The Quinn's Awesome Journey

1/26/12 Meds–1Liquid, 1Powder, 2Pills & 2 SHOTS!

2012-01-26T20:11:00.001-08:00

MucinexDM – EXTRA STRENGTH, I’m sure you are one very effective OTC medicine for a normal cold but I don’t think you are a match for the Texas Crud. You guessed it another sleepless night. It wasn’t as bad for Bob this time because I sat up a good portion of the night sucking on butterscotch hard candies. That seemed to keep the coughing at bay. However, I just had to catnap every once in awhile because I was just worn out.

We’re on our work schedule right now, day two. Oh I didn’t feel like I had the strength to do anything and I had the chills so I pulled out sweats and my heavy winter jacket to wear. I can imagine what we looked like riding around in the golf cart, me dressed for the dead of winter at the Artic Circle and Bob in his shorts and T-shirt.

Anyway, we were at the park across the street and Bob was clearing the shuffle board courts of the few remaining straggling leaves and I was tidying up around the fountain/sitting area. It was here that it hit me just how bad this Texas Crud is. I just started crying. I didn’t have strength to even pick the rake up and one of the winter residents walked over taking note of my tears. She went to get Bob. Bob rolled up the cord to the leaf blower, came over to me and said, “Snookie, we’re going to the hospital.” I readily agreed because breathing was getting to be a real chore.

I had gotten the address from the office for the Urgent Care clinic close by and off we went.

They had to determine if they accepted our Tricare insurance and after a few phone calls it was determined that yes they do. That was good new to these ears as our next option was to go to McAllen to the hospital and I just didn’t want to go there.

After about a half hour wait I was called back for the Doctor. Doctor Cirillo is young, nice and seems genuinely concerned for the person sitting across from him. After the usual first Doctor/Patient round of questions we got down to business.

I don’t have pneumonia yet. I’m right on the line. Right now my diagnosis is acute bronchitis. Dr. C. explained that it can cross that line and go into pneumonia very quickly and that we would treat this aggressively. He told me that he would write me three prescriptions and that he had three medicines here in the office. ALRIGHTY THEN! Let’s get this show on the road.

He first handed me a sample of an Advair inhaler to help me breathe easier if I felt I needed it. He then handed me a prescription for a cough suppressant. I wasn’t too happy about this one as I saw the word expectorant and I didn’t see the words cherry flavored anywhere. The next prescription was for Prednisone. Oh no! Days of food tasting like cardboard were ahead of me. The third prescription was for an antibiotic. I held my hand out for the next in office meds but none were forthcoming. This is where he dropped the bomb on me.

Dr C: “The last two medications I have for you will administered by injection.”

Me: “WHAT?????”

Dr. C: “Yes, injections, either in your arm or your buttock, you can make the choice.”

Me: “I don’t do needles.”

Dr. C: “Oh ok, then how about when I make my hospital rounds in a few days I stop in to see you? How will that work for you?” (This man has watched himself some Dr Phil!)

Me: “Isn’t there a pill form?”

Dr. C: “Yes.”

Me: <<<< Perking up and grinning from ear to ear upon hearing this news, yeah, go pills!

Dr. C: “But, we have to treat this aggressively, remember? This is the way to do that.”

Me: “Damn Texas Crud!”

Dr. C: “It’s your choice, what’s it gonna be?”

Me: “Do you have little needles?”

Dr.C: spreading fingers about an inch “There not bad.”

Me: ::sweat-soaked:: “OK, I’ll do it.”

Dr. C: “I’ll send my assistant in”.

This young fellow, probably mid 20’s comes in to meet me and talk about the procedure. I started to talk about my intense fear and he held his hand up and said that Dr. C had informed him and that he was there to let me know he has a gentle hand and that it will be over before I know it. Oh where have I heard that before????

My right buttock was the first target area. Oh. Em. Gee! He was right, he had a gentle hand. I felt it to be sure but the serum be injected had to be as thick as molasses! It hurt! When he was done I rubbed the area and it felt like a large marble had been slipped under my skin. He suggested I keep rubbing it as it would help disperse the serum and it would get into my system faster.

Then Mr. CNA cheerfully announced he was ready for the other side whenever I was. I should have never asked if the serum was as thick as the first. That was a mistake because when he said he wasn’t going to lie to me, that it was, then I knew what was coming!

You know, its very hard to say, “Ok, I’m ready” when you know something very unpleasant is about to happen to you.

I suffered through it. It hurt like hell too!

Finally done I went out to the truck and we headed toward the pharmacy. Prescription medication in hand, we headed home.

I’ve got a complicated time regiment in front of me to remember when I have to take these pills and take the expectorant. One with food, one without, one is two in the morning, one after lunch and two after and dinner and one before bed and the cough suppressant is three times in a day in six hour intervals. I am so not a pill taker!

So I took the cough medicine for the first time. This is some nasty, nasty stuff! Vile! It makes me feel very strange. I do things but I’m not really aware I’m doing them. For instance, typing, I can see the words appearing on the screen but I cannot relate that my hands are touching the keys. I can’t feel it. The label said, “Drowsiness may occur,” I was sound asleep a half hour after taking it. I hope that happened this time (I just took it) just because I’m so sleep deprived. I have to take this vile, nasty stuff for the next 10 days. And it had better work during the night time hours.

So there it is, the latest update on the Texas Crud.

When we returned this morning Bob went back out and got his hours in. The dog pen was in much need of lawn mowing and I think he did a sweep around both parks for trash, fruit and fallen limbs.

It’s been quite a day and the cough medicine is starting to kick in. I’m ready to sleep.

1/25/2012 No Sleep for the Weary

2012-01-25T17:42:00.000-08:00

We didn’t get any sleep last night. I was up hacking all night long. I had gone to the store earlier in the day and bought the OTC med the pharmacist highly recommended as did Frequent Reader Selene from North Carolina. MucinexDM – MAXIMUM STRENGTH

Actually, I had some Mucinex in the house already but not the MAXIMUM STRENGTH. I took one the night before but it didn’t help much all. Upon closer inspection I did take notice that it expired this past August.

I decided on putting off taking this new Mucinex until about an hour before bedtime because when I’m in an upright position I don’t cough as much and I really needed it to work during the sleeping hours.

Since it was going to be an early night because of our lack of sleep the night before I finally took the pill around 8:30.

I popped one out of the blister pack and the first thought through my mind was HORSE PILL! How am I ever going to get this down?

(Not actual size, may be exaggerated slightly, but not by much!)

Did you ever go to take a pill and for whatever reason it didn’t go down and now you have this wet pill sitting on your tongue and you have try again? Yep, that happened to me with this one. It has a nasty tasting coating on it. I just shivered all over again typing that. I hope it works!

1/24/2012 Texas Crud Update

2012-01-24T21:10:00.001-08:00

The aches have subsided. That’s a good thing.

The runny nose is a thing of the past. That’s a good thing.

Everything seems to have moved to my chest,,,read that as lungs. That is not a good thing.

I’m getting winded very easily and no matter how hard I cough I can’t get anything up. This is not a good thing.

I am susceptible to pneumonia having had it twice already. This is really not a good thing.

Do you remember my last bout with pneumonia a couple of years ago? Read about it HERE. (to get the whole story click on newer post once)

I had to do laundry today. There was no putting it off any longer and that is just simply a job that is better off not done by Bob. When it comes to laundry Bob is colorblind. Bob must also be suddenly illiterate because the man obviously can’t read a care label. No, I’ve learned, I do the laundry in this household. Sick or not.

I’m having difficulty breathing after walking even short distances which is reminiscent of my last bout. Ironically, its very humid here right now but I know not to blame it on that now.

Toni and Bunky were in the Friendship Hall when I went to check mail and like hovering mothers I was felt for fever (yes, I have a low grade one and don’t even want to think about my core temperature) and was told all about the benefits of a pneumonia shot. Oh yeah, like THAT’S gonna happen!

I had to promise that if I did not feel better by tomorrow that I would go to the doctor. Yeah, ok.

On to other things….

Heather Applegate, welcome to our group of Frequent Readers! We glad to have along for the journey.

We also have a new reader from Council Bluffs, Iowa who is reading the blog from the beginning, welcome, whoever you are.

We’re back to work tomorrow, I can’t wait to see how this is going to go.

1/22/2012 Hangin’ In There,,,,Barely

2012-01-22T20:11:00.000-08:00

Even though I have prayed, “Please God, take me now” more than a few times these past two days, I am still hangin’ in there. For a short while I actually thought I felt better and was over it but that didn’t last too long.

I hate being sick. I mean, I really, really hate being sick. ~~I’m~~ We’re not getting much sleep. This hacking cough is keeping both of us up all night. When Bob had this it didn’t bother me because I slept right through his coughing spells. Being a somewhat light sleeper, Bob isn’t so fortunate. During the day we’re both catnapping whenever my cough slows down enough to allow it.

I’m not eating much and Bob has been fending for himself for meals as I just don’t have the energy to do it.

So I just have to ride this out. Some have been fighting it for two weeks, I’m hoping my bout with the Texas Crud doesn’t last nearly that long.

On a happy note, we had a pair of fellow fulltimers join the ranks of Frequent Readers. Welcome John and Jenie! We hope you enjoy our journey, Texas Crud and all.

1/20/2012 It Was Too Good To Be True

2012-01-20T19:25:00.000-08:00

The last several weeks everyone in this park has been sick with the TEXAS CRUD as its known in these parts.

A hacking cough, sore throats, runny noses, chills, aches and just a miserable feeling all the way around. It would come and go, one would feel lousy for a few days then feel good. Before said person could say, “Whew, glad that’s over.” it was back with a vengeance.

I didn’t get it! Everyone around me did and they all swore I was the carrier because I was still healthy. Not anymore. I woke up this morning with a throat so raw I could hardly swallow. Muscles and joints hurt and I had that hacking cough. This is not gonna be fun.

My friend Toni would ask, “How come you aren’t getting the Texas Crud and my quick answer was, “Because I drink Pepsi!” Now think about this. I had my last Pepsi Wednesday morning and sometime late Thursday or early Friday I get struck down in my tracks.

Maybe it’s a sign….ya think?

A frequent reader, Michael, wrote in and asked if I could drink Pepsi’s in moderation. I’ve tried that before Michael. Maybe in time I can but right now I have to get past this sugar addiction. I’m hoping the next time I have one I will find it too sweet and just won’t want to drink them.

I am making Crystal Light by the half gallon pitcher twice a day. I just have to tell you, I never thought anybody could pee so much! I can’t even look at the bathroom door without having to suddenly go. I’m hoping this passes quickly because quite frankly it’s a pain in the butt.

Frequent reader Jackie,,,thanks so much for your words of encouragement and good luck to you on cutting down on your coffee.

Frequent reader (and fellow workamper and friend)Toni, in answer to your comment on the last post I have this to say. Toni, Toni, Toni, hell will freeze over before I stand in front of Coke machine and cry. Only If I have no other choice, like in a restaurant, do I willingly drink a Coke. Besides the corner store is right across the street and they always have a good supply of Pepsi’s.

1/18/2011 I Can DO This! I Can DO This!

2012-01-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

Long time readers know that a couple of times a week Bob and I make a beer/Pepsi run. I have been a Pepsi drinker from the time I was a little girl. I’ve even been told that in my toddler years I had Pepsi in my bottle. My mom denies that but I’m not so sure.

When most people get up in the morning they head for the coffee maker or the tea kettle. Not me, I head for the fridge and grab a Pepsi. Throughout the day you will rarely see me without a Pepsi nearby. Except for the occasional ice cold glass of milk with a meal of spaghetti and meatballs, I drink Pepsi. All. The. Time.

I’m not sure if I’ve told this story before or not and if I have, well, you’ll just have to suffer through it.

Back in ‘75 when I went through Basic Training with the U.S. Army I was not allowed to have Pepsi’s. They were a privilege and had to be earned. It was going to take three weeks at least before we were allowed treats like soda. Or so my Drill Sergeant thought. Shortly after boot camp started I had to go on sick call because of blisters on my feet from my very uncomfortable combat boots. It turned out those blisters were an answer from heaven. I had gone to the base hospital, waited in line for my turn, had my blisters treated and padded strips taped to my feet to protect them and was told to put the boots back on and wait for the bus to take me back to my area.

I was on the 4th floor and went to the elevator. I don’t remember exactly what my choices of buttons were but I do recall it was confusing. Did I want “LL” or “ # 1” and I think they might have even had a button labeled ground. Why they didn’t have one labeled, “Snookie push this one” is beyond me. So I pushed and down I went. I was the only one in the elevator and when the car stopped and the doors slid slowly open….they stood there. Four of them. They glowed with a golden light and the trumpeters trumpeted and the angels played their harps and I knew I had arrived in the Promised Land. My own personal utopia!

They hummed in unison. Their compressors doing whatever it is compressors do. Yes, standing before me was four, count em’, four Pepsi machines. I couldn’t even move, I was so taken with my good fortune. I finally stepped forward, fearing that somehow this was all a mirage and in fact I would be standing in front of machines that dispensed Orange Nehi or Grape Nehi or worse yet, Yoo-Hoo’s. They were real and my next thought was, “Oh please, please don’t be sold out, oh please.” I was in luck. I quickly dug into my black, service uniform purse for quarters. Oh, please let there be quarters! Yes! Half a roll. I promptly put a quarter in each machine and pushed the proper button and my beloved Pepsi’s fell out of each machine. I gathered them like a crazed person and sat down in the corner out of sight in case someone came down on the elevator. I sat there and held an ice cold Pepsi up to my cheek. Well, that didn’t last long, after all I had some serious drinking to do! I downed only two of those Pepsi’s because quite frankly I just couldn’t get the last two down. Oh my gosh, I never burped so much! I guess I wasn’t used to the carbonation.

I still had two and had to get them back to my area. I easily put one in my service uniform purse and the other I wrapped in paper towels from the ladies room and slid it inside my waistband of my fatigues. Oh that was cold! I got back to my area and promptly went to my friend that I had made in the days prior. We excused ourselves to female latrine and downed those still pretty cold Pepsi’s.

Lucky for me I had a real problem with blisters and made numerous trips to sick call.

So here I am today and I’ve decided that I need to give up these Pepsi’s. That’s not to say I’ll never drink another one but I’m introducing Crystal Light Iced Tea, Peach flavor to my liquid intake. I drink way too many Pepsi’s and I know it. They can’t be good for me but except for the extra pounds I can’t see where they’ve done me any harm.

I’m going COLD TURKEY! Wish me luck and pray for me. (We’ll see how long this last.

1/17/2012 Welcome! Welcome! Welcome!

2012-01-17T18:43:00.000-08:00

This post is about nothing else other than welcoming some new readers. Some I know their names and others only where they live.

Welcome to Toni & Eddie, we met this couple several years ago in Quail Run and then again here in Texas. Toni has become a frequent reader although I don’t now why because she’s living it with me. Regardless, welcome Toni & Eddie and we look forward to you being part of future blog posts.

Jackie has joined in as a Frequent Reader but I don’t know anything about her. Welcome anyway Jackie, we hope you enjoy the ride.

Viola Cook was here in this park for a short while but has since moved on. Welcome Vi, I hope our paths cross again with you and Craig.

Rick and Kathy also signed on as Frequent Readers. If you are RV’ers let us know and perhaps our paths will cross. Welcome, enjoy the journey.

Welcome Russ K! Russ is a fellow RV’er and a fellow blogger. You can find his blog at Therapy Travels. Welcome my new friend and we’ll have to see about making our paths cross. Would love to meet you and your wife.

Now we have some frequent readers that I don’t know their names as yet but they sure have been reading a lot. I can tell from my Feedjit widget that they have started reading the blog from the beginning. I love when new readers do this because I’ll click on the page that they are reading and sometimes I come across things I had forgotten we’d done, or seen, or places we visited. These posts are always fun to re-read.

