The Griswald's Great Adventures!

2010-11-05T15:57:00.002-05:00

I usually try not to be political here, as this blog is about us, but both The Prince and I agree...

This was written by an articulate woman from Colorado Springs. I wish I had written it.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/eletters/?source=nav_ins_op...

"So, many in this country decided Tuesday that the Democrats had plenty of time to undo the damage caused by the Republicans over eight long years. They have said that 21 months should have been plenty of time to restore the economy, get us out of Iraq and Afghanistan and put everyone back to work. Well then, I now give the Republicans in the U.S. House 21 months to undo the damages they initially caused themselves.

In a way, it is nice. Let them use their own methods to get us out of the messes they created. If, by October 2012, we are not all employed, living comfortably, have restored the deficit to where Bill Clinton left it in 2009, and are completely out of all wars in the Middle East, then I challenge those same voters to undo the damage they have done this week and put the Democrats back into office. Twenty-one months. That is all they get. Good luck, may the force be with them, and God help us all."

2010-09-04T19:51:00.000-05:00

The reluctant blogger has returned. We are currently in Springfield IL after a terrible month of trying to help my mother and her husband who is 90 and failing . What a waste of time. It's time to let these geezers be on their own for awhile, just like they are demanding. After all, we are plotting to put them in a nursing home, take over their assets and spend their money. Yeah. Right.

Enough of the downer stuff.

We have had a pleasant summer, after Florida traveling to Georgia to visit Paulie's cousin, into Indiana to check out the Thousand Trails parks there, and visiting the eastern side of Michigan and Lake Huron. We then attended a family gathering in the Chicago area and then headed to Iowa to visit another one of Paul's cousins. We stayed in the Amana Colonies and had a nice couple of days to revisit some of the places we saw a couple of years ago. Then we were off to Sioux Falls SD to do our change of address stuff, get our driver's licenses and other mundane stuff. After Sioux Falls, we headed west to Mitchell SD and saw the infamous Corn Palace. We also stopped at several popular places such as the world's largest truck stop, where we left some of our tourist dollars like most everyone else. Wahl Drug was also on the list and we were not very impressed, however I will confess that they have the best handmade chocolate donuts I have had since I was a kid in Chicago from the Polish bakery. We landed in the Badlands and stayed about three days. The first time we saw the rock formations, we were awestruck. By day three, it was monotonous. We decided to continue west to see Mt. Rushmore. We did a 12 hour tour which included all you can eat cowboy pancakes, all the sites like the Rushmore Monument, and of course, Crazy Horse. We had lunch at a Lodge in the State Park, and for the first time, we had bison meat prepared in a delish stew. Very tasty, but I would not go out of my way to have it again...well, maybe a burger. From SD, we headed back east, heading for Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin. Door County is a great place and we had some time to kill. Had a nice time, but the place is totally outrageous in regards to prices. A hot dog will cost you about $6...yeah, right. After the frantic phone call from Springfield, we headed south making the trip in 9 hours of bumper to bumper traffic. Female geezer sprained ankle, male geezer was acting off his nut. In addition geezer husband had been scheduled for some type of heart "procedure" which both geezers insisted that male geezer must have. Paulie kindly agreed to stay with the geezers so my trip to Cancun with my sisters would not have to be cancelled. The trip deserves a post on it's own, but suffice to say it was beautiful, very hot and I am truly glad that I never had a teenage daughter. I doubt I shall ever write that post to protect the innocent.

It is now the Labor Day weekend and we are getting to pack up and head to Goshen for the Escapee's Rally. We will be early arrivals which means getting there on Friday the 10th.
later,
dennise

2010-04-29T10:17:00.003-05:00

Sometimes, I just want to slap the crap outta The Polish Prince. Yesterday, it took all I could muster not to turn towards him while driving and just bitch-slap him. I needed to go to the dollar store just down the road for a new container for my cherry tomato plant. He insisted on going, and then followed me around complaining about how long it was taking. Jeesh. Finally he went to sit in the car. Why did he insist on accompanying me if all he was gonna do was bitch? I find what I am looking for, checked out some stuff, and check out. When I get to the car, he is talking to a gentlemen about SSI, which neither he nor I have any knowledge about. After what seemed like an hour, I told him we needed to go. As we are pulling out of the parking lot, he asked me if I wanted to go to Wal-Mart and see if I could find round labels for my new spice jars. I thought he would go to the Wal-Mart in Seffner, down the road about 5 miles. He insisted on going on route 301 which meets I4 which then you can exit on the Camping world exit and go to MLK drive where the store is located in SEFFNER. I told him to just catch the county road just behind our campground and we’d be there in 5 minutes. We have used that road to GO to Camping World for heaven’s sakes, and we are there like I said, in 5 minutes. No, not our direction challenged Princy. He stays on 301 and tells me to put in Wal-Mart into the GPS. OK, I comply even tho I am starting to get a little steamed. We get to I4 and follow the GPS directions then all of a sudden the Prince decides to pretend he is Hernado DeSoto and disregards the GPS. Putz. From this point it is all downhill. He is lost, he knows it and the sob is too stubborn to admit it. For the next hour we are getting a tour of a part of Tampa I have no idea even existed. He keeps making turns and more turns and then and behold we are at Busch Gardens. At this point, I cannot even LOOK at him I am so pissed. After being lost for an hour, he inputs into to the OLD GPS that hasn’t been updated since we got in 5 years ago. He continues driving and we find a Wal-Mart. A new, non-super Wal-Mart mind you. We get out of the car and I leave him in my dust. This damm Wal-Mart is so different from any other Wal-Mart I have been to I can’t find anything I supposedly needed. I find nothing. A real bust. We get back into the car and silently drive back to the rig. A ruined afternoon, waste of gas, anger and frustration not to mention the threat of potential violence(on MY part, not The Prince’s) all because DeSoto ‘s evil spirit entered the weak soul of the Prince and he was looking for the fountain of youth or the Lost City of Gold or some such nonsense.

Just another day in the life of adventure. Even adventures that piss me off.

2010-04-26T21:50:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a while again, hasn't it? OK, so you’re right. I am a lazy ol’ blogger. What do you expect? I am a creative loafer. I am retired. I try not to schedule, stick to guidelines, do things from habit or anything remotely linked to our former working lives. ‘Nough said .

Well, we are still in Florida. Who would have thought that? We did get a fantastic deal at this RV park…$199 for the month plus electric. We have really enjoyed our stay here. It is a nice quiet park…lots of working people. Many of the trailers are single wides, some nicely kept, some not so much. The atmosphere is very “old Florida” with lots of oak trees with moss hanging down. The units are quite old also, which would turn off a lot of RV’ers. The spots are varied in size…some incredibly small, others large, like the one we occupy.

We are breaking “camp” here on Sunday morning, May 2 and actually are going south for a 5 night stay at one of the most beautiful county parks in Florida, Ft. De Soto. Located on the water, and almost impossible to get, we snagged a waterfront site. We will be heading north when our stay there is over. We will be headed to Atlanta to visit Paul’s cousin Gene. We will be parking in the driveway of their lake home on the shores of Lake Lanier. After that we will continue up to Central Illinois to see Zack, my mom and maybe get a chance to attend the first Cenois FMCA rally. We are hoping to get to South Dakota to get some business done. We have registered and paid for the Escapee’s Rally in Elkhart the second week of September and then want to head west. The Prince says we will hit bad weather, read SNOW and we can’t do it. Pffft!

The Polish Prince bought some cheap hair clippers and proceeded to scalp both of my babies. Oh well, it’ll grow back…will be OK for hotter weather.

Gene seems to be doing fine, and since the weather has warmed up in The Valley, he is using the pool and hot tub. Of course he wouldn’t be Gene if he didn’t complain even about this…the hot tub is not hot enough, and the sail type cover over the pool is not to his liking…he has to “chase” the sun. I wonder if he will say the same once the temps hit 100 soon.

hugs
dennise

2010-03-20T17:43:00.002-05:00

We took the kids to the vet for their checkups and to settle them in for their boarding this week. Off we go to the Caribbean. Miss Lucy is over 9 lbs! The Mack Attack is now a robust 5lbs, 6oz! He is such a little cutiepie, all the girls in the office and even the lady vet were ooohhhing and ahhhing over the little stinker. He just eats that stuff up. After getting them settled, arranging for Lucy's surgery(no puppies in the future), we wrapped things up by paying $595!. Jeesh, these kids are expensive!

We had a nice breakfast at the local cafe called Ram's where the food is good, service is with a smile and the prices so so. We came back to the rig and started packing. I also started the "dismataling" for breaking camp early tomorrow in the morning. We will leave the rig at Suncoast window repair, and hopefully we will be able to stay plugged in. We had made prior arraignments to leave the rig there while we are gone so we could have a place to store the rig as well as getting it repaired. Paul talked to the office manager and even if they have to move us out of the hookups area, we will be plugged in with a 20amp cord so the fridge doens't get turned off! I don't want to come home to spoiled meat and rotten royal red shrimps that are $14 a pound. I think they understand and even if no outlet is available, they will make sure the refer is on LP. That very thing happened to us while we were on a five day cruise with Grandpa, and I was one unhappy momma. Yuck.

We can board the ship at 12:30 p.m. but am not sure what time we will get there. No use getting there early and have to wait for hours to board. I have read on several cruise critic sites that Carnival has the embarkation down pretty well, and there isn't a lot of waiting. I am taking my scooter, and I am sure I need it, even if we just disembark at one port where a lot of walking would be involved.

So, we are hoping to have a great cruise, and celebrate our 25 unbelieveable years together! Never thought that would happen!

later,
dennise

2010-03-19T09:16:00.001-05:00

Photos speak a thousand words....here are my "babies"....Lucy is now almost 7 months old, and Mack will be 2 in May!

Mack is still under 5lbs but Lucy, who knows? It's like picking up a ten pound sack of potatoes!

We will get an update on Saturday when we drop the kids off at the Vet. Lucy will get spayed and they will be boarded while we are off on our anniversary crusise. We leave Sunday afternoon for 7 glorious days. We are sailing with Carnival this time, a first, and don't know what the ratio of spring break kids will be on this crusie. Oh well, we'll see...I am just going to enjoy it all, especially not having to cook or make meals for 7 whole days!

2010-03-18T11:13:00.001-05:00

Here are some recent updates to the Aluminum Assylum:

We added some storage by taking out the hard to move island storage (which had replaced the paltry dining table and rickety chairs.

There is a lot of storage under the benches which are actually higher...about 27" tall. Considered "counter height" seating. I keep my daily use appliances in here on the right side and store my hand held Orek vac in a backet and lesser used stuff on the left. While traveling, the pillows get stored in the right side also.

