab meat, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and green beans for dessert we both had the chocolate Soufflé drenched in a chocolate sauce. Wow, we were so stuffed by the time we got out of there.

Saturday we had a few errands to run and a trip to the grocery store. Dawn had arranged for a few friends and family members to have dinner together at our favorite Mexican food restaurant. That was a lot of FUN. There was about twenty of us all together.

Denise, Troy (Brother) & Jennifer (Sister-in-law)


Sunday I took the gift cards and the cash I got for my birthday and went to Lowes. We have been looking at the electric fireplaces for the fifth wheel. The one we really like that would fit perfect in the desk area cut-out just didn’t put out enough heat. After much debate we decided to go with the Duraflame electric stove. It is the lightweight and comes with remote control. We are happy with the amount of heat it puts out.

We couldn’t wait to put it in the fifth wheel. Speaking of the fifth wheel, a friend of ours stopped by on Sunday. While we were standing outside talking he mentioned that the rear tires on the truck looked like they were too close together. We took a closer look and he was right. The rear tires are so close together you can hardly see daylight between them. The problem is when we hook onto the fifth wheel the tires are going to squat and at that point they will be touching. This is NOT a good thing!

We sold the last curio cabinet too. We had a guy come by and look at it Sunday afternoon and his mover came by Sunday night and picked it up.

Dawn went back to the tire store this morning all geared up to argue with the salesman about the dilemma with the tires. She was pleasantly surprised when the salesman told her that he tried to tell the other salesman that he didn’t think those tires would work. He said he thought the tires were too wide. He was right and he changed them out with no problem. Lesson learned!

Friday, November 12, 2010

Farewell Forties

We have had a busy week so far. We made two visits to the dumpster this week. Wow! I feel so much better getting rid of that trash. Last night I cleaned off the patio. It’s somehow became a dumping ground. We’ve been just piling stuff up in the middle of the patio for the last few weeks and it was a mess. It looks much better now.

Today I am taking the day off. I have a temp scheduled around noon. I tell my hair dresser I want a temp and she laughs and says you mean a perm. No, I have never had a perm. If I had a permanent I wouldn’t need to come back. So, my thinking is if it isn’t permanent it must be temporary! I just need a temp.

Dawn has big dinner plans scheduled for us to celebrate the last day of my forties. Saturday will be the big 50! What, that can’t be true. I don’t feel any older. I still look like I did when I was twenty. NOT. When I was twenty I had a twenty-six inch waist and weighed around one hundred pounds.

OMG! What have I done to myself?


I now have a much larger waist. The truth be told, it’s not just my waist, I have blossomed all over. Good Lord, I haven’t looked twenty since, well, since I was twenty.

I now have to wear glasses to see and have arthritis in my hands. My memory is nothing like it used to be. I can remember faces but not names, oh well, what’s in a name!

Gray hair doesn’t bother me. It is the lack of hair that is the problem. Going to bed at nine o’clock! There was a time when I was going out at that hour.

Enough is enough, I’m starting to get depressed.

All kidding aside, I don’t feel fifty. Mentally I am still just a goofy kid and plan to stay that way.


"Better to be over the hill than burried under it"


Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Half a Century ?

O.K this is it! I have reached the end of my forties! As of Saturday I will be officially a half century old.

Let’s see, in the first part of this half century I’ve seen a few changes like, I remember back through the past forty years and think of things that aren’t around anymore like block ice, freezers had to defrosted, Cloth diapers, glass baby bottles, swamp coolers instead of A/C Units, black and white TV’s, TV’s didn’t have remotes, cola in glass bottles, selling glass bottles for a nickel, manual type writers, hand pull adding machines, manual can openers, beer can openers, oil can openers, filling station attendants, carbon paper, 8 track players, record players, pay phones in phone booths, station wagons, Goodtime Vans, Disco music, Metal roller skates with a key, Metal lunch boxes, Pet Rocks, Mood Rings, Rubik’s Cube, Roller Blades, Lava Lamps, Streaking, Earth Shoes, Clogs, Leisure Suits, Platform Shoes, Troll Dolls, Mini Skirts, Bell Bottoms, Hot Pants, String Bikini, Go-Go Boots, Rabbit Coats, Hippies, Cabbage Patch, Hip Huggers, Beanie Babies, Drive-In Theaters, Muscle Cars, Tie-Die, Shag Carpet, TV & Stereo Consoles the list goes on and on.