So new readers from Palm Coast, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia and Apopka, Florida,,,, we welcome you! Enjoy the trip and feel free to leave comments if you want.

Welcome one and all!

1/13-1/16/2011 A Little of This and a Lot of That

2012-01-16T14:33:00.000-08:00

Four days off and we’re laying low because while Bob is now feeling almost one hundred percent, we’re finding that you can feel good for a day or two and then SMACK (!) you’re right back down. This is happening all over the park with so many people. It seems that rest is very important to beating this. While I’m glad he’s taking this stance for health reasons it really puts a damper on what you do and where you go.

To pass the day Bob inventoried our movies. Listed them by DVD and Blue Rays. I’m not aware of it if he further organized them by genre, mystery, sci-fi, drama or comedy or if he even listed them alphabetically. I so would do that!

It seemed like a good idea he had and I gave thought to organizing our music CD’s. The question was how to organize them? By decade? 60’s & 70’s? By type? Easy listening, pan flute, classic rock? How about by category? I could make one FOOD and list Meatloaf, Bread and The Cranberries! Or how about TRANSPORTATION? That would cover B-52’s, The Cars and Jefferson Airplane. CITIES? Chicago, Boston and Bay City Rollers! CONSTRUCTION??? 9-inch nails, the Doors and the Carpenters! The possibilities are endless! What can you think of? Leave me a message with a category/bands you come up with.

I have been craving egg salad sandwiches. I had plenty of eggs in the house since I bought a dozen and had forgotten that I had just bought a dozen a few days prior, I learned a lesson while making this egg salad. Never, ever make something you’ve been craving when you are hungry. Never. Bob doesn’t eat anything with mayonnaise so this I would be the only one eating it. I have no idea what I was thinking by using seven eggs. That’s a lot of sandwiches. So I get them hardboiled and get them into cold water at the proper time and let them cool. Sometimes I can peel that egg in very few large pieces. Such as these five here. (You know, only a blogger would set the stage for peeled hard boiled eggs and take a picture of them)

Remember, I hard boiled seven. I don’t know what happened to these last two. They came from the same carton, were the same size as the others, cooked for the same length of time but I’m here to tell you getting those shells off was like peeling the eggs from hell!

I was so glad I wasn’t making deviled eggs for a get together. Little teeny tiny white pieces of shell. Everywhere. Stuck to my wet fingers, stuck to the egg, in my sink and on my counter. It almost made me lose my appetite. Almost. I had two egg salad sandwiches for dinner that night, breakfast the next day, again at lunch and breakfast and lunch on the third day. Six egg salad sandwiches in a three day period, I’ve had my fill for awhile.

The Winter Texans are getting geared up for the fruit festival that is right around the corner, around the corner time wise that is, as in at the end of this month. From everything I’ve heard this is some big doings here in the Valley. I hope so, I need something to get excited about.

1/9-1/12/2012 Back to Work….AGAIN

2012-01-12T15:03:00.000-08:00

We’ve just come through a cold snap and its starting to warm up again. Just in time for us to go back to work. That’s not a bad thing! We would much rather have it warmer in the mornings than in the high 30’s – low 40’s.

Here we are almost to the middle of January already. I don’t know where the time is going.

There really isn’t a whole to report on this time. We worked, we played our games, watched TV, read, ate and slept.

Well there was our really good turnout for our game Left, Center, Right on Wednesday night. We had 31 players and some didn’t play because it was just too crowded. We’re going to have to move to the bigger room to play and add more tables. Besides, we’re too close to the card room and we get quite loud.

Bob was feeling better and he’s back down again. Not as bad this time but not 100% either. I haven’t gotten it yet although everyone around me has. Keepin’ my fingers crossed.

1/82012 Ask and You Shall Receive

2012-01-08T17:19:00.000-08:00

During the evening after we went to the bullfights in December I wrote a letter to the owners of the Santa Maria Bullfighting Ring. In this letter I told them how much we enjoyed the bullfight and also offered some information about what we experienced, what we heard from the those around us and some things I’m sure they weren’t aware of.

For instance, being in metal bleachers and that being the first show show of the season, we experienced rust or dirt falling down on us as people walked on the second level of bleachers above us. I suggested that before today’s bullfight that he have some people run through the upper levels so that anything that was going to fall would fall while no one sitting there. I told him that the ladies room didn’t have toilet tissue in there at the end of the bullfight and that the ladies were using paper towels that couldn’t be good for the plumbing. I also suggested that information be given about the matadors, that we, the audience, were interested in learning more about the stars of the show. A few other things were mentioned in the letter and I emailed it off. I was quite surprised to get a response the next morning. Mr Renk thanked me for writing and letting him know of these concerns and to let me know that he would address everything I mentioned, whether it be a problem or a suggestion. It felt good to be heard.

So today we went to the bullfights again. He DID do all the things he said he was going to! It was a such a pleasant experience today. Nothing fell on us as the people above us walked. He gave us so much info on all things bullfighting and I heard more than one around us shush someone in their party because they wanted to listen and didn’t want to miss anything.

After the flamenco dancers were done their show David Renk, the owners brother and one of six American matadors gave a demonstration of the different passes the matador makes with the muleta.

Before we knew it the matadors were being presented. Did you know that the term matador is only used in English.

Before the bullfighting started I asked Bunky if she wanted to get her picture taken with a matador as they were standing out front for photo ops. She said no, that she wasn’t interested in that and a few minutes later she changed her mind.

So I took for the first picture, a nice close up picture of the two of them.

I showed it to her as we were walking away and she said, “You didn’t get the socks, you have to take it again!” So this time I included the socks too,

When they let the first bull out it looked like he was hung up on something, his right horn I mean. Like it got caught the wood slats that make up the wall, or the doorway, or something. The bull didn’t come right out but looked to have had to break free from something. It didn’t take long, just mere seconds, but there some definite difficulty there.

Though we don’t know this for sure, we’re thinking he broke the horn off in trying to free himself because it flopped slightly when he ran and there looked to be some blood. If in fact this horn did grow this way then he must have cut his head on something. He seemed to favor that side also when he was charging the cape.

I’m thinking he’s bleeding and broke the horn.

I just can’t think of any reason why I would put my hand down in front of a bull that wants to kill me.

The bull took a step forward and that hand moved FAST!

The matador finally got the bull engaged on the field.

I’ll be honest with you, we just didn’t feel like this bull wanted to be here. It was like he had no interest. I don’t know if he was in pain because of that horn or whatever it was he had done to his head but something was off. Bob and I and Toni and Eddie felt kind of bad because we told Chip and Bunky how thrilling this was going to be and the first bullfight was kind of, well, blah.

The matador did his best to entice the bull.

The matador was awarded two ears despite the lethargy of the bull.

Things really perked up when the second bull came charging out of the pen.

It was like he was DARING the matador to come out from behind the barrier.

When the matador didn’t respond he went after him. There’s now a new hole in the barrier.

The second matador to fight today takes over.

This bullfight was much more exciting to watch and we, the audience, encouraged the judge to award the matador two ears and a tail.

The third bull that came out caught us all by surprise with its coloring. Up to now they have all been black.

This bull was very much into what was going on.

When the hand out to the bull happened the second time I was a bit surprised.

When he actually petted him on the nose I think we were all surprised! Not me! No way Jose!

I think it was here where the bull got a little too close for comfort.

The matador’s suit and cape were ripped by the bull’s horn.

This bull was so into this bullfight that it was just pure joy to watch it all play out.

In this picture you can see where the matador’s suit pants are torn. This Suit of Lights cost $10,000! It’s made with 10K gold thread. Once again we awarded two ears and a tail.

When the final bull came out the place went wild! He charged out of the chute snorting!

Here he was pawing the ground already.

He is not a happy camper and he came to play!

This bull is just H U G E!

He managed to get the cape away from the matador.

The matador played the bull and taunted him much to our delight. He shook his hips slightly as if to say, “Come on over here big boy.”

And he did. With a vengeance!

The matador goes for the kill,,,symbolically of course.

Got IT!

We cheered and yelled and OLE’d until we were practically hoarse but we were insistent that this matador get a well deserved two ears and tail. The show he gave, the skill he has, it was well deserved.

Take this as a lesson learned. If things aren’t quite up to the standards you think they should be, or want them to be, write a letter to the business owner. They DO listen. Mr. Renk, thank you for taking our suggestions and concerns to heart. The items you addressed made the bullfight so much more enjoyable to the audience. I paid attention to those around me and everyone had a great time thanks to your listening to your audience. We appreciate it.

1/6-1/7/2012 Frost!

2012-01-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

When I came downstairs(it may only be two steps but it IS downstairs) for the first time today Bob told me to look outside at the park model next door. I opened the door and looked and yep, it was still there. Bob said that I should be looking at the roof and not just the side of the house. Looking up I was quite surprised to see a wide strip of white stuff on the brown shingles.

It got cold enough in the valley last night for frost. We’re hoping this is the last time because this certainly isn’t something we signed up for. We want no parts of cold. Of course by noon we were in shorts and T’s and chairs around the pool were all spoken for.

On Saturday Bob had a relapse after feeling pretty good for the last two days. We were supposed to the Weslaco flea market with Toni and Eddie but he opted to stay home. I had been hearing so much about this place I went anyway.

We saw lots of pottery.

We saw lots of T-shirts and jewelry and games and shades for RV’s. Lots of pretty embroidered blouses and leather goods and old records. Plenty of used small household appliances and shelf after shelf of old Corning Ware pieces. Hundreds of containers of the best ever RV wax. We even saw a complete 3 foot tall suit of armor. Who woulda guessed?

We totally spoiled dogs.

And some rather strange looking humans.

Toni stopped to look at some old license plates because she makes things out of them. I snapped a picture but not because I was taking a picture of my friend. Look at the license plate that was standing up in the box. It grabbed my attention right away as I can spot a Delaware license plate a mile away.

It was nice to get out and about this afternoon. I walked from the flea market only buying a dice game and a score pad to go with it.

When we got home Bob wasn’t feeling any better. It seems everyone who gets this rallies then is back down again two days later. Of course I’m the one being blamed for everyone getting sick. Word is going around the park that I’m the carrier and giving it to everyone because I’m not getting it.

1/2-1/5/2012 Back to Work in the New Year

2012-01-05T10:29:00.000-08:00

It was back to work for us this first week of the new year. Bob still isn't 100% but he's feeling better than he was.

While out and about I took this picture of this strangely growing tree here in the park. Take not that is actually growing out of the ground in the shaded area.

On Tuesday we had an telephone interview for positions as camp hosts in Delaware where we were in 2010. We thought the interview was going great, the interviewer seemed very pleased with the answers we gave to her questions and we were feeling good about the way it was going. Then just before we hung up she dropped this….”Thank you for your time for the interview but I have to tell you, we don’t have much of anything available with the couples who are returning from last year.” Practically the same breath she told us we would be contacted by her supervisor for a second interview on Friday. If you don’t have anything then why call us in the first place? Why interview us? Why give us a second interview on Friday? We were dumbfounded. “What just happened here?” were what the looks we were giving each were saying. We so much wanted to go back to Delaware this summer to see our families and friends. Of course we knew this could happen and we were prepared to start looking in neighboring states for workamping positions. However, we weren’t prepared to give up on Delaware yet. There were other positions besides camp hosts at the Inlet. I put fingers to keyboard and started emailing people we know for some help. We would give it a few days and then start searching in neighboring states. It wouldn’t be ideal and we wouldn’t get home as much as we would like but it was better than nothing. It was a “Make lemonade out of lemons” type of situations for us.

On Wednesday we got a call from the Marina the state park system runs and were offered workamping positions as Marina Attendants. What does one do in this job you ask? Well, primarily we will shuttle boaters from the parking lot when they drop off their truck/trailers after putting their boats in the water, back to the docks. We’ll also settle disputes when two boaters can’t agree who got to the ramp first to use it. I’ll help with Marina festival when it comes time for that and Bob will help out with projects around the marina during slow times. One of our emails helped. One on our contacts got the ball rolling and made things happen for us. THANKS J! So we’re going home for the summer. Yes readers, I’m gonna make your eyes bleed with sunset pictures!

Bob and I have already made plans to do something that is on Bob’s bucket list on our way home. Something he has wanted to do for a really, really long time. I’m not going to give any details yet but I will say that campground reservations have already been made and tickets are already bought. It is going to be something special and I can’t wait to share it all with you but the now isn’t the time.

We picked up Toni and Eddie from the airport on Wednesday afternoon so now we have everyone back from trips home and we can get on with the season.

1/1/2012 Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:57:00.000-08:00

The Quinn’s want to wish you all a very

Happy New Year.

We wish for each and every one of you a year

filled with good health and much happiness.

We appreciate all of you who follow along

on our journey.

12/31/2011 365 Days

2011-12-31T08:02:00.000-08:00

The end of another year. Tomorrow is the beginning of a new one. It seems like only yesterday we were waiting to usher in 2011 and now its coming to an end. My mom always told me that the older you get the faster time goes. She knows what she’s talking about.

Its been a good year for the most part. There were some bumps in our road but that’s what life is all about isn’t it? Taking the good with the bad, sharing ups and downs, learning about ourselves and who we are along the way.

January found Bob riding high over the desert floor on his new to him four wheeler and taking a much needed rest after all the hard work he did on our park model. January found me dealing with a bout of depression. We took in a Street Festival and attended Quail Run’s Carnival.

February was a busy month for us with me feeling better after a doctors visit and some tests. Our friend Marvin came to visit us all the way from Florida,,,,this 86 year old made it in 3 days. We celebrated our 31st wedding anniversary and attended (Quail Run friends) Dan & Lin’s wedding reception. We participated in the Winter Olympics, attended an Indian Music Festival and a Gourd Festival.

Once again Quail Run residents celebrated the victory over cancer and remembered those who didn’t win the battle with the Cancer Survivor Party.

March brought us Quail Run’s First Art Show and talent just oozed from every corner of the park.

Tuesday mornings wouldn’t be the same anymore with our line dancing as Carl & Sandy take a much needed break.

March also brought the end of another Quail Run season. A round of parties and BBQ’s were on our agenda it seemed almost daily. So long and see ya next fall were the call of the day. But the best party of all? Had to be, hands down, Darlene’s birthday party!

We ended up the season with dinner for 60 in a local restaurant.

April found us on the road again for another summer adventure. Plans were all in place and we learned how fast plans can change!

Having a new rig there just has to be problems and we found ourselves camped out at a dealership for a week. We spent some time in Fort Wa-chew-ka (I still can’t spell it) and also in Fort Bliss. We love those Army bennies!

We visited Coronado National Memorial and saw some beautiful scenery.

We also got to see the biggest rose bush either one of us had ever seen!

April was fun and frustrating at the same time.

May….wow do plans change fast! We were all set to be in Nebraska this entire month but that changed all within 20 minutes. Onward to South Dakota!

Before we knew it we were settled in Rapid City and once again we were very thankful for our Army benefits. Little did we know just how good they would be.

We settled in here to re-group and refine the game plan and well we just never left. We were offered the position of Camp Host and were we ever glad we stayed.

We learned to deal with rain. And wind. We didn’t like it, but we dealt with it.

We got the chance to explore the Badlands National Park.

Close by was that famous drug store.

The month of May wasn’t what was planned but it was A-OK in our book!

June was probably the best month out of the whole year. This is the month we met, now forever friends, Jerry and Valerie. They came for two weeks,,,,and stayed all summer!

In our travels we visited a beautiful Norwegian church,,,,

,,,,a very interesting Journey Museum.

We started a veggie garden.

We lived through the HAIL STORM!

July brought us our first visit to Custer State Park.

We visited a whole town that was for sale.

We got a much needed new chair.

July also brings friends to visit. Joy and DeWayne arrive for a two week visit.

August introduced us to STURGIS BIKE WEEK. I will never, ever forget this!

