Lots of news today...are we all sitting down?

First of all we have a new baby on the way...here is his 4 week old picture...

He was born on 5/29/08 and can't come home until July 24! He is a Yorkipoo. Poodle mommy and Yorkie daddy, both weighing in at 5 lbs. So little guy should be in that range. Prince Paulie not happy, but I need some furbaby love! I miss Oskie and Snickers at almost 17 years old is a pretty naggy old gal who sleeps all the time. Looking for names...something that reflects our lifestyle...Rover, Traveler, Willie (after Willie Nelson and his classic song, On the Road Again...leave your suggestions in the comments section, we are coming up short here!

The second bit of good news is I got the job as the RV Editor on Bellaonline web site. I will be doing a weekly column writing articles about the RV lifestyle, and anything about RVing.
I plan to use this position to create my own website which I have talked about before...RV cooking...how to's, recipes, picture examples...even how to organize the kitchen, best appliances for RVer's etc. I am really excited. As soon as I get the web addy I will post it for all to see...probably after my first two weeks of training...

I am really pumped (or maybe it was the three or four brewskies we had outside, LOL!

Hugs

Dennise

Sorry for the two day lapse. Not only having wifi problems here at the park, but there is a huge low pressure front coming in, followed by a cooling front, and I was down for the count yesterday. This one must be a whopper. Plus, the chronic fatigue and fibro started kicking in and I was totally worthless.

The photos on the camera were terrible...the ones I took of building the steering wheel cover and my next cooking lesson(for when I jump into my own website) were fine. But...! Paul took mostly videos at the RV Dreams Rally and the sound is awful. Using the video feature on the camera does not take good videos. The digital camcorder on the other hand, does a fantastic job. Can we see the irony of this situation. The Prince was simply asked to take PHOTOS. Digital photos. Period. I wind up with a few lousy shots and all kinds of lousy video. Sigh. Dear Princey...digital cameras do great photos...not so great videos...ok in a pinch. Digital camcorder is meant for videos...good quality videos with good sound amoung other things. Understand? OK, let's move on....

I have a new poll for everyone. I need help for naming my new web page. I will put up the poll over the weekend.

Low key day today...the Prince is working til noon and then we may go to a show. I promised in a weak moment of course, that I would do the general rig cleaning and the Prince would vacuum and mop. Thank goodness this place is small...!

hugs
dennise

Tuesday


Well, no wireless access today, and the aircard software cd I have is not compatible with Vista. Hmmmm. But finally at 9:30, we got access.

I never was able to put together anything from the computerless period...sigh...BUT I promise to get picassa uploaded tomorrow while at work, and download the pictures we have and it may just jog my memories. Pictures tell a thousand words...so they say!

This is pretty much how I feel today...nothing went right and I was getting a bit overwhelmed. Well, I guess I am putting off til tomorrow what I should have accomplished today....

til tomorrow...

dee

Monday...
Well, I am back from the land of no computer access. It was the worstest 11 days I have spent since I quit smoking...

Zack sent me his laptop. Now I have to send him $600...he lusted after a MAC notebook and got his wish. He will use the money I send him for this one to pay the new one...he also got a great little perk...a Ipod worth about $300 which he intends to sell. He wanted me to buy it but I have absolutely no reason to get one...it is a music and video player and a palm pilot...like I need a palm pilot...to keep track of what? My work hours. LOL! It is also a Gateway but is only a year old...heck mine is only 2.5 years old and the difference is amazing. This is a much larger screen, and it has a number pad that I didn't have on mine. Update on the old computer is that Best Buy sent it off to Gateway or a new optical (DVD/CD) rom drive. I told the Geek gal that I want a NEW drive...not the same one fixed. You can't fix what ails the darn thing! So it will be off in Gateway service for two to four weeks.

I guess I will write up the last 10 days or so on Word and then paste it here...have some photos you may enjoy.

Had a great weekend watching the Cubbies kick White Sox butt...I dare not call my sister Kathy...she will certainly have ugly words for us "stupid loser Cub fans". Well, we sure own the Sox!

Paul is working and is late getting off...he seems to be preoccupied with sweeping rocks off the pavement. We had one heck of a storm last night, with thunderboomers and then hail. Luckily our car is parked under a large tree...protected from much of the harsh weather, but certainly the favorite target of the birds and their lovely and copious droppings.

