Sunday...

As my favorite TV character would say..."holy crap". Once again its almost a week since I've posted. Such an exciting life we have lead this week. We met Mom and Cecil for lunch on Tuesday. They were leaving for NY on Wednesday. We were both out of town for her 75th birthday so I had a little gift for her and a card.
We met at Panera's their favorite lunch time spot. She told me that she was having some pain that started up near her rear end and shot all the way down her leg. She said it had been happening more frequently and when they got back from NY she would go to the doc. I told her three long days in the car driving to NY was going to do just wonders for that type of problem.

Later that evening, Cecil called and said he was taking her to prompt care...she couldn't get out of the car or walk. Zack and I met them at Prompt care...the doc in the box thought it was bursitis and gave her a shot and some anti-inflammatory.

Wednesday we visited the Lincoln Museum. Quite impressive I must say. All three of us thoroughly enjoyed it, altho it was jammed with tourists. Lots of kids from the rodeo, which was good to see.

Thursday morning we get a call from Cecil...Mom is in terrible pain and can't get out of bed. We tell him to call 911 and take her to St. Johns. Instead, he goes to Memorial. Big mistake. I left around 11 because Zack has his follow-up surgery appointment in Clinton at one. In the meantime, Mom has not even seen a doc, just nurses and a PA. Finally, the doc comes in, orders and Xray and around 3 they leave the ER after 6 hours. It is not bursitis it is sciatica. She gets another shot and gets more meds. Paul had stayed with them, gotten them lunch, got them settled at home, went to get the meds and some food. Since their trip was canceled, they had gotten rid of most of the stuff in the house to eat, so they had very little in the house .

Zack's appointment went well, and his total loss according to the scale in the doc's office was 28 lbs. I had figured more since it appeared on the scale at the hospital that he had lost about 26. I guess one is more forgiving that the other?

Friday was another uneventful day, Zack was still feeling the effects of the surgery(I told him it takes more than a week to recover from major surgery and anesthesia. We went out for an early dinner at Mike's and then went to the movies to see Hairspray. The boys liked it...I thought it was so so. Travola was creepy and his makeup was phony to me anyways. Plus he sang in his lower regular voice and spoke in this falsetto....ick.

Saturday was a bad day for me so Paulie took Zack back to Edwardsville. He has to go back to work on Monday, and work I think he said something like 12 days in a row...11 hours a day. Of course, at the job he has at the putt putt place, he reads, watches movies and plays video games. Hmmm...some job eh?
He is doing very well with his food choices, and low and behold he no longer inhales his food. He actually chews...he could only eat 1/2 cup of chili and about 1/3 of a cheese omelet...no potatoes or toast, just eggs and a bit of cheese. He seems to be very determined. I can see the weight loss...his face looks thinner. I can't wait until he gets to go down a size...that is always a positive to keep going.

I was up at 6:30 am (yes, you read that right....) so I decided to go out and get the newspaper. I watched CBS Sunday Morning and then got out the maps and attraction books for our trip to Pere Marquette State Park and the Great River Road Scenic Road. We will leave here Tuesday and our first stop will be a bit west of Peoria to go to Dickson Mounds. I have never been there. We think we'll hit Navaoo, Alton, Grafton and then Cahokia Mounds. We are going to stop at a few MO vineyards also. Should be a nice leisurely trip. We don't head to Michigan until the 20th.

Later...

dee

Not much happening here...we left Clinton around 11 and checked into Riverside park. We are on the "hill"...the main gravel/dirt road into the park. Too bad the other campers are so inconsiderate and drive too fast past us into the main park spewing us with dust. I will begin to take down license numbers and report the worst offenders to the park management. Going 40 mph is a bit much.

Paul and Zack took off after setting up...Paul to go to the bank and Zack to find some friends to hang with. He's been stuck with us for almost two weeks. Actually, he has been the perfect kid...no arguments, smart comments, etc. It's like he's an adult!!!

Still reading the Harry Potter book. It's not bad...a bit dark tho. But we all expected that considering the nature of the end of the books...either Harry or the evil wizard will survive and you don't find out until the end.