This is the month I make another good friend. Lynnie Quinn has been here for awhile but its not until now we start connecting.

Bob gets our truck window all dressed up with his military achievements. I’m always so proud of him!

This month I hang a friend….

This same friend puts holes in my head.

Dianne arrives! Dianne, our forever friend from “home” flew out to spend two weeks with us.

We went to see Mount Rushmore.

We watched the bears play in the trees.

And we stood in awe at Devils Tower.

Joy & DeWayne end up staying as our fellow camp hosts! YAY!

September already!

We said farewell, see ya soon to Dianne.

Our friend Jerry wows us with another meal. These meals are getting ready to be a regular thing and we’re likin’ it!

Bob did some repair work to our rig.

We bid farewell to Jerry and Valerie, DeWayne and Joy and Ellsworth Air Force Base. It’s time to move on.

We landed in Fort Bliss in El Paso for a day or two and then dropped the rig off in Tucson, Arizona for some warranty work.

We headed on to Arizona City to get our park model ready for our friends.

It was HOT when we arrived!

We sold the ATV since we aren’t spending the winter here.

We finished all we had to do in Arizona and hit the road again, through New Mexico….

and back into Texas settling in Fort Sam Houston with Joy & DeWayne and Pat & Dann that we met in South Dakota.

The six of us checked out the Alamo and the River Walk in San Antonio.

The six of us then move on to the Rio Grande Valley where we’ll all be workamping for this winter season.

In October we get all settled in Mission, Texas at the Mission Bell/Trade Winds RV Resort.

We attend a workamper potluck supper and I find myself carving a pumpkin blindfolded.

NOT!

We find that we are workamping with another couple we met in Quail Run back in ‘07, Eddie & Toni.

We also meet Chip & Bunky who are sure to be forever friends too.

Halloween is soon upon us.

November finds Bob putting a new states map on our 5th wheel.

The very best day of this whole month was when we met up with LaVon and Don just seven miles away.

I make my first trip to a Ropa Usada.

December brought us the BULLFIGHTS!

Delicious dinner with friends are something we look forward to each week.

A trip to Hidalgo to see the Light Festival was on our agenda.

Let’s not forget the ants!

All in all, it was a pretty good year. Met some great people, made wonderful new friends, saw some fantastic sights, shared lots of meals with friends that overflowed with good food and lots of laughs.

Who could ask for more?

12/30/2011 The Ants Go Marching One By One

2011-12-30T14:53:00.000-08:00

Do you remember when you were a kid and singing a song about ants?

(sung to the tune of When Johnnie Comes Marching Home)

The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching one by one, hurrah, hurrah The ants go marching one by one, the little one stops to suck his thumb And they all go marching down… to the ground…. to get out… of the rain, BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

And then of course the ants march two by two all the way to the end of the song and along the way the little one stops to do something. Anything from knock on the door to pick up sticks depending on what number it rhymes with. I must have sung this song a hundred times when I was a kid.

There is a reason I brought this up, bear with me.

A couple of days ago Bob came in from taking our trash to the dumpster and said, “Grab your camera and go walk along the back fence. Look at the ground right by the fence.” Well, needless to say he had my attention and off I went.

I was just amazed at what I saw. A line of leaves walking along a forty foot trail. Walking leaves??? I knelt down to get a better look. I snapped of 18 pictures of these walking leaves and raced home to get them on the computer to see what I had captured. I wasn’t impressed with photographic results to say the least. I deleted all but three and even those I wasn’t happy with.

I went back the next day and took a beach towel with me so I could lay on the ground and take some more pictures. Well, the pictures didn’t turn out any better because the street was covered in pebbles and stones and it just hurt to lay there. I couldn’t find a way to position my arms so that I could hold the camera steady because of stones poking in my elbows. The one time I did get somewhat comfortable a darn car came and since I was laying in the street I had to get up quickly and I lost what probably would have been National Geographic worthy photos. (Ha! I crack myself up sometimes!)

So I google cut ants and start reading. Wow, what an amazing and DESTRUCTIVE little group of insects.

Their proper, non-scientific, name is Leaf Cutter Ants. I think it should be changed to, Strip a Tree In No Time Flat Ants.

This is what I saw walking down the forty feet of fence, all in a row, one right after the other. Very methodical, no crowding each other, just hundreds of leaves walking down the street.

This is a pretty good sized leaf!

So what did I find out about ants? Well, these particular ants are found in Central America, Mexico and the southern US. The are two different types of Leaf Cutter ants and 47 sub species.

Next to humans, leafcutter ants form the largest and most complex animal societies on Earth. In a few years, the central mound of their underground nests can grow to more than 98 ft. across, with smaller, radiating mounds extending out to a radius of 260 ft., taking up 320 to 6,500 sq. ft. and containing eight million individuals. (Thank you Wikipedia!)

Click on the picture belong to enlarge it in a new screen. You’ll see ants that aren’t carrying leaves and that is because they are heading back for more or their JOB is to protect the working ants from insect predators.

Now to the WHY of the leaf cutting. It seems the ants grow a fungal garden underground and these leaves feed it. This is way more than I ever wanted to know about ants, let me tell ya!

Here’s how it goes down. Male and female ants are winged as ant “toddlers” if you will. When it is time for the ants to leave the nest they do so en masse and engage in a nuptial flight known as the revoada. Each female mates with multiple males (the slut!) to collect the 300 million sperm to start her colony. Three hundred million!

On the ground, now wingless, the female searches for an underground area in which to lay her eggs and found her colony. The success rate of these young queens is very low, and less than three percent will go on to establish a sustainable colony. Before leaving her birth nest the queen stored a small amount of the parental fungus garden mycelium in her a pocket, which is located within her oral cavity. Oh, I so didn’t want to know all this!

These little ants are workers!

Here is a picture taken by Bandwagonman I took with permission from Wikipedia. This is obviously a huge colony which needs tons of leaves to feed the fungus.

Several times bigger than itself and the ant can still carry the leaf. (Photo by Grey Wulf – U.K. with permission)

This is what our street looked like. Why couldn’t these ants walk on limb so I could get pictures like this??? (Photo by Yuval Gelber – Peru with permission)

These little ants have quite the audience every day as dog walkers stop to watch, cars go by slowly with drivers watching the show and the random woman laying on the ground on top of a large M & M beach towel and trying to take their picture. You have to wonder what they think, ya know?

12/29/2011 Still Under the Weather

2011-12-29T17:40:00.000-08:00

We hit eighty degrees today and Bob is just itching to get outside but he’s still feeling pretty bad.

He did try to take a short bike ride today just to get some fresh air but by the time he rode around just one block he was exhausted. Totally wore him out. I hope for his sake this doesn’t last too long. I hope for MY sake this doesn’t last too long. A sick Bob is not a happy Bob.

I took some pictures today. Had to lay in the street to get them and wasn’t happy with any of them. Back out tomorrow to try again. Wait till you see what I’ve got coming…..if I can get the pics!

12/28/2011 Left, Center, Right

2011-12-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

First things first! Happy birthday wishes go out to Eugene, Bob’s brother. He is the Dallas Cowboy’s # 1 FAN! I took pictures of his shrine to the team the last time we were home. You can see it here. Shortly after we arrived here in this park, I was in the quilting room one day and saw a teddy bear made from none other than material imprinted with the Dallas Cowboy’s logo. I knew we had to have it to send to Gene for his birthday. Lo and behold it was for sale. Within minutes I had it at home and planning how to surprise him with it. I am so kicking myself for not taking a picture of it before I sent it off. I contacted our niece Lisa to send it to her so that she could take it to him on his birthday. He was quite surprised by it and we’re told he just loves it! I think the thumbs up shows that.

It was a beautiful day here in the Valley, blue skies, sunshine, warm temps. Everyone was busy outside doing things enjoying the summer like weather. Everyone except Bob. It seems that sore throat has blossomed into a sore throat with sore muscles and joints, a runny nose, a cough and the whole feeling of “I’m dying, please God, take me now.” I feel so sorry for him because he’s just miserable. I’m also staying away from him. Whatever this is that he’s got, I don’t want it! I have heard that quite a few in the park have gotten this bug too so its probably only a matter of time for me.

On Wednesday evenings we play a card game in the park called Card Elimination which I explained back on 12/14. Since this game usually takes just an hour or so it was decided that afterwards we would get a game or two of LCR going. We had it announced at the card game that we would playing afterwards and that everyone was welcome.

This is a dice game that I first learned about from my brother when we were home a year and a half ago. We had gone to the Elks Club one evening and gathered around the pool table there. We played for dollars there but here in this Texas RV park we only play for quarters. There were about 18 of us the first game we played. A few people had played or heard of this game before but it was new to most. (We got a game up last weekend so some played then and came back for more) We gathered in the quilting room where there is high table and the game began. Everyone starts with three quarters and the first person throws all three dice. The die have a letter L which stands for Left, a letter R which is for Right and letter C, which of course stands for Center. There is also a black dot which stands for YOU KEEP YOUR MONEY! So the first hand is thrown and let’s say it Comes up L C and “dot”. What this means is that one of the quarters is given to the person on your left, one is put in the pot in the center of the table and one you keep. Play moves to the left and that person has four quarters, the original three and the one you passed to the left. Let’s say that person rolls two R’s and “dot”. Player passes two quarters to the right,,,YOU and keeps one. Play passes to the left. Quarters keep getting passed left and right or put into the pot in the middle of the table or kept the roller all the way around the table. Of course the people on your left want you to roll L’s so they are yelling Left! Left! Left! and the people on the right want you to roll R’s so they are yelling Right! Right! Right! It’s a fast paced game, lots of laughs and Oh NO’s! Remember the C’s for Center? All the quarters that are put in the pot because of of the roller rolling C’s are out of play. This is how the winner is determined. The last one holding a quarter wins the pot. After the first game our numbers increased and we had 22 for the game. This is going to be a weekly game now after Card Elimination. Now all that has to happen is for me to win!

12/272011 To the Airport We Go

2011-12-27T10:09:00.000-08:00

After work today, our last day for this work period, we took friends Toni & Eddie to the airport in McAllen. They are going “home” to Nebraska for eight days to see the kids and to get a grandkids fix. I’m already looking forward to the day we pick them back up.

I’ve been talking with friends and family in Delaware and it seems that they are experiencing warmer than normal temperatures. Sixty two in December? Unheard of!

Our weather has been cloudy and dreary for what seems forever now and I’m happy to report that today we are back in shorts and tees. In fact, the weather man says eighty by the end of the week. Eighty is good!

Bob is complaining of a sore throat, I hope he’s not coming down with something.

That’s it for today.

12/26/2011 The Day After

2011-12-26T15:13:00.001-08:00

It’s over. Christmas is done for another year. I’m glad. I’m not a fan of Christmas. The commercial Christmas that is. I don’t like Christmas displays before the Halloween pumpkins are put away. I don’t like hearing Jingle Bells before we’re done with Over the River and Through the Woods…. I don’t like what Christmas has become. We, as a people, have gotten so far away from the reason for the season.

Its sad really. Families who can ill afford it spend recklessly to provide their kids with the latest toys and electronics because nowadays parents are even teaching their children to play keep up with the Joneses. Woe be to the ”un” or under-employed who cannot buy the latest and greatest for their child. The guilt associated this time of year can prove to be too much for some of them.

How did it get this way? When I was a kid you didn’t think about Christmas until just before Thanksgiving, if then. Stores kept their hours, maybe staying open late on weekends two weeks before Christmas and still closed on Sundays no matter what. Now stores are open till midnight or straight through to 5a.m. Christmas morning to get that last almighty dollar. There used to be Black Friday and now there’s that and Cyber Monday. Where does it all end? When do get back to the reason for the season? I am by no means saying gift giving is a bad thing, quite the contrary. Within reason. Within means. With thought to what you are buying and giving. I’ll get off my soapbox now.

Yesterday we had dinner with about 385 others in the Friendship Hall over at the Mission Bell side. To be perfectly honest, we and a lot of others were disappointed. The turkey and ham were delicious but unless you were in the first two tables (think about 140 people) who were called to go through the buffet line, well, whatever was left was cold. It also didn’t help that we got started 15 minutes late. I think the whole serving process needs to be revamped.

After dinner Bob retired to his recliner and I went to our clubhouse for a rousing game of Mexican Train with Games Gang.

A nice Christmas Day I suppose, I just wish whole thing was different, perhaps back to simpler times.

12/25/2011 Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

Bob & I would like to take this time

to wish you and yours

a very Merry Christmas.

Our wish for you this holiday season

and the whole year through is

health and happiness.

We appreciate your loyalty in reading our blog,

some of you since the beginning.

We appreciate every one of you.

Merry Christmas dear friends.

12/24/2011 A Little of This, A Little of That

2011-12-24T17:32:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve.

We’ll spending the evening playing games with several friends of ours here in the park. After the evening Christmas Eve service the park puts on Game Night on this side. Trade Winds that is. The “other” park, Mission Bell will have a Talent Show and then the Christmas Eve service.

It’s cold here. Not so much cold as damp, chilly and just miserable. Our friend Marv called and told us he was enjoying his best year ever in Florida. We wish we were with him. We’re tired of rain and cloudy days.

A couple of weeks ago we went to the Santa Ana Wild Life Preserve with Eddie & Toni. It had been the third of fourth cloudy day in a row and we all just had to get out and DO something. We walked down a trail and looked at the duck pond but it was so wet and cloudy the pictures didn’t turn out as well I had hoped. All the same, here’s a few from that day.

We thought it odd that the bark was just falling away from the tree trunk.

Lots of moss hanging from the trees.

The duck pond.

I took these pictures of Toni & Eddie and can’t decide which one I like better.

Have you seen the latest in the Modern Day Family Christmas Card?

Since we’ve been on the road we have been introduced to some new things to eat. Fiddleheads in Canada, halibut when we were in Alaska but this “new” thing we’ve found advertised in the grocery store circular will NEVER grace our table! GUARANTEED! I mean, what do you DO with it? WHY would anyone want to eat this?

On that note I’ll close this.

12/20/2011 Hidalgo Lights

2011-12-20T20:09:00.000-08:00

This evening we went to the little city of Hidalgo to take in their three million plus Christmas lights.

Hidalgo is a town that has been known by numerous names through the years. Modern day Hidalgo was first settled by Spanish colonists led by José de Escandón in about 1749. The colony was known by multiple names: La Habitación, Rancho San Luís, and San Luisito. In 1852, John Young settled in the area and renamed the town Edinburgh after his place of birth, Edinburgh, Scotland. The town was incorporated in 1876, and its name was changed to Hidalgo in 1885. Enough history!

This is a trip that was supposed to be taken by us and Don & LaVon in a horse drawn carriage after we enjoyed dinner in one of their favorite restaurants. LaVon is now in Georgia with her mother who isn’t feeling up to par.

I threw this idea out to Toni & Eddie and Chip & Bunky and we decided to go. Are we ever glad we did.

On the way be felt like we were in the movie “The Birds”.

We arrived in Hidalgo at six and went straight to the ticket booth to purchase our trolley tickets. Horse drawn carriages only sat four so that wouldn’t work for us. There was also a horse drawn trolley but we didn’t see that when we got there so it could have already been out on the road.

So here is what we saw. These pictures were taken on the grounds in front of the town hall, the town square if you will.

The 21st celebration of the “Festival of Lights”

The school’s teams and mascot are the Killer Bees.

Standing in line waiting for the trolley we were entertained by Willie’s Washboard Jamboree.

The pictures from here on out may be a tiny bit blurry because the trolley was moving.

I was very happy to see one of their sponsors in lights!

The trolley ride was almost four miles long through the town.

These following displays are done in rope lights.

This is one of my favorites.

The trolley ride came to end and we walked through the town square to see what we missed earlier.

We found someone to take a picture of this group that have become good friends!