I will start work on my update later and will try to post later today. I am off until Wednesday, but have to "do" bathrooms on Wed. I will try to get Paulie to help me this week...have done them all by myself which is OK since I take a lot of breaks, but it takes me alone about an hour longer than if he and I do them together.

Later
dennise

Wednesday...

Quick update...no computer, no phone call...no used laptop computers available to buy so once again I am paying for using the net at an Internet cafe...nice guy...5 bucks for a half hour. Hmmmmm.

Not much else to report except yesterday we went to Rockaway Beach for lunch. Prince had won a $20 gift card which we used to dine on catfish (Paul, not me, ugh) and Walleye. Very tasty. Went to the Hughes brothers show last night. Great music...brothers again, with families in tow...the older brother had 10 kids and Mom was in the hospital giving birth to number 11. Wow!

Time running out...will post more soon.
hugs,
Dennise

Tuesday

Whew...I finally found a place to get on the computer....for a price that is! My laptop is still out there circling Jupiter via BestBuy. Nobody in town has laptops for rent or even some cheapie used one I can use til the other one gets fixed. Grrrr.

We have been busy since I last posted on Thursday...on Friday I cleaned the rig while the Prince was working his two measly hours. Then I made the apple dumpling recipe I found on line using a can of crescent rolls and sliced granny smith's. Very easy. I am going to make another batch just for me since I didn't get to taste them at the potluck. We had been invited to the potluck for the RV Dreams Rally. So I will do a step by step and the recipe for ya'll (Ozark speak there with a twist of Texas...) We arrived at the potluck and had a great time. The food was excellent and then we did Karoke. Of course I had to participate. Prince took pictures and videos that I can upload when the 'puter is back.

Saturday we both had to work in the a.m. and then I had to do bathrooms, my favorite part of the week. This time, just like last time Paul was too busy up front to help me. Ick, I hate doing them myself. We then went back to ABC for the entrainment, an Ozark Hillbilly quintet that did music, jokes and such. They also had a Hillbilly contest with folks from the rally all dressed up. Of course the guy dressed as the gal won...typical.

Sunday, we had to work again, in the afternoon. We had late laundry "do'ers" so we had to keep the laundry room open. We had steak and salad for dinner watching the US open. We were supposed to go to a wine tasting party with the other camphosts, but because I am a nice person and let the folks do laundry, I couldn't leave. Sigh.

Monday Paulie had to work and then we went to the new WalMart. What is wrong with Walmart these days...they are reworking the store and you can't find anything...the availability of stuff is way down and nothing in an aisle is remotely related to the previous aisle. They are turning me off...limiting types of goods for sale is stupid marketing...they didn't even have a bread pan! Oh well, I have the outlets here. Better prices anyway.

So, I will try to get back here in a day or so to update...cannot promise anything at this time tho. Gosh, I miss that darn laptop....convinces me that we do need another for Paulie to use and use as a backup if mine goes stupid again.

hugs
dennise

Thursday...

It's about 7 a.m. and I am getting ready to head down to the office. We don't open 'til 8, so I have some time to get the old body moving, which it really resists in the morning. I also like to read my email and have some breakfast.

After work today, we are heading into Springfield, MO to meet with the American Legion Veterans Advocate. We have received notification that more information is required for the VA to begin processing Paul's claim. We can trust this guy as he is the advocate for the state of MO and has helped thousands with their claims, especially Viet Nam Vets.

While in Springfield, I need to go to Best Buy and argue with the Geeks there. My DVD drive just refuses to work. I had taken it in and sent it off to Gateway several times and the darn thing still refused to appear on My Computer...Now it won't even open up....and it won't recognize anything I put in the drive. Another headache...but this time, I won't have a backup to use if they send it off. I guess I will just go no mail until I get it back...and won't be able to update my blog at all for however long it takes...*Sigh*...it's always something...