Wow! That was a real trip down memory lane for me. LOL! I look forward to having many more birthdays and looking back down memory lane with each one of them.

The old saying is right, “ The older you get, the faster it goes”. I’ve got to get up and moving so we can hit the road soon.

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

New Truck Tires

The time has finally come for us to bite the big one and buy new tires for the truck. We were hoping to win the lotto before this had to be done but our chances of having a blow-out is more likely!

We have a front tire that looks pretty worn. The plan is to replace the two front tires now and replace the four rear tires after the first of the year. Right now I drive it work about four miles.

Dawn is good about doing her research before buying big ticket items. She woke up this morning ready to take on the challenge. She decided to visit a couple of local tire stores. She likes to talk to people in person when she is doing her research. After a couple of tire stores she found the tires she wanted. She bought B F Goodrich Commercial T/A all season tires. She decided to bite the big one and get all six. OMG! We will be eating tators and beans for awhile!

She did get a good deal on them. The salesman made a mistake and quoted her the price for the 215 instead of the 235. The guys were already installing the tires when the salesman realized his mistake. He told her he made a mistake and that she was getting a sixty dollar discount because of it. That is a bit of good news!

We will definitely feel safer driving the truck with new tires. It’s just another one of those things that has to be done.

Thanks for the Prayers

Just wanted to thank everyone for their prayers for my son. He is doing fine and is heading back home to Oklahoma this morning.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Another Weekend Gone

We had another garage sale on Sunday and sold a lot more STUFF. We’re really getting down to the end of it. We’re planning on making another dumpster visit this week as well. The dumpster is dumped only once a week so we are limited to about a truck bed amount at a time. Not complaining because it is FREE. A very good friend of ours lets use dump stuff without any charge.

We came in late last night so we didn’t get a mattress pulled out for the garbage man. I know he will be disappointed. LOL! He’ll just have to wait until next week. We have two left.

Sunday morning Dawn and I got up early. We left out with our loaded picnic basket and took a road trip. We just needed a day to relax and enjoy the weather.

First on the agenda was having breakfast at Cracker Barrel. The second was to drive to Dangerfield state park and check on their renovation progress. The weather was beautiful and the drive was really nice. We were really disappointed to find the park was closed even for day use.

We decided just to head back towards home but taking a different route back. We stopped by Bob Sandlin State Park on our way back. It is a nice state park but doesn’t appear to be a very good place for large RV camping. The pads were short. We noticed a couple of motorhomes but they were short. We only saw a couple of sites that would accommodate our truck and fifth wheel. We drove through the day use area and found us a picnic table near the water. We had a nice picnic and enjoyed the great weather.

On our way back we stopped off in Sulphur Springs at the outlet mall. I bought a shirt for ninety-eight cents. That’s right, a button up khaki shirt for ninety-eight cents. I love a good bargain!

We left the outlet mall and got back on the highway and decided to stop in Greenville for dinner at Red Lobster. We stuffed ourselves. While there I received a phone call that my son had been taking by ambulance to a hospital near our home. We paid for our meal and hit the highway again.

We arrived at the hospital about forty-five minutes later. We went to the emergency waiting room and told the man at the desk that we were there to see my son that was brought in by ambulance. He asked my sons name. I told him and he said there was no one there by that name. We decide he must have been taken to the other local hospital. Before we could get in the car my phone rang. It was my cousin in Colorado. She said her grandson who was with my son when the ambulance was there told her they were taking him to the hospital where we were. While I was talking to her, Dawn decided to call my sons phone to see if anyone would answer. Well, my son answered. He confirmed that he was in the emergency room of the hospital where we were. Dawn and I went back in and told the gentleman at the desk that we had just talked with my son on the phone and that he was indeed in their emergency room. The man than asked for his date of birth. When we gave it to him he asked if he went by any other names. I gave his full name and the man looked at us kind of funny and said for us to come on back. The problem was the paramedic only listed my son’s first and middle name on the paperwork and the hospital thought his middle name was his last and that’s how they had him listed.