Barb and Arnie popped by to say hi and we took a ride over to the Jr. Rodeo Championships...wow, what a ton of folks over there. We sat outside and talked for a while...me being devoured by mosquitoes. Zack's friends brought him home and we are now watching Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader...this show cracks me up. I would LOVE to get on this show!

Well, I have an early doc appointment so I guess I'd better get to bed. We are meeting Mom for lunch tomorrow. Wed we are going to the Lincoln Museum and then Thursday back to Clinton for Zack's follow up. We will stay here a week and then we are going to just jump on the highway and head someplace else. We have reservations in Michigan for the 20th of August and are totally free until then.

I have added a link to the side bar...I am now doing a daily political commentary...so if you want a laugh or to get steamed...just stop on by.

hugs

dee

Sunday 7:10 pm....

Let me catch everyone up since I last posted. Everything with the surgery for Zack went extremely well. He was allowed 1 oz of water every 15 minutes. He indicated he had really bad dry mouth but Mom stuck to her guns and only let him have an ounce. He started to come out of the anesthesia around one. Told him he had to pee before they'd let him go....He wanted to go right then and there! We were out of the hospital and on our way to the campground at Clinton Lake by like 2. We stopped at Wally world to pick up some ice, drinking water and his Loritab.
He walked around the store just fine. Back at the rig, he talked to us for a while then decided he needed to sleep. He settled himself in the back bedroom and off to dreamland. It takes several days to get that anesthesia crap outta ya.

Friday night was uneventful and we all just watched TV for awhile.

Saturday morning we slept in then went into town. I promised Zack I'd buy us the Harry Potter book so we were back at Wally world...we also got some chewable vits for him. He must do one a day and also calcium. I have powered stuff I put in his protein shake. He seems to like the Choco Stack that I use...problem is you can't get it locally and I have to order both the protein and the calcium over the net. Poses a real problem now that I don't have an address. Geesh, how do homeless people get UPS deliveries?

Saturday was quiet for the rest of the day and evening. Zack can start full liquids Sunday so he will be a bit less ornery. Just kidding...he has done very well and has complained very little. The area where the port is has been giving him some aches but he should get better each day.

Sunday morning, Paulie and I got up and showered. Paul went into town for a newspaper and stuff for dinner. We haven't shopped in a while except for you know...junk. Zack is engrossed in the Harry Potter Book. I started it while he napped, but he is almost done already.

Paulie made chicken on the grill with baked potato and texas toast which I hate. The chicken was good...a mix of teriaki and BBQ sauce. Chef Paulie is sure the experimenter. I have at least the last two days convinced him to stand at the bbq and watch the stuff so it doesn't burn.

The boys are now playing rummy and as always, Paul is kicking Zack's butt. You'd think he stop being a masochist and not play with him anymore...I won't play cards or games for that very reason...I hate getting my ass kicked and the winner gloating.

We will prolly head for Springfield tomorrow. The Jr. Rodeo Championships are in town all week, but Richard from the Riverside campgrounds told Paul he had a spot for us. I have a doc appointment on Tues with the hip surgeon.

This is a really beautiful campground. Clinton Lake is large and has a huge marina...bigger than Lake Springpatch. I will try to get some shots before we leave tomorrow.

Sorry, still no pictures....I am lucky I can get a signal here anyways so I guess beggers can't be choosers.

Hugs

dee

Friday....

Paulie and I are sitting in Zack's room waiting for him to come out of recovery. Dr. Rohrschrib was here about 50 minutes ago telling us it was simple, no problem and an easy surgery. I am relieved and glad. He will be able to go home in about 4 hours or so...he must be able to drink water and must take a pee. I am sitting here in this humongous recliner...made for larger patients obviously. When Zack was laying still on the bed, the scale built in said he had already lost 26 lbs in his two weeks of liquid diet. Of course, he was starving himself the first week drinking only water and broth. I made him start protein and SF jello, and yogurt. He will do himself no good to go into starvation mode as his metabolism will just come to a screeching halt. Once this happens weight loss stops. I think he has done quite well...no regular soda, no beer, no JD. He will have to be a very good boy from this point on or the surgery will do him no good at all. He still will have to stay under 1200 calories, 70 to 120 grams of protein and less than 60 carbs. South Beach diet in a nutshell if I recall that diet correctly. The good thing is that 1200 calories will satisfy him...his tummy will only be able to hold less than 1/2 cup for most of the time. He will feel a lot of restriction and when that restriction lessens, he will go have saline added to his band to tighten it up right away. He should do fine...I think he was eating well over 4 to 5 thousand calories per day prior to this.