This is the setup I usually use while cooking. The island is a foldable, portable one with lot of storage. I use baskets so when breaking camp it is easy to just grab the baskets, put them on the bed, and go. I have one for dishtowels which saves drawer space. I have a bread/snack/cookie basket, a veggie/fruit basket and a puppy supplies basket. All easy to just place on the bed while traveling as they don't slide around on the bed.. Behind the island you can see my other can't be without folding shelving. I bought this a number of years ago at El Boutique Target. This also holds various baskets, the two Mexican pots that I store my kitchen utensils (yes, two...I like kitchen gadgets ok?) I also store my toaster and my huge canister of protein on it. It too simply folds up and along with the island and stores in the bedroom while traveling. I have a foldable canvas box where the stuff on the shelving unit goes and it too travels in the bedroom.

When set up for dinner, we just roll the island to the bench area and viola! Dinner is served.

Here is a shot of the kitchen area and the new backsplash I put it. It is really just plastic panels from Lowes, and is cutable with a scissors. A very cheap way to protect the walls and I think if you didn't know it was plastic, you would think it was metal...which I eventually hope to replace it with sometime in the future. You may also notice we put in lineolem which I hate as it doesn't cover the slider rollers. Not too terrible in the living area where the throw carpet covers it, but I hate the other one sticking out like a sore thumb.

Here's another view...

I still have some honey-do's for the Polish Prince....new sink and new faucet...I get so frustrated with the ones we have now....one side of the sink is normal the other is a tiny useless dinky thing and you can't even fill water in anything with that short faucet. So far though I like the space I have gained.

Here is a picture of my "lamp table"...a file cabinet topped with a square wood top and a table cloth. I need a different cover, but overall the double use is good. I do worry about the weight of the stuff IN the file

cabinet! One more shot....

Ok more pictures of the puppies coming in a while...

hugs,

dennise

2010-03-17T12:33:00.002-05:00

Wow, it is now St Patty's day. Where has all the time gone. We are really having a great time in Florida. Well, that's not entirely true. The weather here has been as bad as in the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Rain. Cold. Wind. Nasty. We did see frost, and I froze, I have been cold since October(!)...no winter coat. I ditched them all. I guess I will look for a lightweight fleece jacket at the flea market. I saw them with flea market kinda "themes"....geese, wolves, strange zigzags and the typical fugly patterns. But, who cares? I sincerely doubt that some person(one like me, that is!) would walk up to me and ask me where I bought the darling jacket I have on. And I would certainly tell them the flea market, er, yah right!!!!

We celebrated our 25th Wedding anniversay yesterday, March 16. We celebrated with some friends from Central Illinois Cenois Prairelanders FMCA chaper, of which we are still members. Our McDill sponsors, Hank and Elizabeth Kerr were there; Dave our Treasurer and his cutie pie wifey, Patty,and one of my favorite ladys, Roberta Williams with her hubby Tom. I love Roberta...she is one of the most fun people to be with. She tells the most wonderful stories of her and Tom's travels and family, and their missions work. She is not afraid to get on the roof of their motorhome and scrub the roof. No, I am not kidding. I couldn't climb up the latter and here is this slip of a gal, short cropped hair and in her capris, is cleaning the roof! I asked her why and she said she didn't want Tom to fall off. Hmmmm....

We did a lot of running around. A typical kind of Griswald day...Our cruise departs on Sunday, and the Polish Prince needed a sport jacket and a pair of decent pants to wear on the two formal nights. He said he could get in with casual, which for him is basketball shorts and a sleeveless tee and flip flops. I pointed out that a jacket is required, and he said he would chance it...what could they do, not seat him? I said yep, mrknowitall. Then I will eat all dressed up by myself. So we were on a hunt for a jumbo man sport coat. He found one at the second shop we stopped at and while he was browsing, I began a pretty bad hypoglycemia episode. When he got back to the car we headed for the nearest McDonnalds to get me a hot mocha...enough sugar to kill any diabetic is just what I needed. I am going to have to carry packets of sugar with me so I can just suck one or two down when this happens. Of course I have to get in some protein and carbs immediately to avert another crash. Paul pulled in and I went in. He was going to put the jacket on so I could see it. When I exited the store, I saw a man fall just outside the door. I look and it is the Polish Prince. I got to him as fast as I could. He had put the jacket on, and walked over to get the newspaper by the first handicapped spot which was sloped downward but had a strange short curb immediately in front of the newspaper thingy you put the money in. He had backed up a half a step, hit that curb edge and lost his balance. He staggered back a few feet to try and get his balance but fell and HIT his head on the car parked in the handicapped spot! We looked at the car front door and it appeared that there was no damage. We got back into the car when an older lady and her son came up to the car and told Paul that he had dented the door. He went to look again and he did dent the BACK door of the car! Some patrons of the restaurant told us he hit his head on the back door. Well, that's comfirmation, his head is so hard he dented the crap outta a car door. (he did put a dent in our Tauraus about 15 years ago when he was on a ladder in the garage and lost his footing coming down and landed on the hood of the car and dented it with just one butt cheek...I am NOT making this up!) The lady was very nice and asked for our car insurance info. The Prince began to oblige when I stepped in and said, our car insurance won't pay for this...our car didn't make the dent, his head did from a fall on poorly designed handicapped ramp! It is McDonald's responsibily...I told him to go to the manger who had also come out of the store to see if Paul was ok and of course, embarrassed, he muttered he was ok. I told him to make out an accident report, what if he couldn't get out of bed tomorrow 'cause he hurt something that turns up latter. So, he did. He also gave the poor lady whose door was dented, our insurance info, telephone number. I told Paul, she would have a hard time collecting from our insurance company for this, he wasn't in the car when he did the damage. Paul had told her to see how much it would cost and he would send a check. Dumbshit. McDonalds is liable here, not The Prince's hard head!

We stopped at another Salvation Army place and he found some more stuff that he tried on and fit. I found a yellow top for a pair of capris (but once home they clashed...) and I also found a green T shirt that will work. Gotta look carefully at this stuff...and wash it a couple of times, but who can beat $.99 for a t shirt?

Crappy day for St Paddy's but we need to find a place that serves corned beef and cabbage today. The Prince can eat a burger, but I love my CB & C!
*Sigh*. What'sa poor Irish girl from Chicago subpossed to do?

hugs
dennise

2010-02-07T21:15:00.000-06:00

We are currently parked in Gulf Shores State Park in Gulf Shores, AL. We only drove about 150 miles or so yesterday. The weather is very cold, but we did have some sun today. We were on a mission today...me to Olde Thyme Pottery, a woman's design dream warehouse where I purchsed some seat cushions for the bench seats and some pillows. And drooled over stuff I see on the decorating shows on TV. The prince on the other hand was on a red shrimp hunt...red shrimp are deep water shimp that are light red in color...like you couldn't have guessed that! They taste more like lobster than shrimp. We found a pound of the headless ones, some frozen whole and then he bought some jumbos we can grill. We will be leaving here in the morning, heading into Florida. Not sure we really want to get there too fast. The long term weather forcast is kinda dim...rain, more rain and cold, the story of every snow bird this year. Maybe Baja Mexico next winter?

Before we continue down to Tampa, we will be stopping in Hudson Florida where we plan to visit Suncoast Designers which is a place that refurbishes double pane windows in RV's that have fogging problems. Rather than replace the windows, we will try this much less expesive "fix".

After our shopping trip, we stopped to eat at King Neptunes, a place we had eaten at a couple of years ago. I had seafood etouffee that had a ton of shrimp, some cod and crab. Outstanding. My mouth was a bit tingly for several hours, but oh my it was good. The Prince had a fried shrimp basket with fries and a cajun bloody mary. The shrimp were small, and the bloody mary was too hot for our little pampered Princey. I tried it and after about three sips I was done too. Way outta our league...anyways who wants to burn their mouth when eating should be pleasurable!

While we were in the French Quarter in NO on Friday, I got a muffletta from Central Grocery...the very best sammich in Amerca I think! We ate at Jimmy Buffets place and I had the shrimp po boy, and file' gumbo. OH. It. Was. Heaven. In. A. Bowl! The prince had a Cuban sandwich. Hmmm, we are heading to Cuban Sandwich Captiol in Tampa and he eats one in New Orleans. Strange.
I had a ultimate Jimmy Buffet Margarita and I was tipsy after two sips. Strong stuff that Ultimate stuff.

We'll try to keep up on our adventures on here. Can't bet on it, but I am gonna try to post a couple times a week. We'll see!

dennise

PS...Who Dat won the Superbowl! Yah!

2010-02-03T22:39:00.000-06:00

Wednesday...

We arrived in New Orleans around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. It was a long day, going from Houston to NO. Mostly sunny day, so travel was good. We made two stops, those two puppies insist on going potty yanno.

We made good time until Baton Rouge around 4 p.m. and hit the rush hour. Took us a while to get thru but we were certain we could still make the campground before the office closed at 6. Wrong. What time we made up after Baton Rouge, we lost in the horrible rush hour all the way into the city from about 20 miles west on I10.

So to recap, we left the RGV on Monday around noon as we had to settle the lock out problem at the storage yard. Oh well, nothing that couldn't be fixed once the Prince paid the bill!

We stopped our first night on the road in El Campo at the super Wally world. We had a sandwich around 3 pm and were really not hungry for dinner when we stopped. So we had a Bloody Mary and some chips and salsa.
We let the puppies sleep with us as we had not opened up the rig being in the WalMart parking lot. They loved it. Paul said he didn't sleep well as he kept feeling the little wiggleworms move around all night. I had already passed out so they didn't bother me a bit.

Our first day in NO was one of rest and rejuvination...I slept alot and Paulie did the laundry, nice guy that he is. We are facing bad weather tomorrow with lots of rain and wind. We are planning on doing the RiverWalk just outside the French Quarter, after we do Cafe' DuMonde, Central Deli and the French market in the FQ. The first of the Mardi Gras parades begin on Friday night and we will certainly be hoping the weather cooperates and we can attend.

That's about all for now...will update after our day in the French Quarter tomorrow.

dennise

2010-01-23T19:28:00.003-06:00

OK. You have me, again. I have been very very lax about writing our blog. Of course, I really don't have anything to write about. The weather has sucked for the entire time we have been here. Finally, this week, it changed. Sunshine, blue skies and warmer temps. We hit 80 a couple of times too. I have been making some roman shades. Not going as planned, but then again, just call me Mrs. Griswald. Paul certainly is Clark Griswald...or like I have said before...he is a bull in china shop. Everything we touch, we screw up. Amazing but true. Example: I was trying to attach handles to our new two drawer flimsy metal file cabinet. The screws were so short, I could not grab them with my thumb and forefinger. I was so frustrated...I must have struggled with those little boogers for 20 minutes...even the magnetic head on the freakin' screw driver didn't help. My finger nails are not daggers, and I wasn't about to cut them to place 4 stupid screws. After about a half hour of cussing, I got two in. Then another waste of ten minutes and my cussing got grosser. Hey I never said I was a good girl yanno.

