some pictures I had in the camera...haven't taken too many....sorry...


Sean Krause, Big Zack and Johnny Morgan













The Kraus', me & paulie and the Morgan's













The first sunset of the year here was not so good...then the others I didn't bring the camera...it was cloudy but I got the sun just before it hit the water...

Poor grandpa…he had no luck whatsoever with Delta on his return trip to McAllen on Tuesday. We left at 6 am to get to GR airport only to find out his flight was delayed due to crew timing out from delays yesterday. If he took the delayed flight, he would miss his connection. So they switched him to a 2:45 departure from here and catch a connection in Atlanta around 8. We had hoped he’d get to Texas before it was dark but I guess that went out the window. We left the airport and headed out to find a place for breakfast. We really weren’t hungry but we ended up at Perkins, me having tea and the guys having a muffin. Of course, nothing opens til 9 or 10 so we just drove around, finally winding up at Midway Motors, the place we purchased our rig on line several years ago. We looked at all the new and used rigs, and decided once again, we like ours and don’t want to pay a quarter of a million bucks for another. Who has that kinda money anyways? Not us that is for sure…that would be a nice legacy to leave our kid…a motorhome with a mortgage bigger than we ever had as homeowners and with no resale value!

Finally he decided he was tired and wanted us to drop him off at the airport so he could find a nice cozy spot and take a rest…er, nap. We did drop him off around 1 p.m. then just hit a couple of stores. Costco is one place we didn’t have in Springpatch. It was a huge store, and the stuff looked really nice, especially the meat. Don’t know if it is worth a $50 member fee for us…don’t know where Costco’s are all over. We still have our Sam’s Club so it would be either or. Sam’s is just about everywhere, but I am not so sure about Costco.

We headed back to Muskegon and went to Dicks’ sporting goods. They had cheapie chairs we could take down to the beach and just leave there and if they disappeared, we’d be out only a few bucks. It is worth that just not to haul the stuff down to the beach. Down is not too bad, it’s the UP that gets me. Geesh…going up hill in sugar sand is not as easy as it looks on TV,…honest! I almost fell on my face…next time I gotta take my cane…I have NO balance on uneven surfaces and sand is included in that as I can now attest. My sandals got all twisted up in the sand…thank goodness Paulie was there to grab my arm before I went over. I am not sure what a fall on soft sand would do to my gosh-awful stupid hip, but I don’t want to test it anyways.

We went to the Traverse City Pie Company for dinner. We split a sourdough blt and then got carmel pecan apple pie for dessert. We ate our half sandwich but had to take the pie home. Eyes bigger than our tummys again.

We watched the Cubs game and then I went to bed.

Wednesday….

Another day from purgatory…I awoke with a terrible ache in my back and the unending urge to pee…bladder infection…AGAIN. Fibro is the culprit and is one of the symptoms. I had a flare over the last week, so this shouldn’t have been a surpise. I hit my stash of AZO and antibiotics from Mexico…I spent most of the morning in the bathroom…then because of all the fruit, got the trots. Complete misery. I finally went to bed and slept until 5. Paul made delish burgers on the grill. We sat outside for a while just enjoying the weather and the quiet of the area. Not much was on TV, although the re-run of Big Love was on at 11. The flys seem to be the biting type so both of us were targets when dusk hit. I got on the computer to update the blog but the signal was low and I couldn’t get on, thus the double post today.

It’s Thursday and we are still trying to decide what to do. Paulie thought that the craft show from the Celebration started today, but it is starting tomorrow. I thought we could go to Grand Haven and perhaps rent a couple of bikes. Just to see if I can ride a two wheeler, like the big girls. I had a trike but hated it…it was hard to pedal and I felt like a dork. This way if we decide to get some bikes so we can do some of the trails we encounter, I won’t be without some practice and know that I can ride a freakn’ bike without falling on my keester.

Paul is at the managers office arranging for a honey wagon. For the non-campers out there, we need to have our black tank emptied…you must imagine yourself what goes in the black holding tank.