So, I may not be posting for awhile, or then again, perhaps they can put in a new DVD within a day or two, maybe even today! My computer is still under warranty...you know that Best Buy ad campaign for the extended warranty? Something like, "I want a NEW one!"...yeah right, been there, done that too. Although to their credit, when they couldn't fix my Digital Camera, they did give me a credit and I used that to purchase my video camera...which I don't use as much as I would like. Heck, I always forget the camera too, so pictures are spotty at best, LOL! It would be really great to get a new laptop...this one has had some hard knocks as it travels along with us! The lid is cracked, the silver top looks like a tiger used it as a scratching post, and I can't get the screen clean no matter what I use, including special wipes I paid a small fortune for.

Well, hopefully, we will only be off line for a short time. I will post as soon as I get my unit back.

hugs

Dennise

Wednesday...
I am up early, The Prince wants to see the Doug Gabriel show which is at 10 am. I am not trilled with the idea, however the guy does have a good voice, and since the Prince has gone to my suggestions, I guess I can reciprocate, at least once.

We worked on Monday, it was a dreadful day and rained continually. I was worthless as new storms were moving in to the area, and the barometer was playing games all afternoon. I pretty much went to bed until dinnertime. Prince made a pizza, a plain frozen four cheese dealy and then added fresh tomatoes, onions, Italian sausage and I think green onions on his part. I don't care for the peppers cause they don't cook through when it is put on the top of a pizza.

The little snafu here at the park seems to have worked out. I won't go into detail but there were some differing of opinions about certain upkeep procedures and with all the rain, the work really hasn't been done as the owner wants, but has been done as the workampers have been trained and with the terrible weather, have been able to accomplish. Like Gilda Radner use to say..."Its always something."

On Tuesday, Paul and I slept in, him mostly, then around noon we ventured out to get a rare lunch out and see if the new super WalMart had opened. We ate at a popluar place here called Shorty Smalls. Unique decor of various eras and themes cluttered the beams above and it was hopping for lunch. We ordered a pulled pork bbq sandwich and a bbq brisket sandwich that we would share. Neither of us could eat the other half so now we had dinner in a box to warm up for the evening. We went to the new WalMart, but the grand opening is set for today the 11th. We headed back to the other Wally world, but the Prince let me stop at the Grand Palace shops where there were two huge Christmas stores. I wandered around there for a while, oggling all the fabulous decorations. It was actually overwhelming after awhile seeing all these trees and twinkling lights and bling flashing all over. Made me dizzy if you can believe that...! I visited a few other shops before I ran outta gas and my neck, shoulder and back pain from fibro became unbearable. We finished the afternoon over at Wallyworld and rambled back to the rig. I took not one but two pain pills and immediately went to sleep. Paulie woke me up about 6 and said the "happy hour" was underway. I had a gin and squirt, mostly squirt and we spend the next three hours talking and shooting the breeze with our work-mates.

We finally said our goodbyes, and went to the rig to make some "dinner". We warmed up the leftover sandwiches and had a few chips to round out our meal...love those 2 for 1 kinda days! We watched the end of the Cubbies game, and they beat the Braves 10 to 5 if I remember right.

I was too tired to blog, so I apologize for not being around for a couple of days. Sometimes I just am too tired to write, other times I have so much to say I go on and on. Never a happy middle I guess.

Well, it's now 9 am and the Prince is still sawing logs, so I better wake him up, and make some breakfast. Can't go to a morning show on an empty stomach and popcorn is unappealing this early!
hugs
dennise

Sunday

We are off today, and decided to go the Landing and Paul could fish for trout and I could ride around the shops. It is a very warm and windy kinda day...I wasn't much interested in shopping, if you can believe that...and the Prince had taken some Benedyrl since he found a lovely patch of poison ivy yesterday while weeding. He has a terrible allergy to poison ivy and this could be the beginning of a bad flair up. While on the Landing, I stopped and picked up some lunch. It was from the Chicago Pizza Company. Unless you have actually lived in Chicago, one would think all Chicago Pizza was real crap. This stuff was. When I arrived at the pier where the Prince was fishing, all he had caught all afternoon was a pair of boxer shorts, no kidding.



We ate lunch and then headed over to ABC Campground where RV-Dreams is holding a rally. We know a couple of folks who are attending so we thought we'd drive over and check it out. We spent the entire afternoon meeting new folks and matching email names and blogs with faces. We had a wonderful time. Around 5 we said our goodbyes and headed home.