Since our stint here at Llano Grande RV resort we have accomplished a number of things...all with alot of cussing and sweat and almost tears. I no longer cry, I just throw something or hit something. Thusly, we have decided to change our name to the Griswalds. No more Meandering Ziajas; we are now the hapless Griswalds, and the blog will now be The Griswalds Great Adventures and will be about our long road trip in retirement. Hey, if you remember the wife's name, let me know, I am having a brain fart. We have installed the faux coppper backsplash in the kitchen; we have our L shaped dinette bench installed and stained and the topper table done for the rolling island is also stained and useable. I need to varnish the table top for protection. Hopefully, when I get up the blinds, I can clean up this mess and take some photos.

An update on the RV park Vs. The Ziaja's...they ignored the demand letter and the lawsuit has been filed. That's about it.

I have a new blog. http://witcherella.blogspot.com. There is a linky in the links box on the right side of the blog. Now if you don't want to read the musings of a 55+ aging hippie progressive liberal pro-choice Democrat, then I guess you should pass. Well it won't always be a political post, I will also have a chance to bitch...yanno, just random thoughts, what irks me, what I like, funny stuff and stuff that just stinks overall. My thoughts and opinions are only mine so it may not even interest anyone but me, LOL! And I promise I will state in the title if this is a political post.

We have about another week or so here, and we are then off to Florida, visiting our fav cajun places along the way.

later...
dennise

2009-11-15T19:52:00.002-06:00

Just another Sunday...

That is what I wrote a week ago...

What a week. I was still quite ill and finally went to the doctor on Monday morning as a walk in. We were there almost three hours. My Doc thought that I had C diff colitis. Tests proved negative at the follow up on Wed afternoon. She plopped my tush in the hospital for tests. I had a CT scan of the abdomen, an endoscogy and then the most awful of tests, the dreaded colonoscopy. I recall my first scope and I felt nothing...was out. This time was different...I was NOT asleep and felt gosh awful pressure and real pain. A very ugly experience really. I then got dry heaves from whatever so called knock out drugs they used and thought I was having a heart attack. I just hate the hospital. The gastro doc took biopsies of my colon, said it was quite inflamed and called it "colitis". Hmmm. Guess we may have some answers early this week. I hope we can find something so I can get with a diet or medicine regimin that will help. I am still on flagyl and keeping my fingers crossed as I write this, have not had a desperate trip to the bathroom today.

We are now way behind schedule on cleaning out the remaining stuff from the mobile home and getting the stuff we no longer use out of the motorhome. OH,we did get kicked out of this park...it was all my fault. I brought Lucy home three weeks ago and there is a one pet limit per unit. Oopsie. My bad. I really don't care, we were only going to be staying here for another month or so and then we were heading to Florida. I guess I just don't get the rule, it's really stupid. But, I must confess, I broke the rules and must suffer the consequences....oh woe is me lol!!!!

Well, that's about all I can write for now. Still very weak and want to rest. Take care...

dennise

2009-11-08T18:15:00.000-06:00

Just another Sunday...

We closed on the house today. Well, Paul and grandpa did. I once again, was confined to the bedroom and the bathroom. Stomach woes strike again. This is one persistant dragon I am dealing with. I do think I bring on the dragons sometimes myself. I let that ol' geezer get under my skin and then I pay the price...no one else, just me.

Not too much else going on here. The Bears got blown away today...so what else is new. At least cousin Neal's team won, LOL!

later

dee

2009-11-07T20:14:00.001-06:00

Moving day...

We moved the rest of grandpa's stuff today. I shouldn't say "we", I did nothing. Dorothy tried to hang the curtain rods we purchased, but the most she was able to do was put two new holes in the wall...oh well, it wasn't me...

I would not put anything away. I was itching to organize the kitchen, but was able to keep my seat. I am tired of hearing that "I can't find anything" whine from the geezer that I am determined to let him screw it up himself. He is never pleased with anything, so I figure, go at it old man.

He decided to take his new toy, his electric wheelchair (don't ask...he is worse than a kid with stuff and it makes me totally nuts...)downstairs to supposedly help Paul get the rest of the stuff out of the car. Like Paul needed the old fart to tell him how to unload a car...! He comes back up to the apartment out of breath, grey faced and visibly upset. (How someone can change their face color is totally beyond me....) hollering "Somebody has stolen my scooter! This is KILLING ME! Someone stole my scooter." He goes back down the hall and finds some poor maintenance guy and tells him that somebody took his scooter. The guy comes into the apt, looking all around, and then both he and goofy go back downstairs. Paul comes up, assesses the situation and heads out to look for the scooter. Goofball is sitting in his chair, looking like he is gonna die right there and then. Paul calls, he found the scooter. This geezer suddenly perks up, his demeanor totallly changes and his normal pasty color is back. All I can do is grit my teeth and bite my tongue. How can you lose a wheelchair? Apparently he stopped at the door near the loading dock, got out and looked for Paul. He claims he turned around and the chair was GONE! OK. Sure. It rode itself away. Paul says he found it right at the door to the loading dock, still on...apparently he had gotten off and TURNED down the wrong way into the hallway. For heavens sakes, this man will kill me and Paul and laugh as we are lowered into the freaking ground. He is now THEIR problem...he couldn't open the door to the apt, and had to get someone up there to "show" him how to unlock the door....the wheelchair incident and a ton of other things...Dorothy said he didn't know how to get to his apt. Like I said...HE is THEIR problem now!

Dorothy and I made his bed, but of course, the bedspread was not to his liking. After this I left using the excuse that my furbabies were in the kennel and needed a potty. I go home, walked the kids, and then sat in my recliner doing deep breathing excercises...I did a cleansing of my mind...I had to rid my poor brain of all thoughts of murder, thoughts of slapping and thoughts of screaming at him. It took a LONG time to do this, you must understand.

I am home alone this evening, both of the males are playing poker. I hope they both lose.

later
dee

2009-11-06T15:29:00.003-06:00

Dancing with Dragons....

Today I finally found out what is wrong with me. No virus. I am once again dancing with the dragons in my life. I found my go to "bible" for Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue while packing. Reviewing the possible symptoms or should I say, the onset of symptoms I found my anwer. Usually I think of a flare as pain issues. Boy, I don't know how I missed this chapter, but all the things I have been experiencing the past 11 days are right there in black and white. Chills, severe sweats, headache, acute and severe diarrhea, intestinal cramping, ear pain, increase in overall fibro pain, extreme fatigue, increased coughing, shortness of breath, having the itchies, reduced tolerance for noise...

Everything I have listed, I was experiencing or had experienced. It knocked me on my proverbial tush. My dragons continue to harass me, and after 10 or so years of disability, I am still learning the steps to this "dance". The problem is the steps keep changing. Unfair says I!

Discovered the camera is in the motorhome, so I guess I need to put in some fresh batteries and snap some photos...

later...

dennise

2009-10-31T21:09:00.002-05:00

Anyone who is not a liberal stop reading now....
The earth revolves around the sun.
The earth is billions, not thousands of years old.
Fox News is neither fair, nor balanced - nor news.
Evolution happened and is happening.
Torture does not work.
Bush did not keep us safe.
Markets do not regulate themselves.
Fascism is not the same as socialism.
The world was not with us with regards to the Iraq War.
Iraq never attacked us and was never a threat.
Trickle-down economics is extremely insulting on its face. More so if examined.
Obama is not a socialist, or a communist.
A weak public option for a fraction of the country does not spell doom.
Prayers in school did not avert any wrong doings. Nor are prayers prohibited now.
There is no correlation between religiosity and morality.
The world can be and is over-populated.
Supply-side economics makes no sense, period.
Lying to soldiers about why they are fighting is not equivalent to support.
Supporting any war for any reason is not equivalent to patriotism.
Tax cuts for the rich are not a fix-all. In fact they hurt after a certain point.
Gays are not asking for special rights. They are asking for human rights.
An economist from Exxon does not equal the entire peer reviewed data from the world’s climatologists.
We really don’t have the #1 healthcare system in the world, and pretending we do only hurts our chances of improvement.
The fact is, now there really is a Northwest Passage for the first time in human history.
Facts are facts and do not have an ideology. Pretending that an impassioned denial is equal to established facts is extremely harmful. And the number of people sharing your particular delusion is irrelevant to its status as a fact.

2009-10-31T20:55:00.002-05:00

STILL sicky. No posties today. Sorrydee

2009-10-29T11:05:00.000-05:00

Still feeling lousy...did manage to get a quick snapshot of Lucy on my camera...and no, geez I wasn't choking her, she wouldn't stop wiggleworming all over the place.

She does have a tear in in her eye...but it's NOT from my hand around her neck HONEST! She is part POODLE, yanno they have real tears...so does Mack...

more to follow, with my camera, not the phone camers

dennise

2009-10-28T23:23:00.000-05:00

Pictures of Lucy will have to wait...I have been deathly sick.

Paul took Lucy to the vet and he is concerned that she may have distemper. Asked Paul if we got a health guarantee...um, no, we live in Mexico, dufus. The seller indicated that she had had her first "shot" (distemper) and three wormings. She does have a wet nose, and a bit of tears in her eyes, but nothing else I found on line that would appear to be distempter symptons...no fever, no lethary, no diarrhea (see my problem below.)

Now here is my story...have lived in the bathroom for like 36 hours
Here is the Uban Dictionary decription of my malady...

"Explosive Diarrhea

Not always from eating too much of the wrong foods which is usually relieved and ends with 1 incident of it.

Can be a prolonged horrid condition that usually comes about from a bad bacterial stomach/intestional virus. A violent exploding stream of liquid that feels like hot foamy lava shooting from your poor tush along with mild to severe abdominal cramping. A frothy water that will range from shades of dark brown to a pale yellow. Depending on the cause it can last from just one incident where you get immediate relief, to 3 to 4 days until a doctor has to give you an RX to stop the awful stuff. The stream is so forceful it blasts against the toilet water forcefully causing a violent splash sending the soiled stinky water up all over your poor butt cheeks, and underside of toilet seat. Usually always accompanied by a very putrid pungent odor that you feel the need to grab the nearest towel while you are still stranded on the toilet bowl, or if not available, a wad of toilet paper to cover your nose until you can hurridly leave the bathroom.

The (danger) of this condition is DEHYDRATION. It is important to not let it run on and to sip on water thru-out the day until a couple of days after it subsides. Also accompanied by noisy bowels sounds as if a war is going on inside your poor lower abdominal area along with excessive very LOUD blasting explosive gassed up farts, queasy stomach discomfort, and severe weakness if it goes on for over 24 hours.

Gosh! While I was sick I had that awful exploding diarrhea that left me feeling so weak I could hardly move!

by Cathie Feb 27, 2004 share this "

So, now you know and I gotta run back to the throne.

More on Lucy and some pictures of her and Mack soon I hope.

dennise

2009-10-26T18:38:00.001-05:00

Hmmm, my Friday post just appeared. I know not what the universe has against me, but I musta' done something horrible in my past. Well, we won't go there.