To make a long story short, he was having some chest pain and breathing difficulty and that is why the ambulance was called. They ran a few tests on him and he was given some medication to help with his breathing and was released a few hours later.

We took him home with us. It was late before anyone got to bed.

Friday, November 5, 2010

Weekend Plans

I wanted to thank everyone that commented on our last post (Making a List). The comments are very helpful.

This week has been a total waste as for as preparation is concerned. This is always a difficult time for me when the sun sets at six-thirty. Luckily we set our clocks back this weekend and I am hoping that will keep me from wanting to go to bed at eight every night. These shorter days drains me of my energy. I require lots of vitamin D.

Dawn seems to over the cluster headaches. It is the strangest thing. They last about three weeks and go away as suddenly as they appear. She will have many each day that last anywhere from a few minutes to thirty minutes. She said that the three week episode feel like eternity. This is her second year to have to deal with them. The doctor said they are cluster headaches that seem to be seasonal. We are just glad that they are gone for now.

We are planning a garage sale tomorrow and hope we sell a lot more STUFF. We are getting so tired of having these darn things. I did collect some boxes this week so that we can box up all the STUFF we don’t sell and take it to the local charity thrift store. Maybe they can make some money off of it.

Sunday we might take a little road trip to look at the fall colors. I need to get the camera out and charge the battery. Last year we drove to Mena, AR. It was beautiful. Lots of fall colors everywhere.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Making a list

We are compiling a list of things we need to buy before we hit the road. We actually have two lists, one being NEED List, things of necessity and the other is WANT list, and things we don’t have to have but would like to have. We’ve done pretty well so far. The items marked off are the things that we have already acquired. I’m sure we will discover other things that we need before it’s all said and done.

NEED List
  • New Truck Tires, $$$$$$$
  • Surge Protector, $$
  • Tire Chokes, $
  • Leveling Blocks
  • Kingpin Stabilizer
  • Sewer Tote $$
  • Heavy Duty Sewer Hose $
  • Water Pressure Regulator
  • Laptop (Replacement) $$
  • Dog Ramp
  • Plastic Dog Pen
  • New Water Filter

  
WANT List
  •  Sofa
  •  Window Curtains (Energy Savers)
  •  Kitchen Faucet w/ Veggie Spray
  •  Portable Canopy (10x10)
  •  Pet Barrier for Truck
  •  Chrome Truck Wheels, $$$$$$$
  •  Electric Fireplace, $$
  •  Big Foot Levelers, $$$$$$$$
  •  Patio Rugs
  •  Two Burner outdoor stove
  •  Outdoor Kitchen Stand
  •  Outdoor Chairs
  •  T.V for bedroom
  •  T.V for Living-room
  •  Slide-out Awnings
  •  Leaf Blower
Some of the items on our list will have to wait. But some will be done as soon as we get closer to our launch date.

We are also open to suggestions if there is something we don’t have listed that you couldn’t live without, just let us know.

75 Followers?

Wow!
We have 75 followers. Amazing how many RV bloggers there are.

Welcome new followers Laural, John & Judy, Froggi, Brian & Tricia, Dany, Good Luck Duck and Chuck & Anneke.

Comments are always welcome.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Just Thoughts

The weather here in north Texas is cool and rainy today. It makes for a great napping day.

Yesterday I placed a couple of ads on Craigslist for some old Barbie’s. Dawn had from her childhood and for Honda Goldwing parts that was taken off her Goldwing when they did the trike conversion. Well, I am proud to announce that today I removed the ads because both items sold this morning. More Progress!

We only have two more mattresses to sit out for the garbage and need to have a couple of more garage sales. WOW! We are getting there!