Well, I am going to try and post this on line now, if not I will have to try later. I can take my laptop with us as there are a number of places with free wifi including the Elks Lodge just down the street. It takes seconds with a full wifi signal of 54 mbps…I am getting 3.6 mbps on the air card from Cingular. And I complained at Rio Valley with 11 mbps! You never appreciate what you have until you lose it, right?

Take care, and I will try to post again to let you know how we do on the bikes.

Hugs

Dee

Ok, ok, ok...I am up to my dirty tricks again...promising stuff and not following thru....however, I do have excuse. I have been like a dead woman walking for the entire week we've been here. Fibro/Chronic fatigue and my favorite vertigo have taken over my life. I feel so bad for Paulie...all I do is sleep!

Here’s a quick recap since I posted last….

Friday…we pretty much just hung around the campground until 11 and then we were off to visit Larry at Beltone. Grandpa and I had our hearing aides cleaned and re-calibrated. Paul had started the laundry, so after our appointment, we joined him at the suds-o-rama to finish up. Geesh…lots of clothes. I was asked why I had 9 pair of undies in the laundry. “Cause I change ‘em every day dufus…” and then Paulie told me the reason he only had three was he wasn’t wearin’ ‘em. Too much information for me…no wonder he has this stupid goofy look on his face all the time. Pervert. The weather is beautiful. We went back to the rig and just vegged all day. Not much was on TV so we watched a chick flick Friday night since I had control of the clicker. I told them they could have it when I went to bed so they could watch exciting poker games on Travel.

Saturday

I had a horrible day…the boys went to the grocery store while I was still in bed, so I was abandoned when I woke up. I took a shower, dried this mop of uncut mangles and then had a muffin. When the guys got back I had to go back to bed. We are supposed to go to Suzie and Lar’s about 4:30 for a BBQ. Ricky is bringing his daughters Lindsay and Stephanie (who had a baby girl in October…hubby Matt is working on their kitchen…she said she is tired of having the fridge in the living room….!)

I got up around 4:15 and nobody was around…the car was here but no Paulie or Grandpa. They must be off showering at the bathhouse. I got dressed. Of course, the outfit I planned to wear fell flat…black shorts set with tank top…can’t find stupid tank top. Plan B…wear outrageous black top with lime flowers with black shorts. Favorite of mine from Key West. Pull out top, see that someone(whomever does the laundry) had failed to note the self-adhesive name badge on the blouse and washed and dried it with the damm thing on…gluey gloopy round circle that air particles and all kinds of fuzz stick to….OK. Black shorts and my checked yellow white and black sweater. Ugh.

Finally Paulie comes in and says party is delayed. 6:30 scheduled departure…OK. We arrive, I am like in a stupor and all I can do is sit on the chair. Well, this is the first time Paulie's family has seen me wiped out. Everyone felt really bad. We all had a nice visit. Larry’s folks were there and we all had a nice time. Stephanie’s baby girl Anna is quite a charmer and is really a pretty little girl. We left about 11 with no firm plans for a breakfast get together.

Sunday…

We slept in, read the paper and had a nice easy morning. Rick and the girls had to get back to Midland early so the left about nine. Sue called and will meet us on the beach later this afternoon. We hauled the chairs, some sandwiches and soda down to the beach. What a trek… the water is beautiful…the wind was cool and refreshing…what a great afternoon.

Sue and daughter Casey arrived and we had good sandwiches, conversation and enjoyed the afternoon. Sue invited us for dinner…so we will bring some additions to the family meal…some fresh corn on the cob….fruit and some other stuff I don’t remember!

We had a great dinner, talked over dinner for a while and then finally when the sun set about 9:30 we headed back to the rig. It’s very hard to get used to the sun staying out til 9:15 or 9:30. Then all of a sudden, you feel like its bedtime and it’s still light outside. I don’t have a problem going to sleep anytime of the day or night for that matter!