Yesterday on Thursday, Paul and Zack went to meet the Cenois group for lunch and a tour of the auto plant in Bloomington. Paul was also wanting to attend the biz meeting. I was having a really terrible day and spent it in bed....rain was affecting my Meniere's and I was just in agony with my firbro. I slept all damm day. What a waste. Missed seeing everyone at the Cenois Rally and prolly missed a great Red Hat lunch! Darn. Hate it when I can't do what I want to do.

We are staying at the Clinton Lake Recreational Area. The campsites are wonderful. It should be filling up today for the weekend, but we will most likely just stay thru Sunday. If Zack is OK we will leave Saturday...I assume he is anxious to get home. I have a doc appointment in Springfield on Tuesday. I wan to do to the Museum and also see if I can get in to see Terri at Dr. Stegemens for a Valium refill this week also. I have been hitting the Valium kinda hard lately with all my ear problems. Even wearing my hearing aid hurts. I will also have to request copies of all our health records as we will have to change doc's when we officially make our residence in Texas. *Sigh*. I hope I find someone as good as Dr. S and his PA, Terri...I just love her to "interview" several docs down there...I need someone to support my current medication routine and support my disability stuff. I never had a care with Dr. S or Terri...hope I find a good one!

Last night while tooling around the park, Paul and Zack saw an albino fawn...of course they didn't have a camera. Someone gave them a great copy of it that they had taken earlier so I can scan it and perhaps post to the blog. I haven't been able to find a wifi connection so until I do, the blog will remain pictureless.

Well, they are about to bring Zack back from recovery so I am going to close. Will let you all know how he is doing as the day continues....

hugs

dee

Well, the post below was never uploaded...d*mm cingular...
We are currently going thru Holland MI heading towards Clinton IL for the big day on Friday. I will have to wait until I can access wifi before I can upload any of the pix I promised.

We are leaving just as blueberries are coming in. Crap. I love blueberries and they are good for you too. Of course, I like them in pie and muffins and crisps so that is not part of the good part of blueberries. *Sigh*.

Zack is plopped on the couch reading while Paul is trying to watch Price is Right while driving. This satellite in motion sucks. The signal is always getting lost and the poor roof top thingy is spinning like a top...Oh my, I can't wait to ask him if the extra $ for the in motion was worth it...I know what MY answer is.

Well, not much going on as we trek down Hwy 31...we are hoping that the construction backups on 94 are gone...last month when we arrived here there must have been a 30 mile back up....going from three lanes to one is such a bunch of fun for all of us driving out here. Engineers...at least those who plan for road construction must have to take a college course on how best to piss off people. Similar to the arrogance course doctors are required to pass. Then there is the other requirement for doctors...."god" role playing...sorry, my sarcasam is just based on experience.

OK...well, I will post more later...

hugs

dee

Picking up where I left off…

We drove around Grand Haven for awhile, showing Zack the sites…we checked out the used book store, and the Health Food store looking for my fav protein. No luck at either place. By this time its after three so we stopped at Beach Burrito…I told Zack that the insides of the burrito, the ground beef, beans and lettuce would be suitable for him to eat. Well, to say he was excited is an understatement. He is allowed a Lean Cuisine or a similar low cal/low carb dinner under 400 calories. He must have 70 to 120 grams of protein daily and less than 60 carbs. Therefore the expert (I, of course, who ELSE would it be….?) decided the guts of a burrito would about equal a 400 calorie frozen crappy dinner. Zack was one happy camper.