It is now Monday, and we have sold the mobile home in Weslaco. The couple from Houston visited twice today, the second trip were the "negoations". I always make myself scarce during this intense Paulie thing...don't want to be around when he gets down to brass tacks as they say.

We have a new family member...her name is Lucy. Lucy is a yorkiepoo just like Mack. She was born on September 1st so that makes her 8 weeks old tomorrow. As soon as I can find my camera, I will shoot a few photos and post them. Lucy's parents are almost identical to Mack's. 5 lb mommy poodle and 3.5 lb daddy Yorkie. She is coal black and at night you can't see her at all. We will have to get a blinking or glow in the dark collar. There were two males and two females. Figured I wanted a female not to have dueling alpha males...and I loved her color(which may actually change...) so she will look great in pink!

We had a buzy weekend. Saturday night Paul's cousin Maryann and her husband Russ came over for dinner. Paul made some pretty wicked bbq chicken(normally he makes burnt offering...). I made a salad and opened a can of pork and beans. Mary and Russ are here for only a few days, taking some of her dad's stuff back to St. Louis. So on Sunday, we went to their place and had Uncle Ben's special recipe for red sauce and pasta. Delish! The sausage was "imported" from St Louis and was really really good.

Sunday was reorganize and first pack up day. We were up at 7 am vaccuming and moping floors. I cleaned the Texas Room. It was packed with "stuff" like tubs of photos, all my caking supplies and just a whole lot of junk that went into the trash. It was so dusty all I could do was sneeze. Worked our tushies off. We are both exhausted. I think Grandpa must be exhusted too...he hasn't shut up for four four days! Get's on MY nerves...jeesh, and I have only been back two weeks!

More tomorrow.

dee

2009-10-23T22:06:00.001-05:00

Quick update...

The buyer from Houston will be looking at the house on Monday. I have started a few purgings...stuff I didn't even know I had...hmmm.

I was a bit under the weather today so I wasn't very productive other than doing a little sorting and tossing.

Paul started playing shuffleboard today. Now he can walk Mack for me on Fridays and I can sleep in! We will see how long that lasts.

Well, I have a ton of things to accomplish tomorrow so I am off to bed. Not much to talk about today. More updates tomorrow.

dee

2009-10-22T22:22:00.002-05:00

News from the Valley

As promised, I have big news. Grandpa has visited the John Knox Retirement Village here in Weslaco and loves the place. He has signed up for a medium sized one bedroom apartment. Knox is a unique type of retirement village that includes independent living facilities, such as apartments, townhomes and cottages; personal care or an assisted living wing; and a nursing facility. Once the resident buys in (prices range from $30k way up to $200K) they are assured of care until they pass on. Each unit that is part of the buy in has different monthly “fees” which cover the gamut of things such as meal(s), cable TV, all utilities except land line phone and other amenities. The main meal is dinner, actually lunch. It is the largest meal of the day and has the greatest variety. Supper is a soup and sandwich type menu, but the residents do get to enjoy a glass of wine with supper! Gene was most impressed with the ratio of ladies to men…like 5 to 1! At almost 93, he still believes he is a real Romeo. He was able to pick out his carpeting and the apartment is almost completely renovated. New wiring and light fixtures, new ceramic tile in the bath and kitchen, new appliances. He has tons of storage space and both the living room and bedroom are light and bright. The pool and Jacuzzi have just been revamped. There is a library, wood working shop, computer lab, arts and crafts room, exercise classes, dancing, cocktail parties, karaoke, and countless other activities.

We will need to get him a small microwave, he wants a lift recliner, a bed, small dresser and some end and night stand tables. He can’t decide if he just wants two recliners or a loveseat and recliner. Paul promised him a LCD wall mounted TV and he will need to pick out some curtains and a bedspread. He has plenty of towels and sheets and we can take whatever kitchen stuff he needs from the house. Yep, the mobile home is for sale. We have a potential buyer coming down from Houston on Monday, and another lady from the park looked at it. However, her husband is recovering from a serious infection that necessitated a replacement of an earlier knee replacement. Gene still feels that he wants his car, however the Village has shopping trips to the grocery store, WalMart and other shopping places.

Well, I am falling asleep and my mind was racing with all we have to do. Once again we will be getting rid of personal stuff we parked down here in the house. I believe we will need a storage space, as we have stuff that I am not ready to part with just now. And, I just got all my cake decorating stuff purchased and organized...NOT willing to give that up yet either.Perhaps in a year we will reconsider, and maybe by then Zack will be a bit more settled and we can have him take some of our "treasures". Needless to say, this is the best possible solution to the problems Gene faces as he becomes more dependent, and it gives us peace of mind while traveling. We still plan to spend several months in the RGV in the winter to escape the cold, but now there won't be as much worry and guilt leaving him.

hugs

dee

2009-10-22T00:48:00.000-05:00

Here are a couple of things that made me laugh...
YMMV

Grandpa and I voted Paulie out of the kitchen. He lost interest in doing decent dinners so goodby lousy chef!

gee for Jr. things never change...he said he took this picture so I could see the name of a really good beer....suuuurrrreeee Zack....

This may offend some of my readers....hmmm, and do I care?????

this is for one of my favorite sisters.....

whomever snapped this photo during last years debate should get a "gee whiz, when did this happen?" award. I still get the giggles when I see this photo...and I really really admire Sen. McCain. This just tickles my funny bone...no offense intended to the Honorable Senator!

2009-10-22T00:21:00.000-05:00

Here is!
Here is!

When our son Zack was just learning to talk and put together sentences, he would respond to our asking where he was with “Here is! Here is!"

So my title today answers the question so many of you have asked. I’m here, just been off the web “grid” for awhile. Well, it’s been 10 months which is really scary that so much time has passed without posting my glib and self-centered musings.

We left the RGV mid-June, heading for St Louis, Springfield, Illinois and then Muskegon, Michigan to spend the summer months in a cooler environment. The Texas RGV is a killer in the late spring and summer with the heat and everlasting UV rays from the sun. We were escaping temps in the 95 to 105 degree range that we had borne since mid April. We spent two wonderful months in Michigan, enjoying not only Lake Michigan but the local eateries and the abundant farmers markets. From Michigan we returned to Illinois to see friends in Chicago and our remaining family there. We had a wonderful visit, having not been up north in several years! We traveled back to Central Illinois to see Mom and Cecil, and our FMCA local chapter, Cenois Prairielanders for a great rally in the Champaign area. We were also able to visit with a cousin in Danville before we were off to Celina Ohio for the Escapees Class Reunion and the Gypsy Journal Rally immediately following. Another great time, visiting friends and meeting new ones. We left a day early as we needed to hustle down to Kerrville Texas for the RV Dreams Rally, the last leg of our summer travels. We were able to visit one of Paul’s FedEx co-workers who has also retired and moved to the Austin area. Jackie was so very sweet to make us a hearty breakfast of blueberry pancakes and sausages for our trip into Kerrville. The RV Dreams Rally was great…good people, good food and entertainment and the best seminars on the full-timer lifestyle. Paul went into San Antonio to have his hip rechecked at the VA as he is still experiencing some problems since his surgery at the beginning of the year. Nothing found, just to keep up walking and doing some exercise. After the rally, we stayed an extra day at the RV resort to gather our thoughts and ready ourselves for what we needed to face getting back to Weslaco and Paul’s dad.

Before anyone becomes alarmed, we just needed to visit with Grandpa and tell him our concerns about him remaining in this big home in Weslaco when he is starting to feel his age. More on that in tomorrow’s blog. Good news all around. Lots to do and lots to think about in the next few weeks.

Hugs,

dennise

2009-01-16T14:35:00.005-06:00

My shinning masterpiece...

...for this week anyways. Here is the cake I made for a wonderful lady who is leaving the park to live nearer to her daughter in NC. She loved the cake.

This cake was a lot of fun to make...three torted and filled layers. Bottom layer was chocolate cake with twinkee filling (I love that stuff so I make it alot!) The middle layer is white almond sour cream buttermilk with chocolate chip whipped ganache(Oh, it is heaven...like the middle part of a truffle...!) and the top layer I carved into the beehive shape. The cake was also the white almond sour cream buttermilk but with strawberry filling. All of the cakes had buttercream base icing and then were covered in fondant. This is my first stacked or tiered cake and only the second time I've worked with fondant. I made my own fondant which was also a lot of fun to do. It is very sweet, kinda like eating candy corn. Many folks don't like it because it is so sweet, but it is a decorator's dream to play with on a cake. All the bees and flowers were also made of fondant. All handmade and modeled by moi. I had pictures to reference. The bees are so cute. In the next picture, I did change the color of the bow on the "big bee" and replaced one of my ribbon roses that in the pictures anyway, looked like a specific part of the male anatomy...and I don't DO those kinda cakes!

Here Lola posing with her cake.

As you can imagine, the cake was a huge hit with the partygoers. I was very happy and Paul said it was a "work of art...nobody will eat it...". Well, they did smarty pants. They all liked it too!

I will have to make a tiered "wedding cake" for my class final. I think I am going to invite everybody over for cake and coffee the day after so I can get rid of the cake. To say we are all "caked out" is truly an understatement.

Next week is the park's luau party and Dennise got suckered into decorating the table...guess what folks....CAKE! I am going to do a tiki guy head and a bunch of palm tree cookies. Thank goodness I bought that palm tree cookie cutter when I saw it a couple of weeks ago! I will do a hot color table cloth, buy a boogie board and make some fake palm trees out of rice crispie treats and use fondant to decorate them. An all edible centerpiece! That should get me a few points in the judging! I'll post the pictures after the 22nd...

Not much else going on. Zack is getting depressed not finding a job. Poor kid. Worst economy in freaking history and he is now out on his own. He has put in many many applications and sent out lots of resumes. He is still looking at going to the UK to teach in the spring. We'll see.

later...

dee

2009-01-08T19:13:00.006-06:00

Well, it's been a hectic couple of days. After the New Year and taking down and packing all the holiday stuff, I tore into the laundry room. There is a small closet that is jammed with stuff from the previous owners. Let's see...two, yes two(!) waffle irons, a smoothie maker thing that has never been used, a tortilla holder made from stryofoam, a box of wipes for only God knows what kinda dispenser and a miriad of other useless crap. Plus the tops of the washer and dryer were lost among the stuff the two other residents of this house can't put away...well, now its CLEAN. Next stop...kitchen cabinets. We need another storage cabinet in here for the liquer...it's all over the darn place...when you open a cabinet here, there's bottles and more bottles. People will think we are achololics for goodness sakes.