After we had seen all the sights and lights we decided it was time to get some dessert. We ended up at Mimi’s and we ate too much too late at night. That was a lesson learned.

An enjoyable evening to be sure!

12/18/2011 Workamper Christmas Luncheon

2011-12-18T20:18:00.000-08:00

Today was the day that most of the workampers met at 11:30 for a Christmas luncheon. Chip and Bunky weren’t here because they are still with their family up north and one other couple that I know of weren’t there.

Everyone was to bring a dish to share and our contribution was macaroni salad. There was quite an array of dishes to choose from so everybody found at least a few things they liked.

We also had the option of buying gender neutral gifts for ten dollars or under for an exchange. We chose to get involved with this. We brought a flip calculator that had more functions than just a plain old calculator. We also brought a stainless steel lined insulated travel mug. Either man or woman could use either one.

After eating lunch Toni and I led the group in “our version” of the Twelve Days of Christmas. We geared the words to reflect our duties here in the park. It was fun and everyone seemed to enjoy it. As an example the first part went like this. (I should explain that Swafford is the last name of our park managers)

Everybody sing!

On the first day of Christmas the Swaffords gave to me, a place to park my RV and it just went on from there.

Next came the gift exchange and we were told to get in a circle and to stand shoulder to shoulder with our gifts in our hands. Everyone in place, the rules of the game were explained. A story was going to be read to us and every time we heard the word RIGHT we were to pass our gift to the person to our and of course when we heard the word LEFT we were to pass left.

It wasn’t as easy it sounds. Here’s the story, you can see for yourself how confusing this can get.

Christmas was almost here, and Mother RIGHT was finishing the Christmas baking.

Father RIGHT, Sue RIGHT, and Billy RIGHT returned from their last-minute Christmas errands.

"There's not much LEFT to be done," said Father RIGHT as he came into the kitchen.

"Did you leave the basket of food at church?" asked Mother RIGHT.

"I LEFT it RIGHT where you told me to," said Father RIGHT.

"I'm glad my shopping is done," said Billy RIGHT. "I don't have any money LEFT."

The hall telephone rang, and Susan RIGHT LEFT to answer it.

She rushed back and told the family "Aunt Tillie RIGHT LEFT a package for us RIGHT on Grandma RIGHT's porch.

I'll go over there RIGHT now and get it." she said as she LEFT in a rush.

Father RIGHT LEFT the kitchen and brought in the Christmas tree.

By the time Susan RIGHT returned, Mother RIGHT, Father RIGHT, and Billy RIGHT had begun trimming the tree.

The entire RIGHT family sang carols as they finished the decorating.

Then they LEFT all the presents arranged under the tree and went to bed, hoping they had selected the RIGHT gifts for their family.

Now I hope you have the RIGHT present for yourself, because that's all that's LEFT of our story.....

Except to wish you a Merry Christmas....Isn't that RIGHT?

Next time you have a gift exchange, of any sort, keep this in mind as its lots of laughs and the story can be adapted to any kind of situation or holiday. The party was over much too soon but I guess its “tis the season” to be rushed

We’re in the middle of a cold snap and we don’t like it! Not only is it cold,,,well, COLD isn’t really right, cooler than what we would like is probably a better way to explain it. So cooler temps with drizzle and the occasional downpour just makes everything miserable. We’re hoping the weather man gets his act together real soon and straightens this out.

12/16/2011 Change the Night, Change the Name

2011-12-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

We miss Shag.

Our little terrier went to the Rainbow Bridge five years ago today. A day that we will forever remember with sadness in our hearts.

You keep playing at the bridge Shag, we’ll be together again someday.

Now moving on to other things.

We changed the name of The Every Other Tuesday Night Let’s Go Out To Dinner Club to The Every Other Friday Night Let’s Go Out To Dinner Club due to a change in Chip’s workamper schedule and we came to find out that many Tuesday nights Dann and Pat couldn’t join us either because of their workamping commitments. So we’re going to try this.

It was Joy & DeWayne’s turn to pick the restaurant this time. They chose Lin’s Grand Buffet as their choice.

Instead of the ten of us that should have been at the dinner table, there was only six. Chip and Bunky left yesterday to go home to northern Texas for four days to have their Christmas with their son and his family. If the truth be told Bunky needed a granddaughter fix. Then Joy came down with a stomach bug so they stayed home.

We rode with Toni and Eddie and arrived just minutes before Pat and Dann. We all took notice of the pretty chandelier lights bouncing off the mirrored walls around it. Many, many crystals in this light, I would not want to have to clean it!

We were promptly seated and within minutes hello’s were said, drinks arrived and we were settled in.

I wish I could tell you how many selections there were to choose from on the buffet. Lots. Now before we go any further I just know that some of you long time readers are wondering if I had hamburger or not. The answer is no. I happen to like pepper steak. I’ll also eat beef and broccoli. Bob? Not a problem, he likes all kinds of Chinese food and was in heaven with all the choices. Now get ready for this. I even tried some things I had never had before. Yes, its true, I did. Sesame chicken can now be added to the list of Chinese things I’ll eat. I tried some General’s chicken but was taken aback when I ate it because I didn’t expect it to be hot. Not hot HOT but a tang I didn’t expect. That did not make the list. There was one more thing that did NOT make the list. Try as she might Pat could not talk me into trying THIS!

I WOULD STARVE FIRST! There is no way I would eat a baby octopus! Not this night, not next week, not 16 years, 4 months and 12 days from now will I even entertain the idea of this passing my lips. Ain’t happenin’!

I just have to put this out there. We made pigs of ourselves. There’s no other way to say it. This is one time we can actually say we got our money’s worth from a buffet. All six of us made repeated trips to the serving lines. Salads, meats, seafood and desserts, absolute gluttons!

Looking up at the ceiling there was a very large round platform type structure on which not quite life size horses stand.

We asked about the meaning behind this display and we were told they were replicas of the horses and chariots found buried in China from many, many, (think thousands) years ago during the Chin Dynasty. I did a little research and found this was a somewhat common thing to do back in the time. Think of years like 200 BC. The pieces were made from different metals, wood, turquoise and even terra cotta. Several dynasty’s have participated in this practice such as the Qin Dynasty, the Shang Dynasty and the Han Dynasty. That’s it for today’s lesson on ancient China.

As usual we enjoyed good food, great company and lots of laughs.

12/14/2011 We Shopped Till We Dropped

2011-12-14T19:21:00.000-08:00

For those of you reading this who know me in real life you are saying to yourselves right now, “No way, this blog title can’t be referring to Snookie because she HATES to shop!” And you’d be right. I hate to shop.

But shop I did! For about three hours and believe me, I was ready to drop. Toni picked Bunky and me up this morning and off to the mall we went. I had a 15% off coupon for Penney’s and there were some things that I needed to get. I wanted to get a couple of those, for the lack of a better term, jogging outfits. You know, the pull on pants usually with a stripe down the side with a matching jacket. I figured this close to Christmas and with such a short winter season here they would be on sale and with my coupon I figured I’d get some good deals. I practically stole them! They were marked 50% off, coupled with an even better coupon than my 15% off that the cashier had, I walked out of there with $175.00 worth of stuff for $65 and change plus tax.

From Penney’s we walked the mall. Here is where I was really surprised. The mall wasn’t overly decorated for Christmas. A few large Christmas trees, Santa’s chair, a poinsettia here and there and that was it. Store decorations were also understated. It doesn’t feel like Christmas here with temps in the 80’s so I guess even the mall decorators just can’t bring themselves to go all out. Many individual store window displays hadn’t changed to reflect the season even.

This was my second trip to the mall and the first time out of the confines of J. C. Penney’s so I was pleasantly surprised to find Dillard’s. (Delawareans…think Strawbridges or Wannamaker’s) I hit the jackpot here with a new pair of sneakers marked down from $80. to $40. Yay me!

Brookstone’s was next and here I had the crap nearly scared out of me. I sat down in this massaging chair to see what it was like and Toni pressed one button and my back was being massaged and it was wonderful. She pressed another one and the chair went to work on my neck. I was in heaven! I’m thinking I gotta get me one of these. Even my legs could have been massaged because there was a space for each leg to lay in on the foot rest of the recliner when it laid back in position.

Toni pushed another button and chair went back ever so gently to evenly distribute my weight. Everything was being massaged. Oh yes, gotta get me one of these.

And then…..and then Toni pushed another button. And the chair tried to kill me. The. Chair. Tried. To. Kill. Me. It was like it came to life and the sides of the chair were moving closer together trapping me with its big, black, leather arms. The sections around my legs tightened so that I couldn’t leap from the chair to save myself. And it just kept getting tighter. I should probably tell you that I’m extremely, like to the MAX, claustrophobic. I do not like to be restrained in any way, shape or form. I don’t know if I just yelled, “get me out” or if I screamed and Toni could see the panic stricken look on my face, but I do remember the salesman suddenly being beside Toni and telling her to PUSH THAT BUTTON, PUSH THAT BUTTON! The chair released me and as soon as I could I fled it clutches and quickly said to myself, “Forget that!”

I was ready to go! Before we left Brookstone’s though I bought this really nice gift for one of my fellow workampers that will given at our party on Sunday for the gift exchange.

A few more small shops and I was all shopped out. I needed to get out of the mall anyway. It was getting harder and harder for me to keep my wits about me and not run up to people and yell, “You’re in AMERICA,,,,SPEAK ENGLISH!”

We decided to make a detour through the cemetery across the street from the mall. it was so colorful with all the flowers we just had to see it up close.

Nearly every grave is adorned with some type of artificial flower arrangement or a flag or something of a more personal nature. We saw baseballs, toy trucks, pictures in frames, stuffed animals and things like that.

Some of the arrangements were just huge.

Family plots were easy to pick out.

Some of the headstones and statuary were very elaborate.

Colorful, and in some cases even garish, the cemetery was peaceful. The heavy traffic from the highway, running right along side this eternal resting place, didn’t seem to permeate the air with horn blasts and sirens and squealing brakes. All those sounds were there but somehow muted in reverence to what this space is.

After a stop at the grocery store, read this as, BEER RUN, we headed back to the park.

We all went our separate ways and met up againm with husbands in tow, this evening to play Card Elimination. We play this every Wednesday evening. We had 108 players tonight so every one wanted to win the $108.00 jackpot.

To quickly explain the game: Eleven games or hands. Four players, deck of cards dealt out so each player gets 13 cards. You lay them face up on the table in front of you.

A large plastic cup is started at one the end of the table and each player puts a dime in it for the first game as its passed to the other end. The second game a quarter will be deposited and then a dime and then a quarter until you’ve used all ten coins. (5 dimes, 5 quarters) The very last game is played with a dollar bill.

The caller may tell us to throw all our clubs away and everyone puts their clubs in a pile in front of them. He’ll then proceed to call the remaining cards in the deck. If you have one he calls you take it off the table and put it in your pile. There’s all kinds of variations on what the caller may have you do with your cards in the beginning of the game to eliminate some of them.

When you get down to two cards on the table you yell out your home state or province. When you only have one card left you knock on the table at which time the caller will announce we’ve got some knockers.

When your last card is called you yell out WAHOO! and you win the game. Tonight each winner received 108 dimes = $10.80, 108 quarters – $27.00 or $108.00 for the very last game.

Halfway through the game our caller reads some mild adult jokes he’s gotten during the last week. its funny to see the heads nod when he starts to read one because those people have also gotten the same joke in their email.

Tonight Bob won a dime game but had to split the pot with two others.

It was a busy day to be sure.

12/13/2011 Twelve Days Of Christmas

2011-12-13T11:02:00.001-08:00

As part of your Christmas season do you go caroling? I can’t say it was always part of my Christmas season, until I became a full time RV’er that is. The past four years? Oh yeah, we’ve been out there.

There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

This week, I found out. My forever friend, Elaine, sent me an email explaining the whole thing. I thought I’d share it with you.

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.

The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol.

12/11/2011 Dinner with Friends

2011-12-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

This week Chip and Bunky treated us to the most delicious chicken shish kebabs. This was the dinner we were supposed to share yesterday but because of the pouring down rain got postponed until today.

They built them earlier in the day and marinated them and them cooked them to perfection.

Chicken alternating with squash, zucchini, red onion, bell pepper (all colors) and mushrooms. I’m telling you…PERFECTION!

Toni and Eddie contributed a wild rice dish and dessert and Bob and I contributed glazed carrots and a tossed salad.

Here’s Bob waiting patiently for the kebabs to be passed down.

Since it wasn’t coming he just put his plate out and Bunky put one his plate.

We all enjoy these weekly dinners so much. It gives us a chance to really get to know each other and further cement our friendships. Of course the great food has quite a lot to do with it also!

We won’t have a dinner next week because Chip and Bunky are going home for a few days to northern Texas. However, we already know we’ve got a spaghetti dinner in our future from Toni and Eddie and Bob and I are planning a shrimp boil for us. There will be lots of good meals as we plan on doing this every week.

12/4/2011 We Go To the BULLFIGHTS!

2011-12-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

We bought tickets for this event two weeks or so ago and were willing the days to fly by so that we could see our first bullfight. I should clarify that it was Toni and I willing the days, the guys, eh, not so much although they did want to go.

So today was the day! Our plan was to pick up something we could eat once we got there for lunch. This worked!

We had to drive about an hour to La Gloria where the Santa Maria Bullring is located.

As you can see it was a cloudy day but we’re thinking that was a good thing. It was just the right temperature and if the sun was out it would have been a tad warm.

To say we were surprised at the arena would be an understatement. I think we all had it in our minds that we we’re going to an arena much like a major league baseball stadium. Bricks and mortar at the very least. We were expecting a much larger place, perhaps big enough to hold thousands of people. Where these ideas came from I have no idea but what we envisioned and what we actually saw were two completely different things, worlds apart. We’re glad we were wrong to tell the truth. This setting gave us a close up of the action. Oh, did it ever, but more about that later.

When we arrived we gave our tickets and proceeded in to check out this totally new experience for all of us.

The first thing we noticed was the Matador’s Chapel.

If I was going to be facing these bulls I’d spending some time in here too!

There was food available to buy and beer and sodas and much to Toni’s chagrin there was no ice cream available.

A close up of the painting in the above picture.

Toni and I had to make a visit to the restroom. The bullfighting posters were unexpected.

We decided we better find our seats since more people were starting to arrive. We bought these box seats at forty bucks a pop since we figured if we only do this once we want to make sure we have good seats. Did we ever!

Here is our view from our seats.

We all agreed the ring was about 150’ – 175’ feet across, side to side and front to back. Think half a football field or so.

Shortly after we sat down the platform for the flamenco dancers was brought out. We had to wait for a little while past the scheduled three o’clock time for the dancers to begin. It seems the woman was very sick but being the true performer she is her mantra was “The show must go on”.

Sonja Chapa and Ray Duran put on quite the show for us.

Their show was over and now we waited for the bullfights to begin. Toni and I decided a walk around the area was a good idea to help pass the time.

I caught this cowboy’s boots through the benches.

The bullfighters in their colorful costumes which is known as a "suit of lights” were starting to gather at the front gate. The matador on the right, a banker in Houston Monday through Friday.

Did you know that matadors wear pink socks for a reason? No, well sit right back and I’ll tell you why. Actually, there are several reasons. One is for visibility, bullfighting is a very mobile sport with the matador constantly twisting and turning and constantly engaging in some very fast footwork. The bright pink allows the spectators to keep a watchful eye on his moves. Pink is also considered a lucky color.

Back in our seats again it was time for what we had been waiting for.

This lone cowboy made a run around the arena. The second picture shows just how close our ring side seats are.

The matadors waiting while announcements are being made.

Their costumes were so elaborately decorated. Take note of the the matador in the center. He is wearing a cape de paseo which is worn during the ceremonial ring entry. The matadors costumes consists of a silk jacket heavily embroidered in silver or gold thread, skintight pants, pink socks and black slipper like shoes.