Today is Monday. Grandpa has to go home tomorrow. We will do some shopping after we drop him off in Grand Rapids. There is a Camping world and an awning shop we want to check out plus a Costco which we haven't had a opportunity to check out. Then we have to come back to the rig and do some cleaning...if we don't do it weekly, then I just get nutz. Really. More than unusual, lol!

Sue and Casey are here and we are waiting to go down to the beach to watch the sunset.

More tomorrow....hugs,

dee

Thursday…

We all heard the really bad storm last night…thunder and lightening all around. I was wide awake by 5 a.m. and really had a hard time going back to sleep. Paul finally got up with Grandpa around 8:30….I got up around nine.
Paulie made grandpa his famous “eggs with the stuff inside” (an omelet of course) and I had an English muffin with tea. My whole system seemed upset so I laid down for awhile and finally headed to the bathroom. All hell broke loose, but boy did I feel better afterwards. Around 12:30 I finally badgered Paul into going out. Someplace…anyplace…just to get out in the beautiful weather. We drove around a while, reacquainting ourselves with the Muskegon area. We decided to find the Olde World Deli and have a late lunch, early dinner at the smorgasbord. Well, with the help of the nagging voice inside the gps we found it without any problems. However, they are remodeling and making it a deli/pub kinda place. The smorgasbord is only on Friday and Saturday nites. Crap. We did split a “polish plate” of crepes, pirogue, sauerkraut with white sausage, and cabbage roll, and a brat plate with fries. We were all stuffed and brought some home. Three people can’t eat two luncheon plates.

After lunch we rolled ourselves off to WalMart for some groceries. We really hadn’t gone in at least a week and a half and we were out of basics:
Cookies candy and chips. Just kidding. We did bring back a ring of fresh polish sausage to grill one day. After cruising the aisles for an hour we go to check out. One check out open….all the self checks open. I get behind one lady in the check out line that has ONE measly ice chest in her basket. Paul insists we go to the self check. OK. Mr. Know-it-all. The kid in front of us is trying to put thru an expired gift card and 10 minutes later they come and help him do whatever he needed to do. The lady I got behind with the cooler has now since left the store and is probably pulling into her driveway and we are just now starting to scan. Ugh. Self check out is fine for a few items…not a week’s worth of groceries. *sigh*. The polish prince just seems awfully dense sometimes, like he still is in the Black forest hunting antelope.

After arriving back at the rig, all three of us nod off and nap. I am now sitting out under the awning. It is a beautiful cool evening. I am able to get a signal so hopefully I won’t have any problems posting this to the blog. I still have pix to download and then get up on line. I will wait until I am in the car and getting a strong signal to try that though.

Not much else happening. Grandpa and I will visit Larry and get our hearing aides checked tomorrow. Don’t know what else we will do, but I am hoping maybe we can go to Grand Haven or someplace close for the afternoon.

Hugs

dee

Wednesday

Well, yesterday was a total bust, for me anyways. Paulie got a lot done, finishing setting up, cleaning the windshield of those sticky awful cicada creatures people call bugs. I was still in recovery mode from the last couple of weeks. I am so embarrassed by the amount of time I can sleep when I am not feeling well. Chronic fatigue/fibro is a real bitch.

We did go out to dinner at Russ’ which is a very nice coffee shop. We split a ruben and the slaw was excellent. I was still very much in some sort of stupor for the rest of the day. I couldn’t get access from the aircard at all, and that is really frustrating. Sometimes here at the campground I get an excellent signal and everything is fine, well, slow but fine. Then it’s ok with a good signal that then drops down to low. Then the computer locks up and I have to manually shut it down. That can’t be good for this laptop. Right now, while I am writing this, I have a low signal and cannot access anything.

We are trying to find out where Grandpa is…he called at 8 this morning (7 Texas time) and said his flight was delayed…no plane. Geez. He is supposed to fly into Atlanta then into Grand Rapids. Paul is on the phone with the airlines now…I guess it will just be a waiting game until we hear where the heck he is. It is an hour’s drive to Grand Rapids from here.