We had some more parties to attend this weekend...is it just me or is finger food the bane of a human's existance? I can eat meatballs, cowboy salsa and other crap and feel fully satisfied and then turn up my nose at a good salad. No wonder there is weight gain during the holidays...I eat crap! On Monday, I was going to my first meeting of Brushwackers a local decorative painting group...the meet once a week on Mondays and work on projects, have seminars and graze..you know...EAT. Great...a grazing club. I bought a bunch of stuff to add to my clutter stash as the club's annual auction and only fundraiser is held at the first meeting of the year...yeah! Food and stuff to buy. What can be more fun than sitting around eating all day, buying craft stuff? I made two cakes for the meeting and they went over very well. Here is a picture of my first fondant cake. It was supposed to be a winter white cake. No color. But is really looked blah so I painted it with gel colors mixed with vodka. No, didn't drink the vodka! Used it to thin the colors. I was not happy, but everyone oohed and aahed anyways.

The second cake was a piping practice cake...I did some stringwork, called cornelli lace on the top then sprinkled it with glitter. The red roses are made from red candy melts...called candy clay roses...ugly but effective I guess. Here is a picture.

I was happy with this one...except for the leaves...didn't like the color but it was too late to change. This was a strawberry filled yellow cake with buttercream. The fondant cake was a double chocolate with twinkee filling...hey I LIKE twinkee filling! Under the fondant was buttercream. Both cakes weighed a ton! I had originally intended to do a tiered cake but they were too heavy...I torted both so they were four layers and all that filling made them so heavy. I don't know how the pro's can do that!

A couple more pictures....

On Tuesday, after an appointment with the VA in Mcallen, we headed to San Antonio for the Prince's pre-op stuff at the VA hospital. What a long boring drive that is! We got in around 7, bot checked in and went to bed. Paulie went to the hospital at 8 and got three of his four appointments like xrays done. Doc is only at the clinic in the afternoon so we had to wait until 2 to get in. This turned into a nightmare of more xrays and stuff and we didn't leave until after 5. Then the long boring trip made worse in the dark...we finally got home at 10. Paulie's surgery is scheduled for January 29th. We have a reservation at the Travelers World for the RV. This way I can bring Mack and relax in my house on wheels instead of a hotel room for four to five days. Thank goodness I talked him in to letting me take the rig. He doesn't think I can pull the electric cord and dump the tanks...geez, I am a college graduate...how tough can it be for goodness sakes?

Well, I guess I should ring off now. Hugs to all.

dennise

2008-12-19T09:21:00.004-06:00

Good grief...

another couple of days have slipped past me. I been buzy, yanno. Making cakes. Making cookies. Making chocolate covered cherries. Sleeping. Being dizzy. Same old stuff I guess.

Paulie went to his group meeting at the VA Wednesday and I made a cake for him to take. I just don't know what happens some times. Things start off so well, and whhooosh! Things are outta control. In the middle of doing the cake, Grandpa lost Patty(she had surgery that morning, to get "fixed" at the shelter where he got her.) Paul is off playing Mexican train or some other old person time killer...anyways, grandpa comes into the kitchen and asks me where his dog is. 'Scuse me? I'm making a freakin' cake here, not babysitting a recovering puppy. He goes around looking for her. So, I put aside what I am doing and help him go find the missing Patty. I go into his room and the dog is in her bed. And on top of grandpa's bed is a nice foamy pond of doggie barf. Ugh. Grandpa says, "Your dog threw up on my bed!" Ummmm, no Mack cannot JUMP up on anybody's bed, he is too small...to which he responds..."Then it was YOUR cat!" Noooo, Snickers kitty barf is chunky, what goes in comes out looking the same way...not my cat. Well, he says getting louder by the minute, "It wasn't MY dog, she is in her bed." Just a minute ago, she was not, or why was he looking for her. I suddenly realize this is deteriorating into the absurd and say, ok fine, lets take off the bedding. I strip the bed(it was soaked) and take it into the laundry. Gross. I start dry heaving myself even tho I am at this point steaming. I stuff the blankets and stuff into the machine and then go and scour my hands. I go back to the cake and in comes grandpa into the kitchen, still mumbling about the barf my cat did. I don't say anything although I am bleeding from the tongue biting so hard! I drop the pastry bad with green icing in it. Splat...the darn thing which is plastic, splits and green goop is now oozing all over the kitchen floor. Clean up goop. Wipe sweating brow. Ignore old man. Grab red pastry bag, and begin piping on cake. Red goop runs out the top of the bag. Gee, ya think I am squeezing a bit too hard. Red goop all over my hands. Grrrr. Clean up red goop. Swear in my head. Cuss under my breath. Paulie walks in door. I pounce....attack. So I start to tell him what's going on and in comes grandpa wanting his sheets...which are still in the wash cycle! I give Paul the evil eye and he takes grandpa into the family room. My hands are shaking so badly for whatever reason and now the cake looks like some 5 year old did it. Here is a picture...

and another...

Yanno, I am supposed to get better...what this cake is I am at a loss to say...green poinsettias...what was I thinking? Oh, I know...get the cake done, lol!

Well, that's all my complaining for today. Zack arrived yesterday. He and the Prince are off to shuffle board. What a nice kid...plays games with the old guys.

til later...

dee

2008-12-08T14:43:00.009-06:00

Duh-licious....

Here is a picture of my very first cake that somebody actually PAID me for...well, I only charged her for cost, not for my time. Time would have been outrageously expensive as I am a slowpokey cake decorator. I made up the flowers, so if you can't identify them other than the roses, its not just you...call them Ziaja blooms, available for a limited time only...until the decorator gets a heck of a lot better at this!

This is an 8" double layer Ultimate Chocolate cake(I use the Barefoot contessa's chocolate cake recipe here.

I just love the chocolatey flavor of the cocoa in this cake...and it takes LOTS of cocoa to make this puppy. I now buy my cocoa at Sam's....a small canister at the dollar store was $2.65....I got a jumbo at Sam's for $6 something and it four times the size....also been buying my confectionary sugar there...7 lbs for $4 something...#2 at Wally world is over $2.50. Gotta save the Polish Prince some money somewhere LOL!

Well, that's about all I have been doing...having a fibro kinda day after baking and decorating yesterday. Will never, ever do that big a cake with basket weave sides...my hands are ready to fall off!

Here is the mini cake and cuppies I got with the extra batter...

And here is the other cake...for our dinner tonight! This is a two layer 6" cake...

Started guitar lessons last Thursday and haven't practiced a lick! Think anyone will be able to tell...LOL! I am also going to go the Brushwackers meeting on the 15th to attend a daisy coaster class. Will post when I get them finished. Not sure if I will continue with the painting...going from doing nothing to a whole lot may be more than the old body can take!

hugs

dennise

2008-11-27T10:44:00.012-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that this day finds you all in good health. I had a bit of an off day yesterday, as did grandpa. He has a cold. You would think he was preparing to meet his maker the way he is acting. I swear, if it wasn't a holiday, I would let him have it with both barrels. Its a freakin' cold, snap out of it! Sure you feel crappy, but hey, this is a bit overmuch yes? Grrrrr.

I finished by Wilton course 2 the other day, and I did a fairly ok job on my cake...here are some pictures.

For all of you critics out there , the little creature is supposed to be a bear holding a pumpkin...the technique is called color flow using some of this chemical stuff tasting goop to creat a picture out of icing...not something I think I will do in the future. Stupid.

The cake is the recipe I mentioned the other day, my fav choc cake in the world. I tried to do fall colors rather than what the Wilton course book showed...a white cake with spring flowers...it it was spring, well then I would have copied it. I also think the chocolate buttercream looks good in the basket weave, which is on the sides of the cake. I hated making the royal icing flowers, would have preferred buttercream, but hey, that's the course. I also make up a cupcake collar for the cuppies from the other day, and packaged one to see if it would work in the treat bags I have. I was planning on doing the craft show, but I have declined. I think I will wait until the spring when I can do spring flowers and cookies. I just don't have the confidence to make that much stuff in so short of a time. The cuppies are already stale and they were baked Tuesday morning...they don't last long without refrigeration and I don't have any fridge space.

Here are some pictures of my "designs".

The cupcake bouquet...5 cuppies in a little tin flower pot...

Here is a cuppie with a doily collar...cute no?

Here is a wrapped cuppie...artistic background is the kitchen table with a candle draped in a Thanksgiving napkin...

Here are the two together...

Well, it's 11 am and we have to be at the hall to eat at noon....waaaayyyy to early for me...why not like 2 or three? That's dinner time...what are we gonna do at 6? McDonalds is closed...soup and grilled cheese I guess. That is the bad thing about potlucks...all you get for leftovers, if there ARE any is what you brought...I am bringing risotto with butternut squash and the above cakes and cuppies, (stale or not, LOL!).

Later

dennise

2008-11-25T14:50:00.010-06:00

Cuppies!

I had some extra batter from the cake I was making for my last Wilton class. So I made some cuppies...
aka cupcakes. I don't like the way Wilton makes their flowers...they look ok, but I can't tell an apple blossom from a violet, and I don't think anyone who hasn't taken the course does either, LOL! So I did some freehand flowers...I love the style of the cuppies sold at Cupcake Cafe in NY...the owner was on Martha a few years ago and I was amazed at how simple these looked...now that I have been learning cake decorating, I have found out what Martha knew all along...this looks easy but it's really stinkin' hard! My decorated sugar cookies looked like a 5 year old made them, and that is insulting to the kid! Practice is necessary...piping along the outline of the cookie is a PIA and is not easy. Oh well, I guess Zack will be getting more samples in the future while I hone my skills.

This recipe is my fav chocolate cake recipe...Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten from Food Network makes this recipe...it is wonderful! Some photos that make even my mouth water, and I am sick of cake and buttercreme!

How artistic is this?

this little cake is my class cake...I made FRESH, yes fresh blackberry filling, but forgot to put it in the cake! Brainless at times.

Well, gotta go get stuff ready for class tonight. I will post my final cake pictures tomorrow I guess.

hugs
dennise

2008-11-23T20:32:00.004-06:00

Just a quick note to let everyone see our new family member...Grandpa picked out a new puppy from the Oasis Shelter...he named her "Pat"...don't ask me why...he defies logic at times...

The shelter thinks she is about three or four...it appears that she has been preggers, but no evidence of any puppies delivered (I wonder how they know this?). She is about 15 lbs, and is all black with a white triangle on her chest. She looks to be a real Heintz 57...I see maybe miniature pinscher and doxie...she is very sweet. Paul and I just started to call her Sweetie before grandpa named her and it really fit well. She likes to play with both Snickers and Mack, well, let's just say he is in 7th heaven. She is scheduled to be spayed next week so we won't have to worry about Mack becoming a child daddy!

Finishing up my second Wilton class...learning to do all kinds of flowers...having a great time.

hugs

dennise

2008-11-15T08:17:00.003-06:00

We are going to visit Petsmart this afternoon. They have a dog and cat adoption every Saturday. Grandpa seems to be depressed over Pepe even though we kinda laugh about the poor little bugger every now and then. I think even though he adores Mack, he is not HIS dog. He wants an older dog that is housetrained. We need one who gets along not only with people, but other dogs and cats...

Snickers hated Mack...now they are BFFs!

Will post later if we have a new addition to the family.