The first matador is presented to the crowd.

And then the bull was presented. He came into the arena looking for a fight!

He just tore around the arena.

……and once again you can see how good our seats were!

Now before we get into the actual bullfight pictures I want to explain that this was a bloodless bullfight. The bull was not killed or harmed in anyway. The worst thing that happened was that he got tired.

Take notice of the red, white and blue thing on the bull’s back. That is velcro-ed to his back.

Take note in the picture of above that cape is yellow or gold on one side and pink on the other. In the first two acts of a bullfight, this cape which is called a capote is used. Why these colors? Pink because it’s considered lucky and the yellow or gold to signify the playing field.

We learned when to yell “Ole’” and one of our party, I won’t mention any names, really got into it. I thought for sure she was going to end up yodeling for the crowd with her Ole-le-le-le-le.

This was a perfect Ole’ moment.

More than once the matadors ended up behind the protective barrier.

The box seats were just perfect for taking pictures. Wouldn’t you agree?

In these pictures the cape has been changed to the red one. This cape is called a muleta and signifies the 3rd and final stage of the bullfight. It is a red felt material that hangs from a stick as you see above. Also being held in the matadors hand is the sword with which to kill the bull, if this wasn’t a bloodless bullfight. The sword will come in to play later.

Throughout the bullfight the matador will twist and turn and swirl the cape in an effort to make the bull agitated and angry which ultimately makes him charge. It is during this dance between man and bull that the matador tries to get the bull as close to him as possible without being gored so that a lance and barbed sticks can be plunged into the bulls neck in an effort to weaken the animal for the final act. Of course this is all done during a regular killing bullfight, not what we witnessed.

This matador got the “prize” from the back of the bull. When it comes time, he takes the sword he has and drops it in the dirt as a symbol that he is ready to “go for the kill”. He then stands several feet in the front of the bull with his hand outstretched in front of him. He then walks towards the bull and of course the bull then moves to either side of the matador and the matador has to grab that flower/streamer thing-y. It isn’t as easy as it looks but when he gets it the crowd goes wild.

He was awarded two ears and tail for this fight. The best you can do. Ole!

This matador is up next. I wonder what’s going through his mind.

These are the biggest bulls ever fought here in the U.S.. I believe they were brought here from Spain.

Once again the matadors are behind the barrier but this time…..

…..the matador kept flashing the cape and bull didn’t like it! He kept trying to get through the barrier.

Back out on the field.

You see in the picture the matador has the sword in his hand, it will be dropped soon.

Going in the for the kill.

He didn’t get it right away, it took several tries but he did manage to get it. Ole’!

The first matador returned to the field next.

A little to close for comfort for me!

There’s a misconception that the red color of the cape makes the bull angry. That’s where the term “seeing red” comes from. The truth of the matter is that bulls, like all cattle, are colorblind.

It was on the move above that the matador got the bull so close to him and so close to the ground that the bull literally went down on all fours. He stayed for the longest time (count: one, one thousand, two, one thousand, up to five) murmurs went through the crowd that its legs were broken, its neck was broken, when in reality he was just tired.

Then they were at it again!

You know, in my opinion, you just have to have brass ones to do this! There is no way I would kneel in front of a bull like this.

So this was our day at the bullfights. Thrilling? Oh yeah! Would we go again? You bet! In fact, next month on January 8th we’re going again to see one of only three female matadors in the world.

12/3/2011 Chip’s Ribs

2011-12-03T11:24:00.000-08:00

About a week ago, right around dinner time, there was a knock at our door. Since I was in the kitchen preparing our dinner I was the closest to answer it. I found our friend Chip on the other side and he was bearing gifts! The best kind, one that is edible.

Chip declined my invitation to come in stating he had a similar package to deliver to Toni and Eddie. He handed over a foil covered paper plate and was on his way. Before I even opened it to see what it was my mouth was watering just from the aroma.

What I found was ribs. Perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned, still hot off the grill, ribs. Chip knows how to cook ribs! Finger lickin’ good. The next day when we saw him we lavished him with high praise, partly because we figured if we did that he would share his ribs again the next time he made them.

Later in the day we saw Chip and Bunky and they suggested that the six of us get together the following Sunday for a BBQ and he would again satisfy our tummies with those delicious ribs. As much as we hated to say it we had to decline as the four of us (Toni & Eddie and us) had already purchased tickets to an event. Being flexible they said, “Will Saturday work instead?” Toni and I readily agreed that would be perfect and we decided what our contribution would be.

Fast forward to today. Turns out that today is a very, very windy day and an outside BBQ, the eating part anyway, was just not going to happen, Not willing to just toss aside the chance to eat those ribs again it was quickly decided that we would have our dinner in the clubhouse library which also doubles as a dining room when needed.

So Chip made two pans of his mouth-watering ribs, Toni made baked beans and I provided a tossed salad. And we feasted.

This was so reminiscent of our dinners we had in South Dakota with our group there. We decided that we would do this more often. Its always a good time when you share good food and good conversation with friends.

12/2/2011 Ok, Bob, OK, I Will !!!

2011-12-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

As I’ve already told you Bob has recently taken up golf. He bought clubs, balls, a glove and we are waiting for his golf shoes to arrive. He’s been to the driving range with friends and alone. He’s isn’t fanatical about it though…..yet.

The other day he played a 3 par course that is close by with Toni and Eddie. They too are golfers but have gotten away from the game in recent years. It’s been many years since Bob has played on a regular basis, before we ever met even. So its like the three of them know the basics but just have to get back in the swing of things.

Upon their return they told me about birdies and sand traps and trees that jumped in the way. No, actually they all had a good time and talked about going again real soon. And simultaneously they looked at me and Bob said, “You should go with us Snook.” Toni joined in with, “Yeah, Snookie, you should go with us, you can use my clubs.” Hmmmm….planned much?

Bob has brought this up to me several times now. Golfing. I have never had a desire to play golf. Miniature golf? Hey throw in a windmill, a water trap and lemon yellow or royal blue balls and I’m there! But an 18 hole golf course where irons and woods and real putters come into play, eh, not so much. Its really strange now that I think about it because I can watch golf on TV all day long and really get caught up in the game.

Soooo,,,,Bob has been bringing up that he would really like for me to consider learning to play golf. He points out that it would give us an activity to do together and that its good exercise and it would get us out in the fresh air and his list of reasons go on and on.

I finally gave in. I said yes I would go the next time they go to the driving range or the 3 par course. He grinned from ear to ear.

So today Toni and I went to Walmart to look for a new game to play and on my way out the door Bob yells to me, “Buy a glove, you’re gonna need a glove.”

I got the glove.

Oh Lord, what have I done?

12/1/2011 Our Workday

2011-12-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked to explain what it is we do in our workamping job here in the Valley. I’ll try to do that now.

I do have a hard time calling three hours in the morning a workday but that’s what it is.

Our day starts at eight most mornings. If we’re ready we’ll go a little earlier and if we’re working on a Monday we always start early because we have three courts to get ready for nine o’clock play.

Depending on the day Bob drives us to whichever court is going to be played on. There is one bocce ball court and two shuffleboard courts.

Let’s say it’s a Monday and we have all three courts to get ready. We’ll hop in the Barbie cart, yes the Barbie cart, (thanks to Joy for this picture I borrowed from her Facebook page) and drive over to Mission Bell. Bob will get started on the shuffleboard courts using a leaf blower to get rid of all the leaves on the courts. Either he or I

will wipe down the benches if they are wet with morning dew. In the meantime, I’ll sweep in front of the office so that it is neat and tidy. I’ll then move to the fountain area and lightly rake over the

stones to gather any debris that has fallen from the trees and to rake out footprints from people who can’t seem to stick to the cement paths which is quickly becoming a pet peeve for me. I’ll turn the fountain on and add more water to it if necessary. A trip to the office is necessary to pick up the walkie-talkie and see if there are any work orders for us.

By now Bob is done with the shuffleboard courts and we’re off to Trade Winds where he’ll blow the leaves off the bocce ball court and the shuffleboards courts there. While he does that I sweep the leaves off the palapa, fill the fountain if necessary and then start raking leaves around the shuffleboard courts in hopes that there won’t be so many tomorrow. Unfortunately, there is a very large tree right in this area that has thousands of leaves that must fall. EVERY. DAY.

We now go back to Mission Bell and start the routine drive through there. There’s a large fenced parking lot to the side of Friendship Hall and litter is always against the fence.

We pick up any litter we see and then we check the area in front of Friendship Hall to make sure it neat and tidy and to see if the curb area is full of landscaping stones. If it is we sweep them up and put them back where they belong.

Back in the Barbie cart we have a certain routine in which we go up and down every street looking for litter, fallen branches and fruit that has fallen from the trees. Some days we are in and out of the cart continuously and others not so much, it all depends on how much the wind blew the day and night before. Mission Bell clean and tidy its back to Trade Winds to do the same thing there. By now, three hours is about up.

On days we don’t have three courts to get ready but only one or two, we have time for projects. For instance we noticed recently that the courtyard on the Mission Bell side was in need of power washing. The seating area is covered by trees which in turn attract birds, birds that eat. You can figure the rest out. So Bob power washed the whole area.

When he got done the tables and benches were all clean once again.

What did I do while he did this? Well, I, um, well, gee what did I do? I took pictures!

Of the fountain….

of the sitting area….

of a stone wall with archway….

and the underside of the tree….

Some days finding us spending every hour moving the sprinkler in the dog run in between tasks. We may be called on to pick up bags of leaves that were raked by a winter resident or to even take a rake to the a winter resident.

There is always something to do. Always.

We’re glad we don’t have someone assigning tasks to us, other than the occasional work order, and looking over our shoulder all the time. However, a lot of people (the managers and winter residents) in both parks do notice and we know that because they are always telling us how much they appreciate us and what we do.

So do we feel we have a good workamping job? Oh yeah.

11/26-11/30/2011 Just Stuff

2011-11-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

Ok, ok, I’ve gotten behind on the blog again and I need to catch up. So I’m going to put five days together here. One reason for this is because not a whole lot happened in these five days. Four of them we were off and we just lived life.

Bob went and hit golf balls at the driving range. I played Mexican Train or some of other game with friends. We went to the store once or twice. Bob fixed a leaky faucet. We watched TV, we cleaned the house, did laundry, read, made meals, rode bikes and slept. That’s pretty much it.

Here in the park we have a “veggie man” that comes every Tuesday at 12:30. He pulls a good sized flat trailer with bins built on top of it and we drives up word spreads fast, “the veggie man is here!” and he is swarmed. I was part of this this week and I came home with a large bagful of green peppers, tomatoes, grape tomatoes, red peppers and bananas.

I bought all of the above for $8.00. The grape tomatoes came in those plastic bowls with the clear plastic domes over them which usually sell in the grocery store for $2.98 a piece. I got three of them for a dollar each. And sweet!?!? Oh yes! I made up a large pot of pepper, tomato and onions, one of my favorite things to eat.

Tuesday evening we went to dinner with the Every Other Tuesday Night Let’s Go Out To Dinner Club. This week we went to Casa del Taco or for those who are lacking in the ability to read or speak Spanish that’s House of Tacos.

This restaurant hasn’t been here all that long from what we’ve heard. But when we went inside I didn’t get the impression this was a newly built building so I’m thinking just the façade is newly built.

We arrived a little bit later than everyone else so when we got there Joy was already enjoying a margarita.

Now I’m not a great fan of Mexican food. I’ll eat taco’s if I get to build it so that I know exactly what’s on it and I’ll eat beef fajitas. That’s it. No refried beans, no rice, I don’t even want a tortilla. Eating a burrito is not something I’ll even entertain the thought of eating.

It came time to order and Bob and I were the last ones. I ordered the beef fajita sans rice, tortilla, guacamole and whatever else the others got with theirs. I did get a tossed salad and was a bit surprised when it was served on the plate with my fajita.

Ya know, when you come down to it, what I had for dinner was the Spanish version of Chinese pepper steak. It worked for me! I must say, it was good! Really good! Others at the table enjoyed theirs and then some said it was bland. I don’t recall what the bland dinners were but I’m glad I didn’t get it! Bob also got the fajita with all the trimmings and thoroughly enjoyed his too.

We got back to the park in time for the horse racing. We gathered in the clubhouse and found seats at a table and were ready to place our bets. No this wasn’t OTB by any means.

We have our own racetrack here in Trade Winds.

Everyone bets a dime on the horse they want. Bob picked three horses and I picked three so we had the track covered, we were going to win no matter what. (We think each bettor should be limited to two horses and it should be a quarter bet, it would make for bigger pots to win and there wouldn’t be so many winners.) There are isix races played. At the start of each race the Call to the Post is played on a dime store plastic horn. (I’m sorry the pic is blurry but I had hard time keeping the camera steady because I was laughing) Yes, he actually got the Call to the Post played on that.

The fellow above is really decked out for this. Take notice of his hat, see the horse ears?

Here’s another picture showing his mane and tail.

So how do the horses race you are wondering? Another fellow has a wooden tray with the bottom covered in felt. He also has six die. He takes the tray to the person sitting on the end seat at the table and that person rolls all six dice. He then calls out the roll of the dice. Let’s say there was one 2, one 3, two 5’s and two 6’s. The number one horse would move 1 space, number 3 horse would also move one space. Horses number 5 & 6 would each move 2 spaces. In the picture above you can see the number three horse is out in front.

The “crowd” really gets into this cheering the horses on and fun was had by all. We won every race! We went in with $1.80 and went home with $3.40.

That’s all for this block of time. Nothing important, nothing exciting, just life. Boring, mundane things, fun things, good times with friends and always, always, lots of laughs. I’ll take it any day of the week!

11/25/2011 Beware of Tan Lines

2011-11-25T19:23:00.000-08:00

Now I’m not telling you this to be braggin’ on the great weather we are having here in the Valley or anything like that. I just want to make this clear from the git-go. But darn if we aren’t having some GREAT weather!

Unfortunately, this poses a problem for me. As I’ve told you we work four days and then have four days off. Well, on those work days I’m outside 99.99% of the time. In the sun. Because I could possibly pushing a lawn mower, using a weed whacker, walking through a field or any number of other reasons, I must wear shoes and socks. Not to the extreme of steel toed shoes or anything, but a pair of sneakers and socks.

I’ve noticed a slight tan line around the top of my socks and this does not make me a happy camper. As soon as I get home at eleven o’clock I tear those shoes and socks off, slip into a pair of flip flops and go outside for a while to give my feet a chance to catch up on the tanning from the morning.

I’m so afraid I’m going to end up like a friend of ours who had a definite tan line problem going on, wouldn’t you say?

11/24/11 What Snookie Will Do to Save a Buck

2011-11-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

Talk turned to Thanksgiving Day Sales and Black Friday today and I remembered what I did six years ago tonight. This is from a post from five years ago.

Ok, I did something in the last 24 hours I swore I would NEVER do! I participated in Black Friday. I don't mean that I went to the mall this morning after watching Good Morning America and did some shopping,,,,I mean I participated with a capital P!

Let me set some background here. My good friend and neighbor, Kelly, and I were talking the other day (Wednesday) about the laptop computers she and her husband wanted to give their two boys for Christmas. She told me about the special Walmart was having. I too saw the ad but looked at what this laptop had to offer and to tell ya the truth, wasn't really impressed. One GB of hard drive and not a bunch of RAM and practically no software installed. Ok, to each their own. Since there was only one allowed per customer her sister Lisa was going with her so that each could get one. Have two boys...need two laptops. I talked with Kelly Thanksgiving morning and the conversation turned to the quest for the laptops. She told me that Walmart was out and Circuit City was the destination for laptop buying. I looked at the ad for that one and while there wasn't a great deal of software included it did have 60 GB hard drive and tons of memory. Now we're talking! I told her I'd like to tagalong with her since Bob and I have been talking about a getting a laptop for our RV travels and with $750.00 worth of instant rebates that brought the price down to $199.99, well, you just can't go wrong. Still on the bare-bones side for software but we really only use our computer for surfing the web, email, and Bob's online poker games and my addiction to online Scrabble. Did I mention that the ad also stated in very small print that there is a minimum of 15 laptops per store? We knew we would have to get there earlier than the 5 a.m. opening of the store in order to get one.