The weather is totally fantastic. Cool with the sun shining brightly. The campground is surprisingly empty. Everyone is speculating that high gas prices are keeping folks at home. Most of the campground is seasonal, i.e. permanent rigs that have been jazzed up with awnings, flowers, BBQs and decorations. The mom and kids come down early and Dad comes on the weekends is a common occurrence. Maybe it’s too costly for Mom to drive around here and Dad to make the trek every weekend.

Zack was delayed getting out of Chicago Monday night due to the big thunderboomers and rain. He finally landed sometime after midnight and drove back to Edwardsville. He had a presentation teaching assignment Tuesday evening at his class. Then I think he was working the rest of the week…he said the coffers are bare so he didn’t mind.

Not much else happening here. Until we hear from Grandpa and when he is arriving, we are kinda stuck here. We need to do laundry and shop for groceries.

I will post more when I am able.
Hugs…..dee

Monday June 18, 2007 continued…

Well, I took more than a potty break, sorry. When I got up, Paulie was hungry so I gave him some leftover burger from lunch yesterday. I passed…it didn’t appeal to me at all. By the time we finished our lunch (I will not reveal what I ate for lunch, suffice to say it wasn’t on my eating plan…), we were turning off the highway to get to the campground. It only took about 20 minutes to park and another 20 to set up. By this time I was really hurting and exhausted (so what else is new you ask?) so it was nap time for me. Paulie continued to set up the outside of the rig and put the awning out. He started putting together our new grill which will probably take him a while. I woke up about six and made us some pork tenderloin tips in au jus, (the Bob Evans precooked stuff) took some mushroom gravy and made dinner with the rest of the leftovers I had from the Cenois pork dinner. It really was a throw together dinner and it showed…it really sucked. Ah, well, I tried.

Anyways back to our long narrative. Where did I leave off? Oh yeah, dry camping at Camping World. We checked in with Dustin early and were off for the day. Zack would be coming in about 1:30 pm and we didn’t want to disrupt Jane and Carl’s morning schedules so we had some time to kill. I decided to explore IKEA. The Polish Prince was not so happy, but I want to add some racks for stuff in the kitchen, so he obliged without too much hassle. We walked the entire building and didn’t find anything to go with the measurements I had written down weeks ago. Paulie said he will re-measure when we get back to the rig. OK. So we headed out south to Orland Park. We stopped for some gas and before we knew it, were greeting Aunt Jane. Carl had taken a short trip out to the computer store.

We had a great visit and had some finger sandwiches and Aunt Jane’s fabulous apple slices. She was not happy as she felt the crust was tough because she had frozen it. I thought it was great. Paul left to get Zack (although we didn’t KNOW he left…I was in the bathroom and I think Jane was cleaning up the kitchen and he just left….hmmmmm.) Carl returned and had some lunch. We watched the Cub game for awhile and Zack and Paul came in from the airport. Aunt Jane heated up some Italian beef and we are again! We all visited for a while, and decided to view the pictures on my computer on the big screen TV. It took a while to get it set up…We looked at all kinds of pictures. Paul finally got a call back from Camping World; the rig was ready to pickup. It was about 4:30. Zack and Paulie left to get the rig and get it set up at the RV park at the Empress Casino, then drive back to Aunt Jane’s to get me and then go back to the Casino. This is just the beginning of a long sad tale of poor customer service, idiot technicians and short tempered Polish Princes. Long story short....it takes Paulie and Zack almost two hours to get from Orland Park to Bolingbrook; Kingdome satellite installed. Not getting all channels. Paul has conniption fit. Techs all gone home for the evening. To calm irate Paulie, Camping world promises tech will be at rig 8 am. Paul livid. Paul gets CW to reconnect electric so kitty doesn’t die in heat. Paulie and Zack now tired and hungry…call me at Aunt Jane’s and I get an earful of stuff I can’t make heads nor tails of. Sigh. Paul and Zack go eat, Aunt Jane and I continue gabfest. Paul and Zack arrive, sweep me out the door and we head back to Camping world for the night.