I have been invited to participate in a craft show at Llama Grande RV Resort. Much larger place than where we are. I will do some cupcakes, cupcake and cookie bouquets, bagged sugar cookies, some choc chips and I would do spritz if I could find a cookie press like the old ones! The new ones get horrible reviews...where is my supershooter when I need it! Prolly in sombebody's house in Rochester, IL waiting to make Christmas cookies! Why did I let him sell all my stuff? I KNEW I'd need that stuff! I worked on practice cookies yesterday and have some cupcakes ready to give out as samples...the Prince doesn't seem to understand that I need to PRACTICE recipes and decorating in order to get better so the stuff doesn't look HOMEMADE. What is so difficult about understanding this? Grrrr.

Will post more later.

dennnise

2008-11-13T09:43:00.007-06:00

Wow, November 13th! I can't remember the last time I blogged. Not much to talk about...well, we did have one thing happen last week that is quite sad. Well, it's sad depending on your point of view. You see, last week, grandpa's fat little taco dog, his obese Chihuahua , Pepe went to the great doggie heaven and is waiting for his master at the rainbow bridge. Unfortunately, he did not go peacefully in his sleep, or mercifully put out of his doggie Alzheimer's fog via the tip of a euthanasia needle. He got run over by a golf cart. I am not making this up! Poor Pepe. Head crushed like a walnut under the turning wheels of that demon golf cart, driven by another demon, Prince Paul who was chauffeuring grandpa to the spa. Pepe loved to sleep in the sun. Or if it was hot, under grandpa's car on the concrete where it is nice and cool. He never went near the golf cart, unless of course, Chica, his longed for paramour happened to try to evade him and run under the cart. Well, long story short, Pepe for whatever reason, decided to sleep with his head UNDER the rear wheel of his master's golf cart...laying out in the afternoon sun, lazing away another day of eat, sleep, bark at nothing and poop. Ah, the life of a dog. I know there was something wrong with the dog. He would stand for hours standing still, looking out into space, no expression on his little apple face. I think it was old pooch dementia or doggie Alzheimers. Poor thing. Well, for whatever reason, and we shall never know, Pepe lay down with his head, as I explained above, just under the left wheel. The Prince and grandpa always go to the pool and hot tub around 2. They got in the golf cart, put it into reverse and the Prince swears he didn't even give it the gas...they felt something drag, and thought it was the breaks hanging up. They kept going and felt something again. It was then they saw the poor fat little body on the drive. It was quite tragic from my perspective of that day. Grandpa came running into the house yelling that they ran over Pepe and I should "say goodbye". I step outside and the Prince yells at me to go back in the house...I see blood and get all hysterical. I really didn't HATE Pepe, he was a PIA but he was just an old cranky dog. That didn't come when called, sit when asked to, barked at nothing, but was my late mother-in-laws comfort lap dog when she suffered from Alzheimer's herself. It was very sad. After the shock had worn off, it actually was kinda funny. Poor Pepe. Gone, but not forgotten. Grandpa is doing okay, now that a week has past. He talks about getting another dog, but I don't know if he will or won't. He wants an older dog, under ten pounds. Hard to find around here.

Finally the elections are over. I am glad of the outcome. America needed a change, and let's all pray that President Obama can get things back on track. I am a bit tired of Sarah Palin, aka Yukon Barbie, but that is just me. Her voice grates on my nerves. Yanno? Hehehe.

I won the contest at the park Halloween Party...can you see why? I scared the crap outta a couple of folks. It was fun. Too bad I didn't get better pictures, but the Prince is no Ansel Adams if you know what I mean! Can you believe that even with a white face of makeup and hair covering my face somewhat, my face still looks FAT? I hate it.

Here are a few pix of some cupcakes I had done...they were just leftovers from a cake I had made and fozen. I think I overbaked them a bit, as although the cake was really tasty it was a bit on the dry side...its called White Sour Cream Almond...oh, so good! My favorite cake is the Barefoot Contessa's Chocolate cake. OH MY...sour cream, buttermilk, tons of cocoa and butter. Delish.

Sorry the images are so blurry...but I was in a hurry...the roses were crappy looking anyways. I am getting better with practice tho!

Well, I guess I should get up off my tush and accomplish something today. The weather stinks, a new front coming in and it is cool and rainy right now. Has been not to warm and sunny the last few weeks. Winter Texans continue to make their way south the the valley and the place is once again filling up with ENGLISH speaking people. LOL! More activities, dancing and music jams on the horizon. Thank goodness...it was so boring here!

later

dennise

2008-10-31T08:19:00.005-05:00

Cake, Cake and ick, more CAKE!

Well, I have graduated from Course I of the Wilton Cake decorating Universe...I say this because Wilton is the only name out there, they have NO competition per se, and their prices are really really ridiculously expensive...but they own the market.

Here is last week's cake... the class was doing those freaking clown figures...they really gross me out so I just practiced the flowers and shell borders. This is all you get to see...

I bought the pastel colors before class so I could experiment. I don't like the bright colors, they are really tacky. (OMG, you should have seen the clowns my classmates made...I shoulda brought the camera...good thing I don't have a clown phobia anymore, I would have had some kinda nightmares after seeing what I saw!) The pix don't do it justice...and of course, I took the side of the cake I started on...the flowers got better on the other side after I got the hang of it...

This week was as I said, graduation. Plus, we learned flowers. Roses. Yep. I suck at roses. You will be able to see it in the pictures below. The girls who produced those fugly clowns in bizzare colorscapes made beautiful roses...in vivid purple, navy (yes navy!) blue and RED...blood red. They were gaudy, but they were ROSES...unlike moi's pitiful cabbage like globs of buttercream. *Sigh*. I have downloaded a couple of videos so I can practice. I am not in despair however...I just signed up for Course II...that is all flowers! Yeah! I can feel foolish for another month! Class starts Tuesday so I have little time to get up to par on those roses.

Here's a pix of my pathetic roses and final cake....This was a 9" two layer banana walnut cake per the Prince's request, made with cream cheese buttercream

Those are little "dots" on the side of the cake...in a pretty light green, but I didn't take my time, we had like 5 minutes left in class when I started them, so they are a bit off and not uniform. And, the cake does list a bit to one side...hmmm. Prince perfect pointed this out to me RIGHT away...plus I guess I missed part of one edge...well, all I can say is PRACTICE is in my future!

Not much else going on here in the RGV...we have a Halloween party tonight...I will make sure I get pictures of me and my costume...I am going as a ghost...

More tomorrow

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-18T11:42:00.007-05:00

Saturday

Still not a lot going on here in the Valley. I did my first cake at my cake decorating class on Thursday. Here are some pictures.

The mistake I made was to make the nose pink...the one pix I have shows yellow(?) but should have done it black. It was a fun class...all the gal in it are Hispanic and they all slip back into Tex Mex when talking...kinda funny after a while...maybe I can learn Tex Mex at class!

Gave Mack a bath this morning...his front leg fur is still not growing in from his disastrous walk with Paul when leaving the keys. He looks a bit odd...but he is still a cutie. I just sent some pictures out on email, so here are some more.

It's hard to get him to stay still for a photo, so they might be a bit blurry.

Not doing anything this weekend, although I did want to go to Padre Island for the Sand Castle competition. Oh well.

hugs

dee

2008-10-13T18:36:00.003-05:00

OK, I hear all of you...here I am. Sorry. I have not been the most sociable or nicest person to be around lately. Guess I am still pouting about having to go back to Texas. Call me spoiled, insensitive, or just a bitch, but I didn't want to LIVE in TEXAS the rest of my life! I prefer just to spend a couple of months...like January and February max...Being in the Rio Grande Valley from April to Nov is like being in MEXICO...English is the second language. Oh well, I will quit my complaining.(

Not much happening around here. I am taking a cake decorating class at the Mcallen Michael's. Boy, is this one expensive little hobby! I have always enjoyed doing the gingerbread houses, and have tried once or twice to decorate a birthday cake...not terrible but certainly not inspired by any stretch. I just purchased supplies...we do our first cake on Thursday...and I am over $100! Of course, I did have all kinds of decorating supplies in Rochester...where they wound up, I can't say...somebody prolly paid Paul a buck for all of it...he was quit the flim flam man when it came to MY stuff.

Zack is doing fine...complaining about all the homework he has to grade. That'll teach him to give journal assignments every week(like 80 journals to read and comment on....!) and those quick little 25 essay question "POP" quizzes! LOL...it is really amusing to find that he really does have to work to keep up....too funny.

Well, nothing else to talk about. I am making a special treat for Zack's birthday that I plan to FedEX next week. I will post pictures soon. Mac is recovering from a bad landing after jumping down from grandpa's lap on Saturday...stupid dog thinks he can fly...or is underdog. He hurt his right back leg and gimps around on three paws...he still can fly around the house with amazing speed for only three legs the stinker. He was caught red handed pulling out a whole room sized runner/thread of carpet...you know how Berber pulls....he is always on the lookout for a piece of tuft to be sticking up. So far I have kept ahead of him with the scissors, nipping the threads before he finds them. Guess I missed one.

hugs

Dennise

2008-09-21T09:07:00.002-05:00

We left Key West, Thursday September 19, 2008 at 9:05 a.m. It was the end of what could have been an ideal workampers position. It is not that we wanted to go, nor were we asked to go…we left because poor Paulie wasn’t able to keep up with the job requirements. *Sigh*. Nothing to do but admit we had erred in thinking general maintenance would not include climbing trees, fixing automated sprinkler systems and learning the art of Japanese gardening. Perhaps we erred in not asking more specific questions although I had listed them carefully, and when asked about the physicality of the maintenance position, some things were not clearly defined. Paul feels terrible. His replacement shoulders were shot after just two days on the job. He was expected to cut palm fronds with an implement that was heavy and had to be held above his head. You all know Paul cannot lift his arms past his shoulders due to the severity of his shoulder impairments. He pulled dead plants for four hours in heat of over 95 degrees and 95% humidity. He was lost when the other workamper disassembled a professional grade refrigerator in one of the million dollar lots, cleaned and repaired it and put it back together again. He was flummoxed when the other workamper revamped the tubing in an automatic watering system in another million dollar lot. Nope. This was not a job for Paulie! For the first time, I was confident my part was a snap…checking emails, responding to inquiries, making reservations and keeping the accounts all on a kool pc program called Campground Master. We were provided free wifi, a cell phone and even the laptop. The 13 sites were privately owned and managed by our boss. We were here as on site assistants, so we were parked on a $500,000 site with lush tropical landscaping, a Tiki Hut and lanai with an outdoor kitchen, and our own private dock on the canal. It truly was paradise IMNSHO! I really was crushed when we had to decline the position. How can I fault Paul…never once did he ever voice impatience with me when I had problems (with cleaning the bathrooms in Branson mostly…not hard, but difficult for me with fibro…).