When we got back to Muskegon, the boys dropped me off at the rig and then they went disk golfing. I woke up about 7 for heaven’s sake and the car was still gone. Then I remember the park’s margarita party was being held down at the water. I decided that I would pass seeing I had slept so long due to incoming bad weather. They came home about 10:30….Mr. Ziaja Jr. was practically dragging Mr. Ziaja Sr. Two 44 ounce margaritas with whoever knows how much Mexican tequila dumped in had done him in. Claiming he was fine…he landed in the front passenger seat of the rig and promptly fell asleep. Zack and I watched a movie. We both went to bed after the movie and both of us gave it a good try to wake the sleeping giant. We finally left him in the chair. If he falls and breaks his neck during the night he has no one to blame but hisself.

Saturday morning we sleep really, really late….11 am! Suzie had stopped by earlier, opened the door and quickly shut it and lit out for the grocery store. She said all she heard was snoring sounds and the rig looked like a tornado had ripped through it. Later when we were finally up, Amy and Casey stopped by to see Zack. We really didn’t do much the rest of the day. Paulie made some kinda chili which Zack said tasted ok. I’ll pass. Hangover cooking dishes have bitten me in the butt before…’nough said.

Zack and I decided to go see the Harry Potter movie, but Paulie passed. He’s not a Harry fan so he didn’t want to spend the $ for something he’d probably sleep through. It was a good movie, kinda dark themed but the special effects once again are stunning.
Sunday….

After a nice sleep-in and reading the paper, we decided to take a ride to the Health Hut for some unflavored protein so we could make smoothies at Suzie’s tonight…we are going there for gazpacho and BBQ…the gazpacho is so everyone can eat what Zack can eat.

During our “drive” Paulie made some smart-ass comment which honked me off. So, rather than play into his hands, I just didn’t speak to either of the boys until we got home. They were off to the beach. I declined, knowing I would continue the argument unless I could get over my pique alone for a while. I watched the Cubbies for awhile then I fell asleep…what else?
The guys woke me up, I changed and did my hair and we were off to Suzie’s.
Uncle Lar’s parents Tom and Mary were over and we had a great time. We talked and laughed and told stories til ten. Since Uncle Lar had a busy week, we said our goodnights and headed home. Watched a bit of TV and then hit the sack.

Monday

Although neither of the boys was very enthusiastic, I prevailed and we went to the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids. We all truly enjoyed it. There was a special exhibit about Terrorism in America. I don’t want to sound like a radical here, but our own history is riddled with acts of terrorism…surely nothing to be proud about. Very informative exhibit. The museum is quite different from others I‘ve seen…perhaps it is because he has such a short time in office, although he had a long career in Congress. I must say, it rankled me to see some of the stuff on Nixon, but again, it was such a long time ago…I admire Ford because he took us forward after a terrible national disgrace. It was interesting to read Ford’s handwritten notes during meetings, seeing the actual tools the men used to break into the Watergate room and all of the tapes and stuff. Perhaps not as impressive as say the Kennedy Museum, but surely worth the visit. One always learns something at places such as this.

We stayed in downtown Grand Rapids and had a early dinner/late lunch at XO Chinese Restaurant. We lucked out and got in on the lunch specials which were reasonably priced and delicious! Zack had egg drop soup and a few bits of Paulie’s chicken.

The weather was nasty rainy so we didn’t go to Meijer’s Gardens but I was feeling the effects of the rains so the boys took me home. They went to play miniature golf while I rested. When they got home, we watched a bit of TV and then both Zack and I got absorbed in our current reading selections while Paulie made some phone calls.

Tuesday…well, here we are, up to date. Paulie and I did a ton of laundry this morning…not only did we have a ton of stuff like beach towels, sheets and rugs, but we had Zack’s clothes in addition to ours. Whew. Took us two hours!

Paulie and Zack are packing up the stuff outside. We will be pulling out of here heading for Clinton early tomorrow morning. Before we leave, Paulie and I will do a fast clean up job on the rig. Just putting stuff away today, will do the vacuuming and floor cleaning tomorrow.

This evening is kinda a toss up. I’d like to just stick around and get stuff together, but who knows what the “ants in the pants” boys will be up to.