We stopped at the Colonel's for some extra crispy to have for dinner. Back at the campground we sat and talked to Linda and Al for a while. We finally said our goodbyes and had a late dinner. Something is brewing between the workers and the owner's husband. He went off on Paul yesterday for some reason and Paul, incredibly kept his cool. However, there is a letter in the office that the guys must sign. It has something to do with the weeding...well, it has rained 5 outta 7 days in any week and weeds are popping out all over the place, plus the equipment the guys have to work with is really worthless. A weed eater is not the right tool to get weeds outta gravel...you use weed killer in a sprayer. The sprayer is broken, and the weedkiller is from the dollar store. Geez. The guys are all supposed to read then sign this letter. This is just not gonna happen with Paul...we may be packed up and gone by tomorrow afternoon. I will fill in more info tomorrow.



Later

dee

Frightening Friday...

I am off today, but the Prince in on duty as Buckie is working. We just had a scare with one of our new guests. Paul and the "main" camper guy decided that he should have a pull through spot...the 5th Wheel toy hauler he was pulling was HUGE. There are maybe three families traveling together...dad and mom, son and daughter-in-law and daughter and son-in-law, along with numerous rug rats running around. The other workamper, Al, came out to help with the guy pulling in. As they began to set-up I just happen to look out the window and I see one of the ladies running around in a total panic, hands on her head...she is running in circles, obviously screaming from the look on her face...then she starts grabbing kids and herding others toward the back of the campsite. Al comes running up, as I had by this time stepped out of the rig, telephone in hand and he yells "call 911, a guy is pinned between the rig and the truck!". I dial 911 and get a fast answer, unfortunately, my cell connected to the wrong county, and the gal transferred me to the correct 911. I am at this point trying not to wet my pants. The 911 guy answers, asking me where the emergency is...I scream into the phone, Shenanigan's RV Park, um Branson Shenanigans RV Park...then scream the address...The 911 guy asks, "is the victim breathing?" I yell at Al, who is now grey colored and I thought "...crap, Al's having a freaking heart attack!" Al answers yes. The guy says "Is he conscious?" I yell again at Al..."yes", he replies. THEN the guy asks "is the victim bleeding", which I then yell at Al and he gives me this look..."YES HE IS BLEEDING...Where are the EMT's ?" I am trying to calm down although my heart is almost bursting outta my chest. I tell the 911 guy that I am looking at the fire station at the corner, where are these people? He asks for my telephone number...wait, I can't remember...I am so flustered by what is going on! He asks again and I snap something like wait a minute, I don't usually call myself or something equally stupid, then it comes to me and I tell the guy. He tells me to stay on the phone...he starts asking me all kinda questions like where is the guy stuck? I ask Al, and he gives me another look and yells that it is the guy's hand. At this point, Al is walking towards the entrance and FINALLY, I hear sirens...in pops a police car. I didn't call the stupid police, I need an EMT for heaven's sake! Close behind the cop, is a pick-up with Emergency Responder or something like on the side...OK we got someone here to help. Then two more vehicles pull in, one an ambulance, the other another Emergency Responder type truck. Phew...!


As it turns out, the guy could have lost his hand. I am guessing here that, impatient to get set up, the son-in-law (who is prolly not a camper except on trips with the in-laws) tried to unhitch the 5th wheel but the rig's wheels had not been chocked. The rig rolled forward on to the bed of the tow vehicle where he had placed his other hand. The weight of the rig actually dented the pickup's bed and quite possibly save the guy's hand from being cut-off. Ick.


The EMT's got the situation under control quickly...soon they left and the family drove to the hospital. Whew. We don't need excitement like this! This kid kinda has the look on his face that I think I may have had....


Well, I am off to pick up some prescriptions...and may wander around the outlet mall. I think the Prince may have to take a nap after all this excitement.

hugs...

dennise

Thursday....