Saturday morning….tech doesn’t show up till 9. Paul livid. Tech fixes problem. We hitch up and go to breakfast. Afterwards we head to RV park. Paul and Zack go to casino. Dennise takes short nap. Paul and Zack comeback and we all shower and get ready for party. We are one and one half hours late. Have great time at party. Dennise has too much to drink. We eat, drink and are merry. We leave at 2 am.

Sunday…Dennise sleeps in all day. Boys go out to eat, go to casino. We meet Karen, Mike and Sean Kraus, John, Eugenia and Johnny Morgan at Fuddruckers. We have great dinner and great conversation. After dinner we meet with Laurie at Bakers Square. After a nice visit, she and Zack take off…she will drop him off at Kathy’s house so they can take him to the airport Monday night. Paulie and I head back to the rig at the casino. Dennise goes to bed. Paulie goes to casino.

Whew…it was getting very long winded and I needed to cut the fluff. Now you are all caught up! And so am I, thank goodness! Keeping a blog is fun but if you miss a day, you have lots of writin’ to do!

I will try very, very hard to update daily since I have aircard/cellphone access. I don’t have to drive to Barnes and Noble like I did last year, LOL!

Looking forward to tomorrow…we have no plans except to do some laundry and hit the grocery store. Gene will arrive on Wednesday I think. The pod was unloaded down in Weslaco and picked up today. Whew, at least that part of the equation worked! Now, all we need is the settlement check from the house to pay off all the stuff we have been using the plastic for!

Take care, and lots of hugs

dee

Monday June 18, 2007

Well, this is technically our first day of our full time lifestyle. Last week was a kinda mishmash of house related stuff, doing the June Rally for Cenois and then traveling up to Chicago to visit friends and relatives. We had a great weekend. Zack flew in from St. Louis and we had a nice visit with him also. He and Paulie went to the casino a coupla times…losers, both of ‘em.

Well, for you nosey types (just kidding…I love you all!!!) here is a little recap of our last week as sticks and bricks homeowners and weekend campers.

Monday…

Geesh, a week ago and I cannot remember what the heck we did. Oh yeah, we had set up the rig at Riverside Park in Springfield. The pods (we ordered three, thinking we’d just make it with three pods….we actually used one…same price for one as for two!). I don’t think we really did anything else as I was having mini-spins much of the day, leftover from Sunday. Finally after Paulie had finished running some errands, we decided to go to Taco Bell for some dinner. We usually split the chaulpa big meal and get an extra small drink. Dinner for two for under six bucks. Not bad. When we arrived back at the Asylum, Mom and Cecil were waiting for us. We had promised our friends Hank and Elizabeth that we would sit outside for the evening, but then we had unexpected visitors, they decided to pass. Elizabeth has been have some back pain so it was probably best for her to rest up for the upcoming rally. We couldn't face the banking stuff, so we will deal with all that right now...too much stress!

Tuesday…

Before going to Zeile’s to sign the house paperwork, we stopped at the house to open the doors for the cleaning crew. Four gals loaded to the gills with vac’s, cleaning buckets etc were just arriving. We had taken the laundry with us to use the washer and dryer one last time. The ladies offered to do the second load and put the first load in the dryer. How nice that was! Off to the title company. I got sick with tummy troubles and Paulie had to stop at Hardee’s for me to use the facilities. Nervous stomach I guess.

We signed all our papers and were a bit dismayed at the final number that will be our settlement. Of course, the taxes had already been paid, but on the worksheet of expenses, they charged us for both the first and second payments. Then, there was another item, which I don’t remember but it will be refunded to us after the July 2 escrow closing. Argh. Paulie had hoped for more, but at least we are out from under the mortgage, utilities and all the other related expenses of an empty house.

I am starting a budget worksheet to track our expenses. This should be VERY interesting…we have really never done this too carefully. Now that we are on the road we do need to see what are the big drains on our budget. I am certain it won’t be fuel for the first month…we are sitting still on the beach in Muskegon so all the gas we will use will be for the Vue and sightseeing and exploring the things we missed last year.