We drove back up north through the beautiful Keys, stopping at a sandal and t shirt factory in Islamorada. While I was looking for bargains (which was a joke…some discounts…$20 per shirt and $149 Berkies) Paul took both puppies for a walk. Pepe was fine. Mack walked into some kind of “plant eating puppy” plants and in seconds, he was covered with stickers, burrs and some exotic things that wrapped around his legs and clambered up his chest onto his face, neck and ears. Poor Baby! I walk into the rig and there is my baby just crying. I look at Paul and ask WTF? OK, he bellows, I made a mistake. I swear after dropping the poor baby on his head, letting him fall off the table and other misdeeds, I told him he must leave my baby alone! He is a hazard to Mack’s health!

For the next hour I tried to get out all this sticker things. Mack’s fur is soft and these suckers wouldn’t budge. Out came the scissors and whack, whack there goes my baby’s pretty little fur coat! He looks like an escapee from a puppy prison! I had to clip almost all the fur off those lil’ chicken legs. He looks pathetic…but, it will grow back!

We stopped Thursday afternoon in Naples, just down the road from the place we stayed in two years ago…at a place called Kountry Kamping…an older park with older seasonal rigs that were not gosh-awful but will be soon. Off season, it was $3l per night (!) in season….$65! Jeesh! Pricey here in Naples…but I LOVE Naples…it is so clean and well kept…well maintained landscaping and buildings…I am sure there is a slummy part, but I haven’t found it so far!
We slept in on Friday, and Paulie and I went out, grandpa wanting to stay in the park. We were walking through the Tin Can Mall, my phone rings and grandpa tells me that my puppy LOVES the pool! He took my little puppy to the pool and threw him in!!!! I told him through gritted teeth I think, that if anything happened to my puppy he’d better start hitch hiking back to the RGV!

While shopping I found the deal of the century….SILK Capri’s and SILK tops (all washable silks BTW) on sale, marked down from $70 to $15 each. I could only buy one pair of bright lime green Capri’s and one kinda celadon top. Wow…I wish I would wear a size 4…I could have gotten a new wardrobe for under a $100 bucks! And NICE stuff…I told Paulie I couldn’t find this kinda deal at Wally World…Capri’s and top for $30! He just stared at me…and the sales clerk then castigated him to my utter delight…she told him I was a bargain shopper and just hit the jackpot. Riiiigggghhhht. LOL!

Later in the car going home, we had an argument to beat all arguments…for those of you who know us…arguing with Paul is my favorite past time…he gets so flustered when I nail him with facts that he sputters stupid words in order to refute me. Silly man. Anyways, this was a corker. We finally stopped to grab a bite to eat at, what else, Taco Bell. Local delite abound in Naples and I hafta eat fake tacos? Arrrgggh! We finally get home and I have a headache and a tummy ache from the tacos so I lay down for a while. We just spent the evening watching TV…

Saturday
We slept in again after deciding to stay at KK for another night. I wrote my new article for Bella, did some emailing and started to update the blog. Paul wanted to have lunch/early dinner at a local place called Cracklin' Jacks. Grandpa had fried oysters, Paul had fried catfish, and I had fresh fried grouper. Oh my. Very good. I ended my meal with a slice of homemade Key Lime pie...not too sweet, not too tart...icky plastic whip cream...what's up with food service places lately. The whipped cream is "stabilized" now...it is like marshmallow fluff mixed with Cool Whip...its really disgusting! Give me the can of Ready Whip and I am happy. Ugh...I never order anything with whip cream nowadays...even Dairy Queen is using the plastic make believe stuff. And forget about buying a cake in the store bakery. UGH UGH UGH. The butter cream is crisco and marshmallow fluff. Looks beautiful as it stays firm and doesn't melt. However it cannot be DIGESTED either! What happened to bakeries? God I miss Chicago and it's neighborhood bakery shops. A dying figment of my childhood I guess. I am gonna look up how to make real butter cream and start making my own cake. Then I can put raspberry filling in it and pig out to my heart's content...yellow cake, raspberry filling and creamy buttery icing. Ah. The stuff of my dreams!

Sunday
We are now on the road…I75 moving towards the Tampa area. We plan on staying at the SKP park in Bushnell. It is about an hour from Tampa but we may park for several days there. Grandpa is flying out of Tampa around 11 am tomorrow, Monday. I hate to say this, but I am glad it will be just the two of us again…there is too much tension with him around. Paulie waits on him hand and foot…he seems to want to make him an invalid and the old fart is far from that stage. He drinks beer and smokes cigars daily…he’s NOT an invalid! He is a bit demanding also. Well, I won’t burden you all with my complaining…I am just about done with taking care of old people…its been over 8 years since grandma got bad and it has been a LONG 8 years. Thank goodness I have three sisters to help with my mom. We had just ourselves to care for Paul’s folks. Oh well.

So, that’s it up to now. Paul is very down on himself for throwing in the towel. I told him to grow up and deal with it…and he better get his ass to the doctor…those replacement shoulders should NOT be a source of agony for him…that’s why I thought he had surgery…to relieve the pain!

hugs to all

dee

2008-09-15T07:52:00.003-05:00

Here are some photos of the site...I just snapped a few shots last night before we lost the sun...this is the front of the lot looking out towards the bay(Sugarloaf) . The grassy area is the "people park" and just down the street is the puppy park. Quite a lovely view.

The third shot is of the side of the rig looking towards the Tiki Hut. Paul and Gene having a beer. The last shot is Gene fishing...caught nothing but a lot of fish stories.

Tune back in later...more pics I promise.

dee

2008-09-11T19:29:00.003-05:00

Oh boy...it's Thursday already! We arrived at Blue Water Key RV Resort yesterday around 4. A incredibly long day I might add!

Here's a brief recap since I last posted on Saturday.

Sunday...Paul had made contact with Tommy, his friend from St. Louis who had been living in New Orleans. We would stop outside Slidell, north of NO and visit with Tom and Sue at their retirement/lake home near Picayne, Ms. They have had the lake house for a while, but are now living there after selling their house in Gretna, a suburb of NO. We found a nice campground SunValley RV Park, and got settled around 4. Both Paul and I showered and off we went, GPS in hand to find the lake house. We arrived and had a nice visit and Sue, a fabulous cook made a to-die-for(!) meatloaf dinner with buttered noodles, broccoli and brownies for dessert! It was heaven after two days of junk food on the road. Such great folks. We will stop by again on our way back who knows when, LOL!

Monday....We all slept in!!! It was ten by the time we were up and about. We were packed up and on the road by 11 am, heading towards Alabama and the panhandle of Florida. I was getting a bit snarky like I always do when relegated to the back of the rig...the old man had planted his boney arse in the co-pilot's seat and refused to give it up. Cripes, I thought that his freakin' back hurt and the sofa and chair were "best" for him. Fibber. Paul insisted on driving and he and I had words several times. He just doesn't get it. If one is not sleeping on the sofa, there is little to do or see in the back I don't mind spending my share of the time in the back mind you...I just wish there was a reciprocal attitude yanno? I had mentioned to the old fart that I wanted to drive and he was quite serious when he said he didn't WANT me to drive...he would be uncomfortable. You know my answer to that...I won't post it here but it was not nice and had a few cursy type words in it. We decided to try to get to Ft Lauderdale as there were a couple of campgrounds there. Unfortunately we were on the FL turnpike and the campgrounds were off I95. It is now getting dark, I can't read the jumbled up mess of a map for the Miami area to find anything and the FL state map is just as bad. Grrrrr. The gps is useless finding a campgound by the way...We finally find the campground and get settled in around 8:30. Again, Paul pushes the envelope and along with it, my nerves.

Tuesday...We hit the ground running from Ft. Lauderdale and continue to head south. The winds that are leftover from Ike are starting to get stronger. We finally get out of the lovebug infestation we've been traveling in for the last thousand miles or so...since outside of Houston, actually. Gosh those things are disgusting. Ick. Ick and Ick again! Paulie's arms are killing him from cleaning the windshield.

The drive on US 1 is quite nice. The water is a aqua tone that is really neat. We are in touch with Rita, the Site Administrator and she tells us to stop in Marathon if we want groceries. We do and then top off the tank with some diesel...only $4.59 a gallon here in the Keys! The cheapest fuel we found was $3.89 at Flying J somewhere in the Gulf Shores area. We finally pull into the Resort and get set up. We are in Site 3, one of the rentals. We would normally be in Site one, which is the workampers site, but our other workers are there. Rita takes us around for a quick tour...she has two golf carts that are in great condition! What a pleasure...

I was very tired and I went to bed around 9 pm. Paul would be working with the gardener, Javier from Bolivia on Thursday. I will just recoup til Friday when I will begin training. I'll be getting trained on Campmaster so it should be fun.

Well, that's about all. I didn't take pictures of the park yet...I'll try to get my arse out there tomorrow. Oh, we did take a ride into Key West around 4 this afternoon. Same old laid back place, but pretty deserted still...lots of shops and places shut down for the evacuation from over the weekend. Glad we are not in Corpus Christi this week!

later

dee

2008-09-06T21:07:00.002-05:00

Saturday update...

We are currently at the Paradise Cove Rv "resort". I am not sure why this place is called a resort. It is mostly seasonal or permanent residents it looks like...no amenities to speak of other than a three tub wash-it-eria. I am such a snarky person when I am tired, LOL!

We are about 20 miles out of Houston. We left Weslaco at 12:45 p.m. this afternoon. We made one stop in Odem for a quick "lunch" at a Subway around 3. This way we won't have to do dinner...we can just do snacks.

We are tracking Ike...it now appears that the storm has weakened somewhat, but according to most of the weather stuff we watched, Ike is still scheduled to hit the Keys. We will check the weather channel as we continue our trek around the Gulf.

The kids were so-so on our first leg. Pepe still thinks all the food and water is his and gets really ugly with both Mack and Snickers when they want a nibble or a sip. Since he bit me yesterday, I have been a tad po'd at him so my sympathies for him have diminished greatly. He bites me one more time, it is curtains for the little SOB. He will find himself living at the first rest stop we come to...and I'll tell grandpa he was last seen running from a giant armadillo.

I am not sure how far we will venture tomorrow. We will probably be up and about by 8 and on the road soon thereafter. I have a "hankering" for some eggs and bacon with biscuits and grits, but I need to convince the two gomers that we should do this...they tend to gobble those doughy bagels...too many carbs for my taste....the biscuits are carb heavy also, but hey, ya gotta eat, right?

Well, I have had a long day...I am trying so very very hard to be kind...you know this traveling situation is certainly NOT my idea of an fulfilling experience. However, Paul was quite firm that he would not go with out his dad. Grrrrr. I will say no more.

hugs to everyone...
more soon...
dee

2008-09-04T16:48:00.004-05:00

Here are some photos of Gulfwaters RV park. We stayed here over the holiday. It is right on the Gulf coast shore...over the sand dunes is the water. Nice place...a bit pricey, but very very nice!

The view from our rented lot...next door was identical to ours...