Sorry about missing a posting yesterday. I am still having a few problems with my computer. So what else is new? The wifi here at the park has become quite a headache. Since the campground is heavily covered in trees, slopes down into a valley, and everyone tries to connect from inside their tin can rv's, service is less than acceptable for most! Well, somethings gotta give and it certainly isn't gonna be the wifi system! Most campgrounds that offer wifi (that I have stayed in, anyways) the systems are poorly designed, or are the cheapest equipment which is self-defeating. This park does have several signal repeaters, but I think we are doomed. It has become the bane of my existence while I am on duty and again when I am off. I can't connect and I am facing the repeater from the coach windshield about 200 feet away or less...I get all the complaints from the guests. The best line...."I only chose this park because of the free wifi." Nah, that is pure baloney...all the parks here have free wifi except KOA ...they charge. Oh well, I am off tomorrow so I can get a break. Actually one of our guests was helpful in suggestions about my laptop. The same problem keeps repeating itself...the DVD drive is not recognized...the driver disappears, yet the device driver tells me it is working fine. Grrrrrr. He taught computer repair at a jr college so I trust him and he seems to be a really nice guy. He suggested that I remove the drive and reinsert. Easy enough...so I did and Viola! It now works and when I click on my computer the DVD drive is there! Wow.

I received some sad news a few days ago. One of our friends from our FMCA Chapter,The Cenois Prairielanders.... Marge Walter passed away. She was the sweetest little gal...always a smile, the best pies ever at the rally pot lucks, always a wonderfully funny comment during a discussion around the campfire. We will miss her greatly...

Rest in Peace dear Marge...

Marge Walter

November 3, 1926 - June 1, 2008

This is for you Marge.....Maybe with you in heaven along with Harry, the Cubbies will win it all this year!

Hugs to you all...

dennise

Tuesday...our day off...
We decided to get up early, around 8 and go have the breakfast buffet at Dockers just down the yellow road from the campground. Eh. It was so-so. I have to keep reminding myself that we should avoid buffets like the plague...we can't eat enough to justify the price. It was so-so and now we know we won't go back unless we go for free...LOL!

We finished up breakfast, and stopped at Walgreen's to pick up the rest of my prescription...they only gave me 5 days worth instead of 30. I stood in line for at least 20 minutes while two little old ladies had this discussion with the pharmacist about a certain med that made one of them have such terrible death type symptoms...the poor pharmacist couldn't get away, then they asked her all kinds of questions about, get this...wrinkle cream! Um, I am sorry but I think it just might be a little bit late for wrinkle cream when you are older than dirt! OK, I am not fidgeting anymore, the show we are going to see at 10 a.m. is still 20 minutes until showtime. Finally, they finish and THEN TAKE OUT CHECK BOOKS TO WRITE CHECKS...NEITHER OF THEM HAS A PEN! ARRRRGH! Finally, I get up to the register and gee, they don't have my script. Well, apparently they forgot they told me to come back, or they goofed up and didn't put it in the computer. Lucky for me I saved the bag and there is a handwritten note that I can pick up the rest of my script after 4 p.m. on Monday. Guess who is gonna bring that back when I go back tomorrow when they have promised to have it ready. I go out back to the car, totally irritated. We zip down 76 to see the 10 a.m. show of Doug Gabriel. No show. Schedule is wrong. Hmmmm...so we head towards the Legends Theater to see the Brett Family show. Excellent show. We loved it. Again I have to say not one show we have seen has disappointed us...we have had a great time at each venue. I really am enjoying our stay here.

We met our fellow park hosts for our happy hour and several of our guests from the park joined us. We had a lot of fun learning about them and also laughed our tushies off at the antics of the various puppies playing together.

Well, I am off to bed. The Prince has to work two hours tomorrow. Thinking we might head to Springfield to meet with a fellow Vietnam Vet group advocate if we can get ahold of him...I leave you with a great photo taken of my fav Cubbie pitcher...this was last week at Wrigley...what a face!

hugs,

dee

Monday, Monday...
The Prince had to work two hours this morning. I was off, so what else, I slept in! I had taken an nap yesterday afternoon which turned into a marathon nap, so I was still awake at 11 p.m. I decided that since it was June 1 I would do a cleanup of the laptop. I did a registry cleanup, a CCleaner(crap cleaner for short, LOL!) and spybot. Well, when I got up this morning...nothing worked...I wasn't able to even see the park's wifi...nor would my AT&T card connect. Grrr. So I fiddled and I fiddled and finally got the aircard to work. I never could get the park connection...it finally recognized the access availability, but wouldn't connect...with four strong bars. Well, I continue to use the aircard, 'cause I continue to pay for the darn thing. I like the wifi as it is a bit faster. My mail loads quite slowly from the aircard sometimes...and I have five bars sometimes. That always puzzles me...hmmm.