Tuesday afternoon finds us back at Riverside awaiting our Cenois Prairielanders to arrive for our first midweek rally. Normally we have them on weekends, but we were trying something new…most of our members, actually all but two families, are retired. Campgrounds are usually less crowded during the week (and the price is lower…they charge premium prices for weekends and holidays) so we thought every now and then a midweek rally would be nice…easier to get into restraunts for dinners with a larger group, fewer campers, etc.

We wound up having 7 rigs. We found out late Tuesday afternoon that our new Prez ,Dory Talbot's, husband Al, had gone in for some heart testing and wound up having two stents put in. We had a bit of a problem with the folks at Cheddars with them telling us they don’t take reservations, (ah but they do, just for parties over ten…nobody told us that. I raked the manger over the coals and we wound up getting a 10% discount….I know BFD… )
After arriving at the shelter early Wednesday morning where Paulie and the guys had set up the coffee pot and flag and our supplies Tuesday night, we discovered that some morons had burned our American flag. We were shocked and right away contacted the campground host who called the park district police and the head of the park district. They were there for a while and the police guy collected the fragments left, just like CSI only Springpatch style not NY or Las Vegas, lol…the goofs must have used an accelerate as the flag was nylon and would not have burned easily. The fire also made two large burn holes in the shelter tent. We decided to dump the premade coffee as who knew what these goofs may have added to our coffee…rat poison or antifreeze were the first things I thought of….The Park Commissioner (I think that’s who he was)…was quite aghast that anyone would do this…and the Riverside campground has never had anything like vandalism in the last five years since the park was taken over by the Springfield Park districk. The committee of Joyce and Dick Jones and me and Paulie did the breakfast thing with omelets in bags…they were perfect and everyone enjoyed them. We had our first business meeting of 2007. There was some discussion that several folks in the group were concerned that having weekday rallies would result in the loss of member ship…so motions were discussed to make some on weekdays, some on weekends. Geesh, you can’t please everyone. Once again, the Park guy returned and presented our Pres, Dory Talbot with a new flag courtsy of the City of Springfield. It was a very nice gesture and well appreciated. After the meeting, we all headed back to our rigs to get ready for the ladies Red Hat luncheon. There were only five rehatters so we all fit in one car. We had wonderful fruit plates with chicken salad at one of my fav tearooms, Tea Thyme Tea room. Good food, good service and a beautiful setting of antiques and Victorian décor. Back at the campground, I needed to nap…Paul had fixed one part of the committee dinner, the stuffing for the pork roast, and since some of the gals were already bringing desserts, I decided to scrap the blueberry cobbler I had planned and pulled out some cranberry sauce, pork gravy and instant mashed taters, the good instant ones not the soupy ones we remember as kids.

Dinner was great, the pork was delicious (Good job Joyce and Dick) the stuffing made in the crockpot was a bit overdone but still delish (good job Paulie) and there was plenty to eat. The gnats were just awful so we packed and cleaned up quickly so we could sit near the rigs and get away from the bugs. Some of us weaklings sprayed ourselves with bug spray and we all sat outside and talked until dark.

Thursday….

Paul was up and out by 6:30 to start the coffee and go get the donuts.
We had a nice fruit bowl that everyone contributed to….and plain old fashioned mello crèmes. YUM. Hank gave a lovely talk, as he always does and we all headed back to visit for awhile. Since no one seemed to be in a hurry, although the Williams’ did have to leave early to pickup grandkids we all sat around and talked. It never ceases to amaze me how much we have to talk about!