I will post some pictures of the Museum at White Pines Village and the Ford Museum in another post when I can get to wifi access. Can’t do it on the aircard…too slow.

Later…
dee

Ooopppsy....hit the publish before I got to post the pictures....read the message below and then look a the pix.....

dee

Friday...

I am sitting in the Coffe Grounds Cafe in Grand Haven, using free wifi in order to post. My Cingular aircard doesn't work really well in the valley at Elks Park. I get very frustrated, but considering the circumstances I guess I should shut my trap.

We do have free wifi at the Elks Lodge which is just down the road. It is nice and quiet usually, and then I can drink beer and write...hmmmm, that could be a dangerous situation if I am not carefull!

Wed....we just kinda hung around and Paulie did some vaccuuming and swiffered the floor. Zack's plane doesn't come in til 8:20 p.m. We finally went to Wally world to kill some time in the evening then went to the Elks Lodge to work on some banking stuff. Of course, I somehow deleted all my favorites and bookmarks when I deleted all AT&T software. I had to do that because we couldn't get paulie into yahoo at all....I stopped in at the AT&T store and found out that in order to use AT&T hotspots like at mcdonalds, barnes and noble and ups stores I have tp pay an additional 20 bucks per month on top of the 60 we are paying for the air card. This poor man at the store got my wrath for about 20 minutes. The idiots in Springpatch who sold me this freaking air card said that I could access all Cingular, AT&T and SBC hot spots. LIARS~!

We picked up Zack and as we were waiting for his duffel bag, this very nice gal comes up to me and introduces herself, telling me what great kid he was and I should be proud of him...she said he reflected a good upbringing...it really showed. I just laughed and asked who had invaded my son's body! She was serious! I thanked her and she left to look for her luggage. I have some pictures I will post at the end so you can see how he looks...he is not gonna cut his hair until he loses x amount of weight (I don't know how much....) but he did shave that curly beard of his and now just has the goatee. Looks much better...his hair is so curly...and RED in the sunshine...

Thursday we went to the sand dunes at Silver lake. Rent a jeep and let Zack give us the ride of our lives. I have a sore ass, back is out of wack and have bruises on my knees. I sat in the front. Poor Paulie was in the back...he got quite the surprise when after one really fast jump the seat belt buckle jammed up his butt, but then I think he had the other one on and he just got knocked over to the other side of the back seat. Then on the next jump he was flipped so high his forehead hit the roll bar. It was kinda an empty thump which confirmed several of my suspicions....Poor guy...he took a beating back there. Better him than me. We were out there for about an hour. After the dunes we went and had some soup with Zack for a late lunch. He is on a liquid diet until his surgery next Friday. After this we went back to find the public beach at Crystal Lake. Not impressive to me at all. We then headed to White Pines Village, a reconstruction of an 1890's Michigan logging town. Neither of the boys wanted to go see it but I "persevered" and we went thru the town. Really neat and I think they did enjoy themselves. We got there at 4 and they closed at five so they didn't have to humor me too much. After leaving the village we checked out a few more campgrounds and county camping parks. One is right on the lake and stunning views can be had from the first row of campsites. Of course, its a no reservation, first come first served dealy so I guess you hafta sit and wait for someone to leave and then go throw your body on the sight to save it for yourself.

We took the scenic drive back thru Pentwater and had a nice drive. We stopped at Perkins for Zack to have more soup. Poor kid...I read his rules and apparently Mr. Know-it-all Jr. hasn't had much to eat this last week. I stuffed a protein down his throat. He needs 3 to 5 proteins a day. Dumbsh*t. So, I will take care of him. I will also order more for myself and for him...it should be delivered when we take him home...or I can call Dawnie and have it delivered to her place.

Well, the guys are still out walking around and I need a coffee refill...so here are some pictures from yesterday.

hugs....
dee

Well, true to form, I have a lot of catching up to do. I just can’t seem to get a good signal here…it starts out ok then goes to low. Very frustrating and so I just turn the computer off. I’ll pick up from where I left off…

Thursday July 5

Not much going on here today. Some of the weekenders arrived for the holiday so there are more folks around. We pretty much just goofed around and went to the beach.