Kelly will work the evening shift at the hospital and call me on her break so that we can set a game plan. Kelly calls and it is decided that she will swing by Circuit City when she ends her shift around 11:30 pm and if there are people in line she will call her sister, Lisa, and me, and we would meet her up there. If in fact there was a ton of people at the store then Kelly would just come home and Lisa and I would sleep thru the nite. Now I didn't really think anybody would be there at midnight and was figuring I'd have to get up at three or so in order to be there in time for the opening. After my talk with Kelly, I talked to Lisa and we tweaked the game plan a little further. It was decided that we would in fact go to Circuit City when Kelly got off work and that we would take lawn chairs with us and set them up outside the door and we would sit in the heated car and just wait. When someone else came to wait in line we would jump out of the cars, run to the chairs and wrap ourselves in the blankets we would bring with us to keep us warm. Also, we would bring umbrellas to ward off the winds. Did I mention it was in the low 20's with 20-30 miles an hour winds with gusts at 61 MPH??? Yes, delightful weather! Ok, game plan is set, we're ready to roll!

I started "preparing" for the chilly evening. I had sweats on to begin with so just pulled another pair on top and added a turtleneck to the sweatshirt I was wearing. Heavy socks, sneakers, good to go. GLOVES! I don't ever wear gloves and don't own a pair! Next best thing? A pair of Bob's wool socks, yeah, that will work! Got my umbrella out, pulled out a wool Army blanket we have and got settled in for the evening waiting for "Operation Laptop" to begin. Kelly calls at 11:45....panic in her voice....people are here, get here as soon as you can! She calls Lisa and as planned, Lisa who also lives in our neighborhood, two streets away, will swing by and pick me up. Reached the store at the 12:15 and there are six people in front of us. THEY had been sitting in the warmed cars waiting for others to arrive, just like we planned to do. They had gotten there between 11:15 and 11:30.

So we're in line, its freezing cold and we're wondering if ANYTHING is worth standing in 22 degree air for 5 hours! Personally, I had my doubts and was regretting riding with Lisa instead of driving myself. You see, Kelly and Lisa are DIEHARD Black Friday shoppers but even this was a bit much for them. At least the building was blocking the wind and we didn't have to contend with that. Then a miracle happened. Lisa's friend and co-worker, Pete, knew what her plan was for the nighttime hours and being the great guy that he is showed up with hot chocolate and are you ready for this????? A FIRE PIT! With logs! AND...a portable propane heater! Needless to say we are EVERYBODY'S best friend now! In just a few short minutes a fire was roaring in the fire pit and portable propane heater was spewing out tons of HEAT! We are happy campers! A few more shoppers arrive and we're having a grand time! We're laughing, we're joking, we're WARM!

By two the line is now snaking around the building, to the windy side. A lot of cars are driving into the lot and right back out, the occupants aware that they waited too long in getting there, there would be no laptop for them. We, the first 15 in line, are very territorial now, we look suspiciously at anyone that walks up to the doors to peer inside and kind of hangs around for longer than 30 seconds. They are quickly told where the end of the line is. So they go, heads hung low, passing the masses wrapped in blankets and snuggled in sleeping bags to the dreaded "end of the line". "Sucks to be them" we tell each other as we inch ever closer to the warmth of the fire pit!

The First Fifteen, as we call ourselves now, have bonded. We allow runs to the local all night convenience store for more hot chocolate and coffee with the driver being welcomed back with open arms, to cheers and a guaranteed place in line. We, the First Fifteen, are a unit, we are strong, we are warm and one of us has to pee! ME! Damn that hot chocolate! I convince myself not think about it, it will "go away". I can hold it for two hours! I immerse myself in conversation, taking my mind off this ever present need to squat! I politely refuse the offer of more hot chocolate at the next store run. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this.

Its now 3 a.m and there are several hundred people in line. Didn't they see the small print???? Don't they know there are only 15 laptops available for sure and if there are more it won't be many? Well Circuit City was having a great sale on batteries so maybe they are here for them!

Four in the morning! Employees are arriving, no, they don't know how many laptops there are, no, they don't know where they are located in the store, no, they don't know if vouchers will be handed out to insure that the first in line get the long awaited for laptops. These employees are not happy people! They look tired. Makes me wonder how we look, after all, we've had NO sleep!

Four-thirty. A brave employee stands before us and tells us that vouchers will be given out for several "special items" and that the number of vouchers matches the number of items in stock. He is swarmed! Not by the First Fifteen,,,,but by the individuals who are just now arriving in the parking lot and are hearing him as they stroll by. The First Fifteen will not stand for this! No way, no how, not in this lifetime! We've paid, and paid dearly, for those vouchers! One of "our guys" pulls him into the huddle we've formed and calmly informs the poor guy that we have been there all night and that we know who the first fifteen are and that we will protect him. Vouchers past the first fifteen...well, he's on his own. He then tells us there are only 18 laptops in the store, we assure him that we do indeed know who the first 18 are. Ours ranks have swelled by three. He hands them out, we look at them in awe, we cradle these magnificent pieces of paper gently in our hands, WE HAVE ARRIVED! We are the CHOSEN! We are the shoppers looked up to by the others wwwwaaaaayyyyyy in back of the line. We are the "smart" shoppers, we brought heat! We are SHOPPING gods! (...and one of us still has to pee!)

We're counting down the minutes now. The crowd is pushing closer as 5am gets nearer. Our vouchers are being looked at with lust. THEY want our vouchers! Word goes through the First Fifteen,,,,oops, First Eighteen to put the vouchers away, deep in a pocket, away from glare of seedy looking characters that seem to surround us now.

Ten minutes to five....the fire pit is rolled away from the doors, off to the side of the building where no one is. It is there that the embers will die and cool. Damn, 10 minutes with no heat, this is going to be a LONG 10 minutes! Three minutes to go, the crowd is really pushing now and I'm starting to get scared. Finally, the doors are opened the crowd surges forward. You don't even have to walk, you are just moved along. People are tripping and the ones behind are still pushing. I managed to get off to the side a little bit and had room to run. I joined the masses heading for the computer department. We had vouchers but running was not a choice,,,,it was a necessity to keep from being knocked down. Obviously, those not near the front of the line didn't know that vouchers were given out and this was truly turning into a free for all.

I'm running for all I'm worth, I'm running for my LIFE and then I see it! THE SIGN! IN RED NO LESS! *****R E S T R O O M S***** It suddenly came rushing back to me, I had to pee! In the panic I had forgotten, but it was in the fore thoughts of my mind now. Decision time, do I keep running to the computer department or do I make a mad dash for the ladies room? Then I remembered,,,,I HAVE A VOUCHER! Off to the ladies room I go, praying to make it in time. I did. Well, it took Kelly, Lisa and me nearly three hours to get through the lines. Only because those who could run faster than us (and who didn't make a pit stop) had to argue with the store personnel about only having 18 laptops, how they waited all night, yada, yada, yada. Was it worth it? Yeah, I think it was. I met some nice people in line, had lots of laughs, didn't really "suffer" in the cold and I got the laptop. Would I do it again? HELL NO! Oh yeah, Lisa's friend, Pete,,,,the one with the fire pit,,,,turns out he's a computer GEEK and will load all kinds of software onto to the new laptop for me. We just have to let him know what we want.

Yep, this Thanksgiving sure is different from last.

In case you are wondering, we still have that laptop and use it as backup when one of ours is in the shop.

11/24/2011 BOB & SNOOKIE WISH YOU A

2011-11-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

11/23/2011 My Journey to Ropa Usoda

2011-11-23T18:42:00.000-08:00

I experienced something recently that I didn’t even know existed. It was a jaw dropping moment when I first entered the building with a group of the quilting ladies.

I had been hearing of this thing called Ropa Usoda a Spanish term. I don’t speak Española so I had no idea what everyone was talking about. Ropa means clothing and Usoda means used. In English, Used Clothing. Now I get it.

So we piled into Linda’s truck and off we go. The reason we’re going? Material. Material for quilts. After a 20 – 25 minute ride we pulled into the parking lot of a very large, large building. I was told during the drive you buy anything you find for twenty cents a pound. It was also explained that you’ll have to dig sometimes to find the good stuff. Little did I know.

So in we go, most everyone carrying pillow cases and me carrying my Canon. I was told to be sure to bring my camera because I would most certainly want to take pictures.

To say that I was totally taken by surprise when we first entered would be an understatement. My jaw dropped.

This is a pile of clothes. Every size, every color, men’s, women’s and children’s. Long sleeve shirts, long dresses, baby jackets, clothes that should be rags, clothes with tags still on. House brands intertwined with likes of Bill Blass. You name it, if it can be worn, in one or another its in this pile. How do you find it? By going through the pile one piece at a time.

Now let me put some people in the picture to give this pile some perspective.

You climb up to the top and find a place to settle in and start looking.

Here’s Linda, the woman above, sometime later and I do believe she’s standing in the picture below.

One of the very first things that caught my eye was a raincoat. It was in perfect condition and still had dry cleaner tags on it.

It wasn’t my size so I put it down and kept walking. Ten minutes later I was still thinking about and thought if it weighed 5 pounds it would cost me a dollar and since it was in perfect condition and newly dry cleaned I wouldn’t have a problem selling it on Craig’s List or Ebay. I went back for it. It was nowhere to be found. I could have kicked myself for snatching that right up.

This will give you an idea of how big this place is.

I kept saying “I wonder what is on the very bottom in the center of this huge pile?” The pile is constantly being overturned by human hands.

Have you ever seen a truck traveling the interstate of what seems like great stacks of rags bundled together?

It’s these clothes. Goodwill’s, Salvation Army’s and probably other second hand clothing retailers send the clothes leftover at the end of the season here. There are Ropas, as they are known here, everywhere. There is one that sells formal wear. Gowns go for anywhere from ten to twenty five dollars and don’t be surprised to see a well known designer name/

Today we came here looking for gently used sheets, blankets and mattress pads. Once washed, the mattress pads and blankets will be used for the filler in a quilt or lap robe and the sheets will be used as a backing for said quilts and lap robes. Top sheets, especially kids sheets are seldom worn so they are most useful.

A bottom, or fitted, sheet doesn’t go to waste. The elastic is taken out so it can be used.

I don’t know how long it will take for all these stacks of clothing to reach the floor, perhaps months if they are out of season.

The ropa was busy today.

I just know some of these clothes are probably from my home area. My clue? This.

Of course it could have come from a Eagles fan in Minnesota.

It certainly was an interesting morning. I learned about something that I had never even knew existed.

11/21/2011 Idle Hands …..

2011-11-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

The saying goes, “Idle hands are the devil’s tools”. If that old adage stands true then the Quilting Ladies of Trade Winds are SAINTS!

I’ve been volunteering in the Quilting Room on Monday’s and some Thursday’s and have really enjoyed getting to know the women here in the park.

Every group needs a coordinator, or leader, if you will. These quilting ladies look to Phyllis for direction. I like Phyllis. A lot. She gives me a hard time every chance she gets. We have this great back and forth verbal sparring thing going on and we laugh often.

There’s wonderful group of ladies here who…….

CUT

MATCH

SEW

PAD THE QUILTS FROM BIG BOLTS

TIE

ROLL HEMS

AND SEW IT AGAIN

There is quite the system in place where everyone has their job and knows what they are doing. Then of course you get a newcomer like me or Bunky who don’t know squat when it comes to quilt making.

Bunky loves, loves, loves, to iron! So when something needs pressing Bunky is the go to person for that.

Most of the time she and I work together on rolling and pinning the hems. We’re a good team and she’s taught me how to make mitered corners.

Now I did try sewing the squares of material together…… at Phyllis’ ~~insistence,~~ er,suggestion. It’s been a lot of years since I sat a sewing machine. Back in the days of Home Ec in junior high school I had even made a dress at home on my mom’s sewing machine. That is my experience with sewing. I’m not into sewing and I’ll be the first to admit it. Seams split? Buy a new one. Patches have to be sewn on Bob’s uniforms? Take them to mom. This is why God made tailors and seamstresses and moms!

So because I like Phyllis I agreed to trying the sewing thing for her. My first two pieces of quilting squares had to be ripped apart. They were supposed to be sewn with right sides together. (That means in the case of a printed material, the sides with the boldest colors should be facing each other when sewn) I had one of each facing each other. I finally got that right.

Take notice in the picture below that the solid color pieces of fabric and the printed pieces are opposite of each other.

This is what happened when I did it.

There’s only one thing to say about this. I suck at it.

Let me introduce you to by new best friend.

MS. SEAM RIPPER

No, the sewing part isn’t for me. I’ll stick to rolling hems and pinning them. That’s my niche in the assembly line of quilt making here at Trade Winds.

So where do all the quilts go? Last year the ladies made 429 lap robes and quilts for local nursing homes, a mission in Mexico, one here in Texas, a church (or two) that gives them to the needy, the Salvation Army to give where needed and other places that just don’t come to mind right now.

Just a small sampling of what’s on hand and every week several more completed quilts are added to the stockpile.

These ladies, they do good things. No idle hands here.

11/19/2011 Craft Show at Tradewinds

2011-11-19T19:56:00.000-08:00

November starts the monthly craft shows here in Mission and the surrounding area. There will two here in a matter of three days. I think I better explain something about this park we’re in.

It’s called Mission Bell/Trade Winds RV Park. The owners bought Mission Bell RV Park first and then several years later when Trade Winds RV Park, which is located directly across the street, came on the market they bought it too. For the most part, the Winter Texans who have been coming here for years still consider them two separate parks. So much so that the old timers won’t cross the street to attend function on the other side. Therefore each park has its own bingo night, its own card elimination night, their own shuffleboard etc.. This side will have a craft show on Saturday and the other side will have theirs on Monday. So that no one takes exception to the term “old timers” I meant people who have been coming here for a long time, I wasn’t referring to their ages, but, if the shoe fits……

When we all first got here, workampers that is, we found it amusing that there seems to be this silent war going on between the parks. Don’t get me wrong, there are some Winter Texans who will come over here, not many, but some. We said, “Well, we’re not going to get into this we’ll do things on both sides”. Guess what? We don’t. We play bingo on this side, we play card elimination on this side, we swim in this pool, we play games on this side. Granted, dances are on that side because they have the bigger ballroom. Thanksgiving dinner will be on that side, again because of the bigger room. So now you know how it is here. On to the Craft Fair.

The Fair started at 8 a.m.. I got there at nine so that I could look around before I went to work at the quilt table at ten. I was a little disappointed. It was mostly you typical Craft Fair items, knitted things, decorative items, some leather goods etc.. Quite frankly I think things were overpriced. The crowd wasn’t all that I expected it to be either but it was explained that they expect November to be slow because so many snowbirds, oh, excuse me, Winter Texans aren’t here yet. I’ve been told December through March will be crazy though!

I worked with Bunky in the quilt room for two hours, ten to twelve. We sold raffle tickets for two quilts that will be raffled in December and we sold quilted goods and felt scarves and hats the ladies made and 50-50 tickets.

Bunky next to the quilts to be raffled. (Note: Bunky is severely hung over but you would never know it by this picture)

Saturday night I played Mexican Train with Toni & Eddie and Chip. Bob stayed home and watched TV and Bunky, well, she wasn’t feeling too good yet so she stayed home too, I think I heard her say, “I’m never drinking again!”