Since we were heading out for our new “life” we had a lot of stuff to do. I think we finally pulled out of Springfield sometime around 2 or maybe three. Since I had really worked hard to clean the rig and was hurting and wiped out…I hate arriving at a new campsite and have to clean…so I hit the couch. I don’t remember how long it took to get to Camping World in Bolingbrook. But they were open…and we checked the rig in with our Customer service guy, Dustin. We were having a satellite dish installed….another long story which I won’t go into detail here…The polish prince wanted it…I didn’t. I lost. No big deal, whatever makes him happy, he’ been under so much stress lately…

They dropped an electric cord for us as we would drycamp in the parking lot. Our appointment was for 10:30 Friday. We asked them to check the coach batteries, and install the dish We also wanted them to measure for window awnings so we could order them at this Camping World and have them delivered and installed at the CW in Grand Rapids. Dustin was very helpful and we were starving so off to dinner we went.

We had a nice dinner(of course we ordered the same sandwich and brought a whole one home…just why can’t we order one and split it? We are goofy that’s why. )

When we returned to the rig parked at Camping World, we discovered that the electric line they dropped was dead. Poor Snickers was in that hot rig…she was an unhappy kitty for a while. Aparently they pulled out the plug when they closed the overhead door where the cord was located. Well, THAT was stupid, but the store is now closed so we have to run the generator all night…it is 90 degrees and 80% humidity…plus all these ugly cicadas are flying around like a hive of bees. God they are gross.

OK, I am gonna take a potty break so you’ll have to come back later and read the rest of the story.

Hugs…dee

Sunday

Sometimes when you wake up, you just know that it's not gonna be a good day.
I can usually tell just by barely cracking one eyeball and not seeing the sun. Ugh. Today, that was my first clue. Second clue was Paulies phone on the bedside table but no Paulie. Figured he's in the bathroom just outside. I stagger outta bed with the usual dizzies and smack into the wall. See the car is gone. Paulie left without his phone? Hmmmm. Great start.

He returns about 9 with breakfast from Hardees...ugh. I rather eat dirt. But since he went to the trouble, I will try to choke down the sausage thingy he so nicely brought me. It wasn't as bad as I remembered but the sausage was really spicy. What is the deal with all this spice in food? Are we turning into Latinos all of a sudden? Spice in itself is ok...too much kills the taste buds that live on my freakin' tongue. There seems to be an excess of spice everywhere, even the muffalatta sandwich I had yesterday, the olive spread was too spicey. I know what you are thinking..."...what a whimp...!" Go ahead, think it. See if I care.

After our repast of junk food breakfast, Paulie started to put up the shelves we had purchased yesterday. I love Paulie, truly I do, with all my heart. He is my true love, my soulmate. However many times I repeat this in my head it never seems to dispel the pissed off feeling I get when he attempts to do a simple easy and quick little home improvement project. I'm sorry, I can't help it, it just makes me crazy... a 'two minute drill hole, put in screw, attach shelf to wall' project takes him at least TWO hours. I get so stressed for him, I get dizzy I just have-ta barf. I am NOT kidding. Simple projects do not exisit for this poor man. And stupid me, I insist on buying things that need to be attached, put together or somehow put on a wall or some damm thing. When will I ever learn NOT to ask him to do something?

Well, the day just went downhill. The threat of rain was in the air all day which is such a joy for me. I did spend much of the day in bed. Zack stopped by before he went back to Edwardsville. This two week intensive class is kicking his butt. Like he knew it wouldn't? Kinda stupid for a smart kid I reckon.

We are just sitting in the Asylum trying to find something to watch until the last Soprano's episode airs at 8 p.m. The first Shrek is about all that is available. Crap. Watching a green ogre is not all that exciting.

Well, we have lots of banking stuff to do tomorrow. We will be closing one checking account and consolidating another to just one bank. I have my ssdi dircet deposited as does Paul his pension etc. We also have some withdrawals from the one we'll be closing so we have to take care of that. Then we need to hit the grocery store to buy the stuff for the omelets in a bag breakfast Wednesday and the stuffing and gravy I need to make for the pot luck on Wednesday evening. This will be the last time we host a rally for a while. We aren't going fancy, just plain and simple. Then its off to Chicago for a short family thing for Sami's graduation and then we head to summer paradise on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Will be able to post more here now that I can get on the stupid blog. There have to be more exciting adventures just around the next corner!

hugs

dee

Saturday....