Friday…

We decided to go check out the sand dunes at Silver Lake and go to Luddington. What a neat town Luddington is. We were surprised to find out you had to pay to go to the state park so we did like a lot of other folks did…find a turn off and pull in. Just over a sand dune is the big lake aka Lake Michigan. We tooled around for a while. We hadn't put our chairs in the car so we couldn't’t go sit by the water and just people watch. So we started to explore the area farther north. We found Scottsville(I think that’s the name) and Crystal Lake. We found a nice campground with beach access not far from the big lake also. We then found a very nice county campground that seemed nice and quiet…not tons of screaming kids that are overtired from all the wind and water all day. It was about 5 miles out from the big lake. I am very surprised by the prices up here. There are no bargains anywhere and I mean that…like at Riverside Park or our Illinois state campgrounds, you can stay for as little as $12 per night with water and electric. Water and electric in a spot barely big enough to put out our awning runs anywhere from 30 to 60 bucks a night. At Silver Lake where the sand dunes are, one campground charged an additional 10 bucks for an extra person…that is totally ridiculous IMNSHO. At Silver Lake we checked out the dunes and the places to rent dune buggies and jeeps. I guess we will bring Zack here…I think we could have a great time dune jumping in a jeep. I’d better take a lot of meds or I will leave a part of my stomach in the dunes.

Silver Lakes reminds me of the Wisconsin Dells. Very touristy and commercial. A single dip ice cream cone is like $3.75. There are a bunch of campgrounds, both private and state that are chock full. Tons of kids and teens. Been there, done that…give me a 55+ park and I am happy. (BTW, I am NOT 55 yet…lol!) What an old fart I have turned into. I just hate kids running thru my campsite and the constant screaming, running and destruction that accompanies kids. Guess I haven’t aged very well. Good thing I have time until I can expect any grandkids.

We had been told that there was a great little fresh fish place to have lunch or buy fresh seafood between Luddington and Pentwater. Botrells its called. We found it and purchased a lunch to split. We had Icelandic which I guess is cod. It was good. We took our little picnic across the road to the city park that overlooks the big lake and city beach and really enjoyed watching the people and eating good food. After lunch we went thru Pentwater. Wow, there are lots of bucks in this town. We did see tons of summer cottages for sale. I guess the bad Michigan economy and high gas prices has negatively affected the tourist coming back. If you had some cash I bet you could buy one of these places for peanuts. By the time we got home, it was about 6, but I had such a body ache I laid down for a bit. We had fire roasted hot dogs for dinner at 9 p.m. We have such a goofy eating schedule. No wonder my pants and getting tight!

Saturday…once again we hit the farmer’s market. The cherries are plentiful. Cherries give me terrible um, you know…flatulence…so I eat them like there is no tomorrow. Poor Paul…well, he’s doing the same thing so I guess we deserve each other. However, even Snickers won’t sleep in the bedroom anymore. She lays on the couch with her face stuck to the screen for fresh air. We did go to the movies…the $2.50 show to see Spiderman 3. I thought it was OK…wouldn’t have paid full price for it tho!

Sunday…

We got up, had a late breakfast, read the paper and then packed up for the beach. It was the first time I had seen whitecaps on the big lake. It was like sitting Oceanside. The wind was blowing from the southwest so it was wonderfully refreshing to sit in the sun, get a tan and keep cool at the same time. I read a book and Paulie read the new Escapee’s magazine. We were invited to a spaghetti potluck…we brought the wine. We sat around with the group until dark. It was a nice weekend.

Monday….

A weather front is coming from the north and one from the south. I am in misery. I can’t wear my hearing aide my ears are so sensitive. I had purchased some fresh sour cherries to make a pie so I pitted them and make a one crust pie with a crunch top. I was by this time staggering around so the rest of the day is gonna be a disaster. I took some Valium and went back to bed. We stayed in and watched some TV…the rain finally hit early in the am. Thank goodness…I can’t stand that ear crap anymore.

I do have some pictures to add to the end of the blog today. I will be going to the Elks to use the wifi so I can upload them all.

Until next time….