11/18/2011 Volunteering in the Park

2011-11-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

In the clubhouse, I guess that’s what its called here, there is a rather large board where you can sign up to volunteer to help out in different activities/events in the park. If so inclined, you could volunteer to put on a pancake breakfast, we’re not. If so inclined, you could volunteer to host the ice cream social, we’re not. If so inclined you could…the list goes on and we’re still not.

There was one that I was happy to help out with. We’re having a Craft Show on Saturday and lunch will sold to all of those who want it. There will be Sloppy Joes or tacos served. The veggies for the tacos have to be chopped so Toni, Bunky, Eddie and I volunteered to help with that. The onions were already done when we got there so we only had to deal with tomatoes and lettuce.

We started right in and took care of the tomatoes first.

Good sharp knives made quick work of this,,,,,

and in no time at all we this part done.

Bunky scooping out the tomatoes to a colander so they can drain.

Next was lettuce shredding, Toni got right to work.

Bunky chopped like there was no tomorrow!

Eddie sharpened my knives for me.

In no time at all we were done. I don’t think we were even there an hour. This is one chore I’ll sign up for again and again, at least until I cut myself on one of my super sharp knives.

11/17/2011 We Gotta Be NUTS!

2011-11-17T18:49:00.000-08:00

After work this morning, we took it pretty easy this afternoon. We know we’ll be running a race around six so we want to be well rested.

No, we haven’t taken up running and we’re not doing a mini-marathon this evening. We are however taking a 35 mile drive to Harlingen for the grand opening of the Bass Pro Shop.

We had gotten a circular in the paper earlier in the week and Bob noticed they had Turkey Fryers as one of the specials for the opening and it was at a fantastic price! So we decided to go.

I wanted to go prepared so I had Bob put a chair in the truck, we packed a little cooler and I had my book. The store doesn’t open until six but Bob was insistent on leaving at three.

On the way it was quite evident we were close to the Mexican border.

We pulled into the parking lot around quarter to four and it’s a good thing we left Mission when we did. The parking lot was filling quickly. Very quickly. There was no point in even taking the chair out of the truck as it was evident that we were going to get in line right away.

While waiting there was a band playing and soon a woman with the screech-iest voice you ever heard took the stage to give away t-shirts, mugs and what have you. Evidently she travels to each new store for the grand openings and gets the crowd in a frenzy waiting for the doors to open. Some people should never, ever be given a microphone.

The doors were advertised to open at six. Didn’t happen. At the six the speeches started. The Mayor of Harlingen, the head of the Commerce Committee for Harlingen, the head of this and the head of that. I think we heard from every level of Harlingen government and business association. Then,,,oh wait, its not over yet, we had to go through the Bass Pro Shops line of dignitaries. You know, Division Mangers, Regional Managers, Store Managers, Department Managers and I think they threw in the Custodial Manager for good measure. Finally, the doors will open.

Uh-uh. Not so fast. Now we have the celebrities to get through. We had to listen to some fishing stories from one of those guys that has a fishing show on cable TV, we had to listen to a hunter who shot a lot animals also on cable TV, then we had to listen to Miss Texas, Miss Harlingen, Miss Orange Blossom, Jr. Miss Orange Blossom,,,well, maybe not the last two but you get the idea.

Ok, we’re ready to go. Nope, we have to clear the roadway in front of the store so that the Bass Pro Shop race cars can speed across the parking lot, tires screeching and practically smokin’ so they can stop on a dime in front of the doors. Will it ever end?

People are getting restless now. The crowd is moving towards the doors even though it hasn’t been announced yet they will open in “X” number of minutes. Now keep in mind that its 94 degrees out here. Lots of good bargains to be had and lot of men came right from work and judging by how they are dressed I’m thinking a lot of construction workers. Do I need to go into detail what its like for me, at five feet two, the perfect armpit level height? Oh yuck!

The. Doors. Are. Open! The surge began, bodies crushed against another and I had a mother with a toddler in a stroller right behind me and she kept hitting me in the back of legs with the stroller.

Bob and I had gotten separated which I knew would happen so I told him I would meet him in the Turkey Fryer department. I had talked with one of the employees who wasn’t on duty but there for the opening with his friends and he told me where the fryers were so I knew where to go as soon as I got to the doors.

When I got to the back of the store there was one rather large platform that was completely bare. A sign hung from the ceiling that said Turkey Fryer Grand Opening Special $39.99. Thankfully, right next to it was another platform with three boxes containing the coveted turkey fryers in them. A man grabbed one, I grabbed one and one stood on the platform alone. But not for long.

I never thought to get a cart and am glad I didn’t because I would never have gotten to the back of the store in time to get next to the last box. I sure wanted one though, the box was cumbersome and on the heavy side. Lucky for me a fellow pushing five carts happened to pass me and I asked if I could have one. Within minutes he had no carts to push because others holding these large boxes were taking them too.

I set out to find Bob and got several aisles over when I decided that I had better go back because surely he would have asked someone where they fryers were located….oh wait, silly me. Here I was in a store with testosterone overload goin’ on and I’m thinking my husband was going to ask directions???? Silly, silly me.

I did find him and lo and behold he had a turkey fryer too! The empty platforms had been quickly replenished and almost every shopper in the area had one.

We would have loved to have stayed and looked around the store and watched the fish in the floor to ceiling fish tank and taken in all the animals and birds that had met up with taxidermist at some point but the place was too darn crowded! It was said that 20,000 turned out for the Grand Opening.

Was it worth going to Harlingen (70 mile round trip) for this turkey fryer? Standing and listening to all the speeches from people we don’t know in 94 degree heat? Having the backs of my legs sore from being hit with a baby stroller? Standing nose to armpit in a crowd of sweaty, smelly men? Hell no! Next time, we’ll order online, cost be damned!

11/15/2011 Every Other Tuesday Dinner Gathering

2011-11-15T16:55:00.000-08:00

I think I have already mentioned that a group of us go out to dinner every other Tuesday night. I look forward to this dinner as does Bob. Of course our reasons for looking forward to this are worlds apart.

Bob looks forward to having something different then our normal weekday fare. Yes, he gets bored eating the same old, same old, as I do making it. This is also a chance for Bob to eat FISH! I don’t eat fish so therefore I don’t cook it.

On the other hand I look forward to these dinners because I don’t have to cook at all, or clean up or even shop for it in the first place.

The best part of all? Our friends. We share so many past experiences with this group, so many dreams for the future with each other, read that as places we want travel to, and laughs, we share lots of laughs and that’s the very best part.

So this week Chip and Bunky got to pick what restaurant we went to. How did they get the honors? Why Bunky won the Mexican Train game of course!

So we went to Cheddars.

Chip and Bunky had never eaten in this restaurant before so its at the top of their list. Bob and I had eaten in a Cheddars in Missouri or maybe Kansas one time when we met up with Don and LaVon while on the road. We knew we were going to get a good meal so we were looking forward to it.

We arrived just minutes after Chip and Bunky and they were already inside when we got there. The first thing we noticed when we got out of the truck was the odor. Not good smells usually associated with being right outside of a restaurant but a definite odor of ………… sewer! It was overpowering. We went inside and found the other two early arrivals and we could still smell it even inside. This was not good.

What else wasn’t good was our seating arrangement. They wanted to put eight adults in a booth. Granted, it was a good size booth but just how big can a booth be? We could have gotten away with six of us and it would have been alright,,,,,maybe. Chip asked to see the manager and told him that we weren’t satisfied with the seating and also asked about the odor. The manager explained that there were tables for eight but he could put a table next to a booth for four. We agreed to that although I have to say it put some points in the negative column for this restaurant. As far as the odor was concerned the manager apologized for it and went on to explain that they didn’t know where it was coming from but they were investigating it.

Shortly after we got to our new seating arrangement Eddie & Toni arrived and they too commented on the odor. It wasn’t getting any better as time went on. We were still waiting on DeWayne & Joy to arrive so Toni called them only to find out they were at a different Cheddars. She explained where we were and 15 minutes later they were there. We took notice the odor was gone and were glad they got whatever it was fixed.

Drinks on the table, orders placed, it was time to get down to some conversation and some serious laughing.

Everyone enjoyed their meals even though the last 15 minutes or so the odor was back. Whatever that is I hope they find it and fix it!

So we can now mark Cheddars off the list of restaurants to go to this winter. We’ll play Mexican Train next week to see who picks next.

Yep, Bob and I sure enjoy our Every Other Tuesday Night Dinner Club.

11/14/2011 I Know a Dog With a 401K

2011-11-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

You don’t have to read the title of this over again, you read it right the first time. I know a dog with a 401K.

Do you remember GHOST from South Dakota?

When his ~~owners~~ people were graced with the privilege of feeding him, washing him, walking him and picking up his deposits, little did they know it would be so profitable.

Eleven years ago when they started the walks with Ghost they would pick up whatever change they found and they saved it. Probably in a jar to begin with but I don’t know that for sure. One day Jerry was walking Ghost and there stopped by the fence from blowing any further in the wind was a twenty dollar bill. The pot was growing!

Then there was the day, when out for a walk, they found a Post Office money order for one hundred dollars. It was totally intact so the person who lost it couldn’t even track it or put a stop to it if that’s possible. It was theirs for the keeping. And cashing.

Over the last eleven years they have accumulated over $1,300.00. They call it “Ghost’s 401K” Of course its not in an actual 401K but it is in an interest bearing account. It has grown quite a bit I would say. Jerry told me that he rarely goes out on a walk with his dog that he doesn’t find something, even if its only a penny.

I have often picked up change from the ground but never saved it, just put it in my pocket and it got spent somewhere along the way.

In case you are wondering, I am one of those who says

“See a Penny, Pick It Up, and All the Day You’ll Have Good Luck”

when I see a penny laying on the sidewalk. And I do pick every one up!

Since I’m a change picker upper anyway I decided to start saving it.

My change saving started with a penny I found when we were still in South Dakota.

I have picked up every penny, nickel, dime and ONE QUARTER that I’ve seen. Any my savings is growing.

So far I’ve accumulated a whole $ .93.

No, I’m not ready for real bricks and mortar bank yet, may savings are growing nicely in this.

Pick up those pennies, they do add up!

11/11/11 Every Kind of Shrimp

2011-11-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

We have such a good group of people to hang out with here. Of course you know about Joy and DeWayne and Pat and Dann from this past summer. I think also mentioned that we are here with a couple we met four years ago in Quail Run, Eddie and Toni. We also hang out with Chip and Bunky who are new to fulltiming. They are Texans so we’ll have to work on getting them out of the state. They are the youngest in our group at 53 and 51.

Yes, Bunky. We are always being called by each other’s names here by our fellow Winter Texans.

This evening we went out to dinner. All of us except Pat and Dann as they had other plans.

Red Lobster was the restaurant of choice as they had the “All You Eat Shrimp” special going on. Garlic shrimp on a skewer, popcorn shrimp, shrimp scampi, breaded shrimp, coconut shrimp, I feel like Bubba in Forrest Gump listing all the dishes.

We shared a lot of shrimp dishes and even more laughs all through dinner.

11/10/2011 It’s Nice to be Appreciated

2011-11-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

In almost every workamping situation we’ve been in we have felt welcomed and needed. Not all mind you, but most. Remember our very first workamping experience in Florida? We put up with THAT for a whole week and a half! Our jobs in Missouri and South Dakota were both good jobs and pleasant experiences and the owners and/or managers were good to us. Arizona brought us another good experience with fantastic leaders our first year there. Park management? Eh, not so much but we didn’t have much dealings with that since our leaders were a good buffer. The following year? When I was Activity Director? Let’s just say hindsight is 20-20 and leave it at that.

The management in this park go out of their way to show you how much you are appreciated here. Whenever you go into the office you are welcomed warmly, your concerns and suggestions are taken seriously and if one goes above and beyond it is noticed.

Today when I went to check our mail I found this in our mailbox.

Attached to the back was this.

A big deal? In the grand scheme of things, no. But thoughtful! Each and everyone of us felt appreciated by this little gesture.

It gets better yet. I saw Pat in the Friendship Hall and she said, “I have something for you. I’ll bring over.” What a surprise it was when she did.

A welcome bag from the park.

Inside? All kinds of goodies.

Two nice “potluck” dinner trays, a small bottle of hand sanitizer, a candle, a scrubby/sponge, a shower scrubby and two certificates for free park dinners (not shown).

What a wonderful welcome gift! Totally not necessary, totally not expected and totally received with surprise and appreciation.

11/9/2011 We Are Workamping in the Valley

2011-11-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted now that LaVon knows we are here. Now I can tell you all we’ve been doing.

As I mentioned in the last post, Bob found us a workamping job in Mission, Texas last spring. He has been wanting to come to the valley for quite some time now because we’ve never been here before. I, on the other hand, have been reluctant. You see, all I ever heard about was the WIND. I couldn’t imagine being somewhere where the winds blows all the time. After South Dakota this summer I sure didn’t want to be anywhere windy for the winter. However, we’re here and I have to say, yes, its breezy here and some days I can say its downright windy BUT it is also very warm here so the breeze is welcome. The strong wind, eh, not so much but it doesn’t last long and on those days I just don’t spend too much time outside.

So why didn’t we go back to Quail Run? Well, we had found someone who wanted our park model for the winter months and quite frankly we needed a change. Whether we had gotten a workamping job or not we wouldn’t have gone back this winter.

The city of Mission is one with about 70,000 in population give or take a couple of hundred. It’s a growing town and between Mission and McAllen the next town over you can’t possibly want for anything! There is shopping galore, every restaurant chain you can think of and many privately owned that we can’t wait to try.

We are just five miles from the USA/Mexico border and seeing license plates from Mexico is now normal to us. One thing that really surprised us was the lack of Border Patrol Vehicles we see. In Arizona, nearly every other vehicle you see is Border Patrol and here we’re lucky if we see one at all when we go to town or McAllen.

So what kind of workamping job do we have? A really good one! Twelve hours a week we ride in a golf cart and stop to pick up oranges or limes that have fallen from the trees. There are only about a dozen trees that are fruit bearing and we’ll only be doing this for a short while longer because soon the trees will be picked clean and the fruit used on a float in a festival parade. I’ll be glad when that happens. We also use a leaf blower to clear the shuffleboard and bocce ball courts of leaves. This is something else that we’ll be doing only until mid-December because by then the trees will be bare. YES! Looking forward to THAT day! We ride around the perimeter of the park and pick up any trash that was blown up against the fences and pick up any trash that we see in the park. If needed, we cut the grass in the dog walk and we turn on the sprinkler on Monday mornings. If a site pad needs to be power washed we may do that. We water the potted plants and keep the fountains filled with water. Bob and I also look for projects to do as the duties listed above just don’t fill 12 hours a week. If we see something that needs to be done we do it. It could be anything from weeding a garden to sweeping the gutters by a building that has a buildup of leaves and stones. Anything to pass the time. In return we get our site, fifty dollars towards our electric bill, water and sewer hookups. We also get to attend park functions and shows at no cost to us. We share the job with Joy and DeWayne who worked with us in South Dakota this past summer. (and visited us in DE last summer) We work four days from 8 - 11 and then they do.

More later!

11/8/2011 I Have Been Living a LIE!

2011-11-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, you read that right. I have been living a lie for the last six months or so. Let me explain.

For longtime readers the name LaVon is not a new one to you. Bob and I met the Bakers, Don and LaVon, back in ‘08 when we spent our first year in Quail Run. They were our next door neighbors and LaVon and I became fast friends. GOOD friends. And the friendship continued after we went our separate ways that spring. We’ve met up on the road a couple of times since then and spent several lunchtimes together in Arizona the year before last.

Last spring, soon after we arrived in South Dakota, Bob found us a workamping job in the Rio Grande Valley, just a mere 7 miles from where Don and LaVon were to spend their winter. The ol’ wheels started turnin’ and I formed a plan on how to surprise LaVon when we were both in the Valley together. Little did I know how involved and hard this was going to be.