Finally heard from the Google folks. Apparently, the blog is now under PAULIE'S Account info. Makes no sense to me whatsoever. The best thing is now I can log on and POST! Geesh. Computers and cell phones...what did we ever do without 'em. I know my blood pressure will never be the same.

Paul and I have pretty much settled into the rig. We have found places for everything except the printer/scanner. The big honker just sits on the island. I am thinking of getting a folding wood TV tray table for it. I did purchase a couple of shelves...2 of them were too large. Back to Menards for a refund. The one shelf when Paulie went to put it up had a slight problem...the anchors and screws are like 2" long...if we put it up, the screw will come out the outside of the rig. Not good. So, we're gonna have to think this one thru....

We went to the farmer's market today. There was a line about 50 folks long waiting for fresh strawberries. OMG...they are wonderful. No sugar needed on these berries. I also saw a couple of new booths...one gal who got nine of my dollars was selling fresh creme' fraiche (sour creme) and fresh cream cheese and fruit dip. OMG. There were lots of people. This is a good time at the market...lots of salad stuff...different types of greens, beets, radishes, onions and garlics. Amazing stuff. I also got some rhubarb to make a pie (which I do NOT need to eat, btw...).

We met Zack and a couple of his friends for lunch (at 3 p.m.) at his fav place...Darcy's pub. I can take it or leave it. Expensive and crowded, not my kinda place. But it was a fun lunch.

This evening we visited with the couple in the campsite across from us...they are from California and are here to do some geneology research on ancestors from the area and to see the Lincoln sites. Very nice folks. They are heading out tomorrow for Arcola.

Tomorrow I will be attending my last Springfield Knitting Guild meeting. I sort of wish I hadn't promised, but we'll see how things go weather wise and how I feel. I finally posted on the Springfield wls board that we were leaving. Gee, gave everyone a five day warning! Nice friend I am, lol!

Well, I have some photos to post of the interior of the rig and the changes we've made and I will try to do them in the next day or so...Since the aircard is a slow as you know what...I don't know if I will be able to do them easily. I shall try. Maybe I will go to a free wifi place and upload them from there.

Homeless and happy hugs coming your way...

dee

June 5th...a day I shall long remember...we finally left the driveway at 2 Walberta. It's about time I guess. Was really tired of looking at the garage door and the neighbor's trash cans. So, I guess this is our first day of official "homelessness". Gypsy lifestyle. Freedom. We are parked at Riverside Park. We almost didn't get a full hookup...there must be some workers here that have kinda taken over the few full hookups available here...most spots are water and electric only. I noticed also that they park their trucks in open spots between their rigs so there is more room for their stuff. The campground hosts have their hands full I guess. We are actually in a spot that someone I guess switched their spot tag for and left two lawn chairs. They are only paid for one night, so the campground host let us take this spot...we will be here ten days and need the sewer hookup. Hope there are no problems.

The PODS arrive tomorrow and we are hoping to finish packing all in one day. Prolly a pipe dream but it would be nice! To finally end this lonnnnnggggg, drawn out divestiture!

So, we are once again "on the road" as fulltimers once more. Of course, since we started in 2006 we have the 2006 class t shirts but still had the house to get rid of....no biggie I guess.

Paul has goofed around with the satellite dish for about two hours and still can't get the sucker to work. Too many trees I think. Oh well, we didn't come to the campground to watch TV all the time. I am looking forward to the quiet. Sitting in the driveway and not in the house that sits back on the lot, you really hear a lot of Rt 29 traffic, especially the heavy trucks, you know the ones bringing in the breakfast buddies we all know and love! (hogs, piggies, whatever...breakfast buddies...bacon, sausage etc.) Plus I will NOT miss those two gargantuan loudmouths from next door or the revving up of grandma's Harley.

Well, not much else to report. It is nice and cool this evening, so we will sleep well I think.

Snickers is jumping from window to window taking in all the sites...dogs, squirrels, birds...her little mind must be plotting out how to escape and have some fun I guess.

Later....

dee