All the workampers were invited to Lynn and Bill's for dinner (the campground owners). They have a beautiful house that they bought 6 months ago and have been so busy, they haven't had time to arrange furniture and put up drapes, etc. The house sits on a hill (what else is IN Branson?) and looks over Lake Taneycomo. It is really a lovely home...and her mom, our beloved office manager, Buckie (nickname for JOANN...don't ask me, I have no clue) lives in a great lower level. Buckie is known for her "Buckie Notes" which are little notes here and there in the office, telling us workampers what we did wrong, or how we should do this or that...we love 'em and laugh our tushies off. We compare the notes made especially for us. Buckie is 86 years young and swears if Lynn her daughter ever puts in a computerized reservation system, she quits!!!

Bakc to the house...Both levels have wonderful views from each and every window...I just can't imagine it in autumn...it must be spectacular. We had a wonderful dinner of grilled brats, Buckie's famous potato casserole, fresh fruit and Kahlua cake with chocolate chip ice cream. The only thing I left on my plate was the strawberry leaf. Oh and part of the bun...why overfill on a bun when Kahlua cake is waiting?

We are both off tomorrow so we thought we'd go to brunch and then hit one of the great 10 am shows...Doug Gabriel performed at the American Red Cross fundraiser we went to last week...he was great, so we hope to get to see him.

Well, I am off to bed...finally got my prescriptions straightened out...I think. We shall see I guess.

hugs to everyone...
dee

Six...

Sorry about not posting yesterday. I had to work and then we did laundry. By the time we joined our fellow workampers for our "happy hour" it was almost time to go get changed for a VIP show we were all going to later in the evening. The VIP show was a "thank you" from the show for all that the ticket sellers, campground employees, resort and hotel employees and other locals do to help promote their show, called "SIX". We have recommended them based on word of mouth from our guests here at the park. They don't have a band; they don't use pre-recorded music; they sing aCapella and at least two of the brothers do vocals that mimic drums, violin, piano and all kinds of instruments. They are truly amazing. They are the performing six of 10 brothers. Can you imagine raising 10 boys? I can't even fathom it, much less do it. They dedicated the last few songs of the show to their Mom, who passed away at the young age of 52 from cancer. They had a touching video of the family through the years and of each of the brother's families. Great show, great entertainment, great bunch of guys who are talented, funny and very family oriented. This is only their second season in Branson, but have become one of the top acts mainly by word-of-mouth and repeat guests.

They had over $6 thousand in raffle gifts. I missed winning a flat screen TV by ONE number...I had 964880 and 964879 was called. Grrrrr. I couldn't win a cold with my luck.

After the show, we stopped and split a fresh blackberry cobbler with ice cream at a place that each time we have tried to stop has been closed. It was delightful. We got home and had to make the bed...did laundry earlier and didn't really have time to eat before the show much less make the bed. I hit the bed and was asleep in about 5 minutes. I could tell we were going to get hit by one heck of a storm as my ears were killing me. At 4 a.m. we were startled awake by a huge hail storm. Lightening struck the lot just across the street...it made my fillings hurt it was so close to us! The rain continued throughout the night, occasionally waking me from my sound sleep. As I sit here writing this, it is thunderbooming and still raining. We weren't planning on anything today anyways. I guess we will watch the streaking Cubbies and watch NASCAR during the commercials. I have to get to Walgreens...several prescriptions are overdue filling...just haven't gone in to refill as I had a snag with my new health plan. Too long and irritating a story to tell, but I was actually without any insurance coverage or script coverage for almost two months. Thank goodness I had enough meds to get me through til June 1. But is was very, very close and I actually had to take only one Elmiron instead of the three daily like I am supposed to. Bad Dennise, I know. You do whatcha' gotta do...goodness gracious I didn't even tell the Prince. I don't need anymore lectures, plus he was against me switching to this insurance plan. HOWEVER....we are saving $550 a month on just ME, a supplemental plan really!!! CIGNA is the worst insurance company to deal with and they never covered anything anyways...as I said, was supplemental and only had to pick up 20% of what Medicare didn't...grrrr. OK enough of insurance woes, everybody has problems with something.

Well, off we go in the rain to Walgreens.

dennise