The plot thickened quickly when Cynthia from the office of the park we were going to friended me on Facebook. It didn’t take long at all before LaVon saw that I was ALSO friends with Cynthia and she wanted to know how I met her. Oh. Em. Gee. Lavon knows Cynthia!!! I thought quickly and told LaVon that we had met on an RV forum and struck up a conversation, yada, yada, yada. Whew, she bought it. Then a quick note to Cynthia to let her know in case LaVon says anything to her. Other mutual friends knew we were going to the Valley and I had to swear them to secrecy too. AND keep track of who knew what!

Oh wait, it gets better yet! If you followed us through South Dakota then you know Joy and DeWayne were working with us the last month and they are also here in the Valley in the same park we are. Dann and Pat, also from South Dakota, are also here. Hail, hail, the gang’s all here,,,,well, almost, Val and Jerry are missing.

LaVon reads on the blog that we’re in San Antonio where we all met up last month. She emails me, “Snookie, where are you going from there? We’ll be down in the Valley soon and would love to see you.” “Yeah, well, uh, gee, so would I Lavon but you see we’re traveling with this group and we all agreed to stay together, yada, yada, yada…. but I’ll see what I can do because Bob and I would surely like to catch up with you and Don too.”

So we get down here, she knows we’re here, and I have to tell her that we are leaving the DAY BEFORE they are to arrive. In return I got, “Snookie! NOOOOOOO! you can’t leave yet!” Let me tell ya, I felt lower than a snake belly in a wagon rut.

Do you have any idea how hard this has been? I had to be very careful about what I put on Facebook. I had a heck of time blogging because she reads here. I had to monitor what Cynthia put on her Facebook and once even had to message her, “Take that down, LaVon will see that!” I even had to go as far as saying the word “Goodbye” to Cynthia because if LaVon asked her I wanted her to be able to say truthfully, “Well, she did say goodbye to me………

So I get an email from LaVon and she asked where we are and the first thing I could think of to say was, “A little north of Corpus Christi, I don’t know the name of the place and Bob isn’t here. More later, gotta run.” and I send it off.

My plan was for us to go to Don’s Sunday service in their park and just show up. Good plan but our work schedule didn’t work for us to do that.

Finally, I just couldn’t play at this deception anymore and I called LaVon and said, “I want to send something in the mail to you, what’s your address.” She gave it. “Ok, gotta go get this to the mail before the mailman comes, I’ll call you later, you going to be home?” She assured me she would be home all afternoon. Ok, let’s plug this into the GPS and go see them!

Seven miles later we’re at their place, ask the gate the guy the way to their lot number and he tells us there is no such lot number. Of course not! That was their mailbox number! We went by names and he told us how to find them. If I had been driving I would have parked a few sites away, a street away, on the other side of the park! Not my Bob. he pulls up 5 feet from their front door. its not like we have a common looking truck! So yes, she (they) were surprised but I didn’t get to see the look on her face. They saw the truck and knew right away it was us.

She was surprised to find out that we are here all winter,,,,and very happy to hear we are here all winter.

We had a great laugh about all I had been going through and how many people knew this was going down and how big this whole thing turned into.

So, we are together again!

We are looking forward to lunches, and days at the beach on South Padre Island and phone calls that say, “I’m going to hop in my truck and drive those 7 miles to come see ya, gonna be home?”

We’re gonna go picture takin’ too!

It’s going to be a fun winter my friend!

11/3/2011 States Visited Map Replaced

2011-11-03T14:16:00.000-07:00

When we traded our Newmar Kountry Star 5th wheel a year ago our map of all the states we visited went with it. If you remember, each time we spent the night in a new to us state we added the state to the map that was attached to our slide out.

We missed that map so when I was in the local Camping World store recently I picked one up. Today is the day to get our map back.

Of course one has to start with a clean slate.

Bob puts the outline of the country on very carefully.

What I don’t for about this map is that Alaska and Hawaii are located south of California. Our last map we could add Canada and put Arizona where it belonged which we had hoped to really do that this time and also be able to add Mexico. Not gonna happen now!

Let the state placing begin!

It takes some time to get each one on because it seems as though you only get one shot at it. There’s no putting it on and taking it off to reposition. I’m glad he has the patience for this because I don’t know that I would.

Of course to do this properly one must assume the stance!

Halfway there.

All done. Nine states not filled in but we’re working on it.

We still have North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Kentucky and Hawaii to visit.

11/2/2011 One Word Wednesday

2011-11-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

W H Y

11/1/2011 I’m Going to be a Widow!

2011-11-01T11:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, its true! I’m going to be a widow. The golf kind. Bob bought a set of golf clubs today and a new pool cue. He’s been talking about taking up golf again for some time now, although I don’t know if again is the right word since I haven’t known him to play in the 31 years we’ve been together. When we were home last summer my dad had given him a set of golf clubs that he no longer used but they weren’t really in the best of shape so Bob opted to just get a new set.

I’m glad he’s taking this hobby up as long as he doesn’t want me to do it with him. I’ll look forward the me time I’ll get while he’s out chasing that little white ball.

I’m also glad he’s taking this hobby up as long as he doesn’t want to play on any of these courses! (<<<click)

After our shopping excursion we met up with eight other for dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack.

Bob and I picked the restaurant and we all agreed that we would go out for dinner the first and third Tuesday of each month with a different couple picking the restaurant each week.

Pat ordered a pretty blue drink called the Shark Attack complete with a vial of blood! See the shark on the side of the glass holding the vial of blood to be poured into the drink? Actually its grenadine and when she poured it into the drink I could hear the Jaws theme song playing in my head.

Bob, Joy, DeWayne and Pat all got some of boil dinner and had to wear bibs.

I ordered the crab cakes and they were to die for!

We had a great time with our old friends and the new ones we’ve made and we’re looking to many more dinners out.

10/31/2011 Big Ghouls and Little Goblins…

2011-10-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

It’s that time year again when the little kids and the not so little kids come trick or treating.

It’s no different when you are in a snowbird RV park. I really liked the way this park handled Halloween. In each park (remember there is a sister park right across the street) one street is dedicated to the Trick or Treat-ers. This way, those with less than honorable intentions, don’t get free reign to case the place if you will.

A little after five everyone lined up their tables and chairs on the designated street and sat back to wait for the princesses and witches and Spiderman and grim reapers galore.

Superman getting ready to take flight.

Our friend ~~Drac~~ Dann.

Dann and Pat together.

Park managers, Cynthia and Scott in their Halloween garb.

The Trick or Treat-ers still hadn’t arrived so I walked inside the Friendship Hall to see what was going on in their.

The main hall all decked out for dinner after the kiddies leave.

Evidently some game playing was going on because candy corn note pads and pencils were on each table.

Activity staffers getting desserts ready.

Decorations in the hall.

A little after 5:30 the action on the street started. A steady line of cars coming in and and dropping off the kids and a parent and the other parent taking the car and picking them up at the other end.

I noticed some of the kids didn’t even bother dressing up at all, just held out their bags, or plastic pumpkins for the goodies. I also noticed quite a few adults with a bag or plastic pumpkin too which I thought was really odd.

Lots and lots of candy was given out this day here in the park. All of the participants who wanted to give out candy had a minimum of 300 pieces of the sweet stuff. And every one of them ran out of candy before they ran out of kids.

H A P P Y H A L L O W E E N

10/30/2011 Beans! Beans! Good for Your Heart…

2011-10-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

…and we’ll just leave that little childhood ditty right there.

BEANS!

Today I helped four others put chocolate, animal cracker type cookies into small plastic snack bags and to fill quart sized bags with beans like in the picture above.

Joann, filling snack bags.

Ladies hard at work filling snack bags for children in Mexico that otherwise will not have any treats.

We filled baggie after baggie. I don’t know where the cookies came from but I’ll assume the same place the beans did.

Chip helping fill the quart sized bags with beans.

I’ve heard that the park managers buy the beans, you can see what size the bags are by looking to the right of Chip in the picture above. I’m going to guess 50 lb. bags and there are two or three of them. Every Monday morning, but this week for some reason, on Sunday afternoon, ladies gather and fill these bags. On Wednesday, Scott and Cynthia will load them into their vehicle and head to Mexico to a mission they support. The children will be given their treats and their parents will be given a quart sized bag of beans. Or maybe they’ll be given two bags or perhaps three if they have a big family. I really don’t know. I do know, however, that the people who receive these gifts have very little. I hope to sit down with Scott or Cynthia before we leave here to find out more about what they do in the mission. Details about the children who wait for their arrival on Wednesday’s because they know they’ll be given a much anticipated treat and they’ll have a fleeting moment of just being any kid as they bite the chocolate head off of the giraffe animal cracker. They’ll savor each sweet morsel.

Mother’s will appreciate the beans that came from across the border that help feed their families. I bet if you talked with a dozen different women you’ll find these beans are prepared a dozen different ways.

To be perfectly honest with you, I wouldn’t have a clue what to do with those beans. The only beans I eat are green beans and Bush’s Baked Beans.

I can tell you this, I’m very thankful for my station in life. It was very humbling to fill those bags and to think that families are in such need that this quart sized bag of beans is going to make a difference in what a family is going to eat this week.

I did ask why these things weren’t given to the poor Mexicans here in this country now and I was told because those that the mission serve have even less than the poor here. Whether it be a family across the border or here in the U. S. of A. I was glad to be a part of this weekly activity. I was glad to help in some small way. Most of all I was glad to be reminded to thank God for what I have, not to ask for anything but to say thank you for all that I already have.

10/25-10/27/2011 Not Much To Tell

2011-10-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

I don’t know if its because we have all traveled so many miles….

Pat & Dann - South Dakota to Utah to southern Texas

Joy & DeWayne – South Dakota to Oklahoma to southern Texas

Us – South Dakota to Texas to Arizona to southern Texas

….whatever it is, its like we don’t really want to get in the truck and go anywhere other than the store to get needed tools and bread or milk and beer of course. It’s like we’re slugs although the guys are busy around the rigs and us girls are doing things in the park. Though no one has said it out loud its like we’re all saying, “Oh please, not the truck, don’t make me get in the truck.” Its really a shame because there are things to do and see around here.

Bob did fix the leak and this small leak turned into a monumental job! Since this is our second leak Bob decided that he had to check everything in the basement. EVERYTHING! He had already checked everything in the rig itself but now he is checking things behind walls and above basement ceilings. Lots of time and twisting and turning and cramped spaces but we can now say that every connection has been checked and tightened if needed and he also now knows where the lines run behind walls which someday he may be very glad he knows. Piece of mind, a good thing to have.

The girls and I have been playing Mexican Train during some afternoons.

Bunky, Toni and Joy waiting on Pat to make her move.

Pat, trying to figure out what she’s going to do.

We’ve been enjoying temperatures in the mid 80’s these past few days. I, for one, will be glad to have cold front come through so we can turn the air conditioner off. Not too cold mind you.

The trees at our site. What a beautiful blue sky!

Do you remember when I told you about the little ghost town for sale in South Dakota? You can refresh your memory HERE. Well, the town has been sold but the sale seems to be shrouded in mystery. The Iglesia ni Cristo church, established in the Philippines in 1914, bought the town. Spokespeople for the church are keeping mum on the reason they bought or any plans they have for the town. Even the local real estate agent had to sign an agreement that he would not speak of the sale. Strange, to say the least.

10/24/2011 Shopping Trip, Broken Filter & A Leak

2011-10-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

After being in the park all weekend Bob was anxious to get and get some things he’s had on his shopping list.

First things first, our bikes need some updates. New seats for one. I don’t know who the original seats were designed for but it must have been for somebody with buns made literally of steel. So uncomfortable! Not anymore, we have nice cushy seats.

A basket for me. I am really glad to have this because it was getting more and more difficult to hold the handlebars, have my camera strap over my shoulder with my camera banging against my side and leg and to carry a Pepsi. The basket is removable with the push of a button so I can take whatever I’m carrying with me.

I still need new tires and the “streamers” for my handlebars but I don’t know if they even make them anymore. Oh, and baseball card/clothespin for my spokes. If you are going back to your childhood where your bike is main transportation then you might as well go all the way back!

We also had to look for a filter for our air conditioner. And of course Camping World didn’t have one or any other local place we could find.

I do have to say, it was nice getting out today with just “normal” traffic. Who couldn’t be happy driving on streets like this?

Oh we are not happy campers with LaMesa RV in Tucson. This is where we took our RV to get warranty repairs done. One of our complaints was that the air conditioner knobs were very difficult to turn. When we picked our rig up the service writer assured me that the knobs turned easily and that in fact they had quieted the AC because it was noisy. Oh great,,,above and beyond. Or so we thought. We needed the AC over the weekend and I wanted to turn the one in bedroom on too to help cool it down. I could not even turn the knobs a 32nd of an inch let alone ON! I didn’t say anything to Bob because he found another leak and he wasn’t exactly in a good mood.

Well, wouldn’t you know, he also tried to turn on the AC on. I wasn’t even in the same room when he tried and I knew he did. Heck, I could have been outside and would have known he tried to turn the knobs on the AC if you get my drift. This was not going to be pretty. I think he’s at the point he’s ready to torch the RV. (ONLY KIDDING….in case, God forbid, this thing should catch fire I don’t want our insurance company to really think we did that.) So Bob decides he’s going to find out what’s going on with AC and proceeds to take it apart. It wasn’t too much later that I heard he found something he didn’t like. Reluctantly, I went upstairs when beckoned and my blood pressure also went through the roof when I saw what he was holding in his hand.

One mangled, ripped, torn, broken AC filter.

Seems as though whoever worked on our AC couldn’t get the filter in the right way so forced it in. The knobs? Pushed so far into the casing they would never turn. Bob was able to correct the knob problem and I got on the phone with LaMesa. They didn’t have one in stock to send us so I called the manufacturer at their prompting and ordered one. Granted, they could have made the call but it would have been sent to them and in turn they would have send it to us so by us calling we’ll get it a whole lot faster. That part works for me. They will reimburse us for the part as soon as they get a copy of the receipt.

Now to the get the leak fixed. It was too late in the day to even get into this so we just turned the water off when we were done for the day. It was a very slow leak so it was no big deal even when the water was on, it could wait till the next day.

We are really getting’ to not likin’ this Carriage RV. Or maybe that should be the PEOPLE who built it, the PEOPLE in Quality Control, or lack thereof, and the PEOPLE who repair them. There just doesn’t seem to be pride in workmanship anymore.

10/23/2011 Joy and I Were Brave…Stupid?

2011-10-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Joy and I went against everything we’ve heard about traffic on the weekend. We went out today only because she had to make a run to Home Depot. She called to ask if I wanted to ride along and I said yes without even thinking. I’m just glad she was driving! People here are crazy!!!! Lane changing with no directional signals. Left hand turns from right hand lanes. Crazy I tell ya.

Bob took a well deserved day off. That’s not to say he didn’t do anything, he just moved at a much slower pace and took more breaks.

I met Pat in the Tradewinds club house with about a dozen and a half others this evening for a rousing game of Pokeno. Never played Pokeno? Think Bingo with the card having pictures of playing cards on them instead of little square with a number. (I’ve never seen a book with cards in it like shown below, we each had an individual card.

We each had to put pennies in different “pots” such as center square, diagonal, four corners, postage stamp, full house, four of a kind and pokeno.

Everyone had several turns at being the caller. You had to flip over the cards in a regular deck of playing cards and call out the card. In turn, everyone who had that number put a penny on their card in the appropriate spot. The first one who got a penny on all four corners called it out and got the four corners pot. The same with the center square, a diagonal bingo, four of a kind and so on.

I wish I had my camera with me! I finished up as the big winner of the evening with quite a pile of pennies in front of me. To the point I had to borrow another container to get them all home. Will I be back next Sunday to play again? You betcha!