My plan was to start moving the packed boxes from the spare bedroom to the RV garage this week. Looks like I might have to wait for a couple of days due to the weather. I guess I’ll just be a lounge lizard instead!

Recently I keep having this reoccurring thought about how we’ll someday be living our fulltiming dream. These thoughts of how we’ll be exploring new places and seeing new sights. When I’m having those thoughts I feel a big happy smile on my face.

We have got to hurry up and hit the road. Next week I’ll be advancing to the BIG 50. That’s right. We’ve to get this show on the road while we are still young enough to enjoy it. Good Lord, last week I had to get new glasses. I’ve now advanced to bifocals! What’ll be next?

All kidding aside, I believe we’re at the right age to start this kind of lifestyle. We’re mentally still young enough to have a good time (I really don’t see that changing anytime soon) and mature enough have some life experiences under our belts and we’ve both managed to be lucky enough to have been blessed with some good old common sense. Now with that said, I have to also explain that we don’t really ever let anything get us down. We laugh at our mistakes and cry at our misfortune but, we always overcome and end up stronger because of it.

Monday, November 1, 2010

Productive Weekend

We had a busy weekend. Friday night we had dinner at our favorite Mexican food restaurant with my brother, sister-in-law and cousin. I haven't seen this cousin in years.We had a great visit and the food was pretty good too.

Saturday morning we were up before the sun. We setup everything for the garage sale. It was cold when we got started but the weather warmed up to a comfortable seventy degrees by noon. We were busy all day and managed to get rid of a lot of STUFF. We have tons of christmas decorations. Well, we had tons. we sold a lot at this garage sale. It looks like we only have a few more garages to go! After the garage sale we treated ourselves to dinner at Cotton Patch.

Sunday morning we went out for breakfast and ran errands. We spend the afternoon putting the pet barrier in the truck and trying to devise a raised platform for the little guys so they can see out of the windows. We came up with an idea we think might work. With the back seat laid down, we placed five plastic totes with lids from door to door. They all fit nice and snug. We then covered the tops of the totes with a twin comforter (This will be replaced with doggy beds when we get ready to hit the road). This raises the little guys up to window level so they can see out. This will also provide us with some organized storage in the truck. We plan to carry a gallon of drinking water, doggy water bowls, flash lights, road side emergency kit and a few other odds and ins.

When we finished getting it set up we loaded the kids up and took them for a ride. We wanted to and see how well they like it. There was a little whining at first. Willey is used to riding on the dash of the motorhome so he is always the first to arrive at our location! He loves to travel. He always starts crying when we pull out the fifth wheel. Otis has been with us since he was six months old and doesn’t have much experience riding in a vehicle. He doesn’t really seem to mind as long as his brother and sister are with him. Abbey thinks she should be in my lap. After about ten minutes the whining stopped and everyone seemed happy. We drove them around for about a half hour. When we got home everyone was fine except Abbey. She ran to the other side of the truck. She wanted to stay. She must have traveled in her past life before she came to live with us. She was abandon so we don’t have any history on her.

We plan to take them riding often now that the weather has cooled down. We want them to get used to riding in their own area of the truck.

We don't live in a regular neighborhood so we didn’t have any trick or treats come by. That’s O.K because I would have eaten the candy anyway.

We put another mattress out with the garbage. We only have two more to go! We know the garbage man is not happy with us right now. Last week when they stopped in front of our house and had to load another mattress they were looking towards the house as if to say, enough is enough.

Today the garbage man will feel better about stopping in front of our house. Someone has already stopped and grabbed the mattress. Dawn saw a man pull into our driveway and load it into a truck and drive off. LOL! Now everyone is happy.

Just a note to clarify the information we posted earlier about the netbook we purchased. This is not our only laptop. We’ll be replacing our existing laptop when we hit the road. The netbook will be used as a backup laptop. We decided to get it because it was a really good deal. We thought it would be a great laptop to carry with us as an extra because it is compact. It’ll be easy to store in the truck. We just added it to our current contract. We have been Verizon customer for many years and love the service they provide.