Dee

Well, holy crap...I haven't written a word since June 28 and here it is Independence Day!



We've been keeping busy, laying on the beach, sleeping in, going to the movies and sampling local dining fare. I know, I know...such a boring life. Yeah. Deal with it, I know!



On Friday we took in the largest craft show in the world, I think, at the Muskegon Celebration. We also went to the art fair. I bought two tie-dyed dresses. I wasn't sure what size to buy...so there is this skinny little babe looking at the dresses too, and she already had a dress on...I asked her how they held up, fit, washed etc...and she said she normally just washes in cold water...they were comfortable, but ran small. Oh goodie...now what the h*ll size do I buy? Some larges are too big, some Xlarges too small. I held up all the sizes to see which one went around my butt. I went with the 2X(oh my gosh...I can barely type that number anymore....) The gal I was talking to said she wears like an 8 and takes a large. OK, so I am a 14...let see...get the 2x and be safe...or give in to my ego and just buy the xlarge(I am no ten either). The woman was right...they run really small. I guess I am equal to a 2xl chinawoman.

That aside, I also found a perfect birthday present for Suzie. A really neat birdhouse that had a copper like roof, an antique door handle plate for the house opening and the perch for the bird was a small crystal door knob. Really neat looking. She really liked it, at least she said she did. I told her if she didn't like it I would take it off her hands asap. No where to put the thing, but I'd carry it on my bed in the motorhome irregardless.

On Saturday, we went to the farmers market and then later in the day we just goofed around and then sat around the campfire visiting with our neighbors. Sunday was going to be a day at the beach. We had a nice leisurely breakfast, read the paper and packed our lunch and cooler. Paul pumped up one of the small blowup boats we've been carrying around forever. I had shamed him into buying me a beach umbrella...(I usually just cover up with towels when I get too much sun, but jeesh, that is hot on a warm day...) and we had purchased two cheapy chairs we could leave down at the water so we wouldn't have to lug ours down and up each time. By the time we got down to the beach it was 1 pm. The beach was empty....why? IT WAS 60 DEGREES on the water and the wind was blowing from the north like a gale...

I was so cold, I wrapped all three beach towels around myself. It was so cold, I couldn't even hold a drink! We actually stayed til 2:15. July 1 and it was too cold to sit on the beach. We went back to the rig, changed clothes are went to the movies. We saw "Knocked Up" and it was hysterically funny. We both laughed out loud. Nothing much else was going on, so when we got back to the Asylum, we just built a fire and sat outside till about 11.

Monday was another quiet day. We didn't do much, I was a bit under the weather....coming down with a cold. Perhaps it was the freezing cold sitting on the beach in 60 degree sunshine. Paul went to Meijers and got me a bunch of cold remedies including Zycam...the q-tips you stick up your nose? They work. Honest.
The call from Bonnie our bank rep at the closing came while Paul was out, and everything closed without a hitch. No more property taxes, grass cutting and all the other joys of homeownership. Of course, there also went any equity for the future. Actually we didn't have any after using most of it for college expenses, redoing the house, etc. etc. But, it is over and done with...we are homeless vagrants living in a trailer...yanno...trailer trash!

Tuesday Zack informs us that we have to re-do our credit info for SIUE...again. We head over to the Elks Lodge so we can use their wifi...I still hate this air card. Maybe with IPOD phones they will ratchet up the service from AT&T....well, one can HOPE right?

Well, not much going on this evening...fireworks are everywhere but we decided not to go anywhere. Paulie is tired and I need to hit the sack early...we have laundry to do tomorrow.

HAPPY JULY 4TH EVERYONE!

Well, I am finally caught up. Today was the Elks pancake breakfast and Paulie worked from 7 to 12:30. He said that after some people worked their shift they just left...there was only like three guys to clean up the place. And he was one of 'em. Figures. It is still cool out today. 65 at the campground...it is kinda damp as it rained fairly hard last night. After Paul got back we decided to go to the show...not much happening around here with the icky weather. After we left the campground and headed east...it was sunny and 75 degrees! We went to see the new Robin Williams movie, "License to Wed".


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