Nice little ponds dot the park...no fishing but there are loads of catfish and carp in them....

Looking back towards the dunes...this is a new section of the park...unsold lots so there is little to no landscaping.

A beautiful sunset...

hugs
dee

2008-09-04T16:27:00.005-05:00

Update:

We have accepted the position in the Keys and we leave for Florida on Saturday morning. Grandpa will be going with us. So will Pepe. So will Snickers. Three animals, and three adults in a motorhome is somehow not such a pleasant thought. But, we will have to manage somehow. Once we get to the Keys, our new boss told us we can put Grandpa in her ToyHauler travel trailer. But, he can't take Pepe with him. And he can't smoke cigars. Maybe I will take the toyhauler!!!!

We will keep in touch with the boss regularly as the severity of hurricane Ike won't be known until Saturday or Sunday...the path is still up in the air. So we have to plan accordingly. We will have a lease copy and a utility bill for one of the lots in Bluewater Key so the authorities will let us continue down, if there is any problems due to the hurricane. We will meet in the Tampa area at a campground if the Keys are evacuated.

We really hadn't unloaded a lot from the rig, which is a good thing for us now! All we need to do is get the clothes we need, a few staples that we had brought in earlier like cereal and coffee/tea. We are going to keep the amount of clothes to a minium...when we packed for Branson I think we went overboard.

Here is a new picture of Mac...

Here is him getting a bath while we were in Corpus Christi and...looks like a skinny little poodle to me!

His ears are the only thing that is like the Yorkie...he has longer legs and the longer nose of the poodle. He really is a cutie, but oh my gosh he is such a stinker! He runs around the house like his butt is on fire! He just tortures that fat little Pepe...who I think has doggie Alzheimer's...he will stand and look at nothing for literally hours. He can't get up or down the stairs due to his enormous weight and skinny legs that can't hold up the beef...*sigh*.

We will keep you posted on the road if we can get a good signal from the aircard.

hugs

dennise

2008-09-02T21:15:00.002-05:00

Pictures coming soon...promise.

Now, breaking news and headlines.

We may be on our way to Key West by Saturday. For those who may not have been privy to what's happening in our neck of the woods, here's a quick synopsis...

On Wednesday while on our way to Port Aransas, we received a call from a woman in Key West...Sugar Loaf Bay, about 10 miles from Key West, actually. She had read our resume on Workamper and offered us a position for workamping. Yes. Workamping in KEY WEST! A workampers dream job! We would be one of three couples...we would be in training until Dec 15th. Next year the months we would work would be determined. The current workamper couple prefers to work the summer...the new couple just hired is doing Dec thru April 15th for this year. So we would be looking at either Sept thru Dec OR Dec thru April next year. I guess it all depends on if this couple works out (they are from Canada) and if we like it. We may alternate or whatever.

The park is called Bluewater Key RV resort and the lots are individually owned. This gal owns 13 lots and 4 rental houses. She rents the RV and houses out...the winter of Dec thru March brings in about 5 grand per lot. And we would get one of the lots , waterfront on the canal, with tiki hut and private dock for workamping 20 hours each a week. Woh. Boy. A million dollar lot for four months in Key West. No brainer from my perspective. Grandpa can come down and visit anytime. He can fish on the pier all day if he likes! I would be doing reservations, phone, computer work and handle the money. Paul would prepare sites before arrival and cleanup after...plus pick up some palm fronds if necessary. Get the folks parked and be a "presence" for the owner. The summer time is when most of the upkeep work is done...piers worked on and stained, sites/tiki huts/furniture power washed and stuff like that. There is a gardener who does property upkeep weekly, but the weeds are prolific and would need to be sprayed daily. It's like I am making this up! Really! Sounds perfect to me. We are waiting until tomorrow a.m. after talking to the two longer term workampers to make our decision. Sounds like a go to me, if they tell us the job is ideal. The only thing that would make me wonder is if this gal was a PIA...and she sounds very professional and up front to me.

So...I will post more about our conversation with the workers tomorrow and upload the new pictures. It was great here in Port Aransas...will write more about that too.

hugs
dee

2008-08-30T00:09:00.002-05:00

Wow, another week has passed and I haven't been posting. Shame on me!

Right now we are at Gulf Waters RV resort in Port Aransas, Texas. We are here for a bit of a break and to get Paulie to his VA appointment of Tuesday. Of course, we are here just as Hurricane Gustav is roaring towards land...they just don't know where he's headed yet.

We did a quick tour of Rockport Texas today. Nice little town, not a whole lot to see or do.
We had dinner last night at a local hangout called Doc's. Paulie had fried shrimp and I had the seafood platter....crab cake (oh my! it was wonderful...) shrimp and talapia. I was in heaven...crab cakes are a real fav of mine. The shrimp were also delish, but I was stuffed and didn't get a chance to sample the talapia. Oh well...leftovers are good!

I will take some photos of the RV resorts and the landscape tomorrow. I was busy all evening getting my new article up at Bella. I had no problem writing...it's getting the thing uploaded with the correct html coding I have a problem with. Argh. It took me almost an hour to get a pix of the book I was reviewing up on the site! I've lost whatever memory of creating html for my other web sites long ago!

Well, off to bed...it's after midnight and I should'a turned into a pumpkin long ago!

hugs

dee

2008-08-22T14:19:00.004-05:00

I have created a monster...

Of course, it's my fault. Monday night, Mack started barfing...again. He barfed all night. By Tuesday morning, he was dehydrated and listless. Round two of this in the 6 weeks we have had him...I fussed over him most of the morning and he just slept, not eating, not drinking. Deja vu all over again! Finally, Paulie said lets go to the vet, so off we go to the puppy doc. A stool sample is taken, his temp was 101...now I have no idea what a dog's temperature at normal is, so I certainly didn't have a clue what an elevated temp was! Tight lipped Tech said nothing of course. Doc comes in looks at Mack...feels his tummy, checks his eyes, etc. Gives Mack a shot of anti-nausea stuff. Fecal test comes back negative for bacteria. Doc says he thinks puppy ate something outside that upset his tummy. If it can't run away from Mack, he will try to eat it yanno. Except what's in his food dish...finicky little pest. I wouldn't doubt that he ate ants or licked up some bird doodoo. Stinker. OK, that little trip cost $60.

Wednesday...armed with a fresh bottle of Pedialite and a dropper full of anti-barf meds, the Prince and I are ready to tackle whatever the day offered. Again, Mack refused all food and water...so we force the Pedialite and meds into him. Mack is a nasty little shit when he is pissed off, I might add. Those cute little teeth have sharp edges that can draw blood, if you know what I mean! And growl...geesh....got my attention! Later that evening, almost 11 p.m., he did eat some steak...yes, there, I said it....steak. We had steak for dinner, and I, overprotective mom to this little beast, becomes terrified that my lil' muffin will not make it thru the night...feed him tiny bits of steak. He's now got me right where he wants me. I don't realize this at the time...I just want him to eat and drink!

Thursday...still a holdout, Mack starts to become listless...and just wants to sleep. Grrrr. Force feeding him more Pedialite I offer him steak. No deal. I offer him the Lamb and Rice stuff we use for training treats. No deal. I offer him chicken breast. Again, his little nose is up in the air and he refuses. The Prince scrambles him an egg. He will eat little tiny bits, but only off my fingers. OK. More meds and Pedialite are in this little stinkers future. We needed to get the rig to McAllen for service, so we pack up the little stinker and hook up the car...of we go. He continues to sleep, very listless, but I know he is not dehydrated since I keep shooting him down the throat with Pedialite which he really hates. After dropping off the rig, the Prince took me to Barnes and Noble so I could browse the books and magazines and have my fav Cafe Americano with SF vanilla. While I was in the book store, the Prince treated himself to a Ben and Jerry's Ice cream cone which he shared with the bowser. Guess the sugar in the ice cream woke up the taste buds. After a nice walk near the new convention center, they came back to pick me up. From the bookstore, we visited a local palm tree nursery...we lost our Queen palm in the hurricane and I wanted to get a studier variety for the same spot. The one I want is called a Canary Island Palm. You can see a picture here...
http://www.paradisepalmco.com/product/Canary+Island+Date+Palm

Ok, after the guy told us he'd bring some palms in next week, we went to find a restaurant we had heard about in LeJoya. Supposedly, it is in a residential area with a lake and the dining terrace is out on the water. We found it and went in. I couldn't leave the baby in the car, so we sat out on the deck/terrace. The barmaid spotted Mack and it was love at first sight! She said no problem to him staying in his "puppy purse"...then she brings him a slice of chicken breast lunch meat, which he proceeded to devour in record time! What a stinker! Here I am telling the girl that my poor puppy is sick and won't eat anything then eats this fake pressed chicken...I had offered him chicken breast at home! Grrrrr. We had a great dinner...I had a huge grilled salmon steak on a bed of fresh spinach. All I wanted was the salmon, so I brought home the spinach salad for grandpa. The Prince had a quesidilla and a margarita...I was good and had a diet coke.

So, how have I created a monster you may ask? Well, this morning...Mack was listless and sleepy even after a trip and walk outside. I tried the leftover chicken roll from the restaurant which he turned his nose up to! Grrrr again! So, instead of going thru the whole gambit of leftovers, I get a piece of baked ham and dice it up nice and small. This he ate with relish...but ONLY from my fingers. I tell the Prince and he says...I have ruined the dog. He will now only eat people food and only if I hand feed him. Part of me is angry and thinks I will do anything I can to get the little stinker to eat! Now if this scenario was someone else's problem...I prolly say, put the puppy food down and if he doesn't eat, he doesn't eat right? He'll eat when he's hungry right? Well, since he is only a whopping two pounds, this is more difficult than it seems. He gets that limp, listless sleepy stuff which is a sign of dehydration and hypoglycemia. What's a puppy mom supposed to do? I know the trainer at class tomorrow is gonna tell me I blew it...as the Prince already told me. *Sigh*. Never had this problem with other dogs we've had...they were all chow hounds to the max. This little booger exhibits anti-normal doggie instincts...figured I get a finicky little stinker that drives me nuts. Altho he is the cutest lil' puppy on the planet...he is also too smart for his won good! Has me figured out...hold out til he gets something
new and exciting!

And I have no one but myself to blame.

hugs
dennise

2008-08-15T11:41:00.013-05:00

You are all probably wondering what has become of us since we arrived in Texas. Well, my battle with a weeks long Meniere's attack continues. I am not sure if this is the last hurrah for the bad ear or evil bodes ill for my good ear. The heat has been unbearable...for me anyways. All the permanent residents complain but go about their business.

The week we arrived, which was just after the hurricane, Uncle Ben was hospitalized for heart irregularities...both he and grandpa were probably doing what they shouldn't be doing...like climbing on roofs and picking up debris. Anyway, the heart doc said Uncle Ben needed surgery...stints. Then they said he needed open heart surgery and valves replaced. Ben has a history of heart problems especially with the aorta area and he was almost not allowed to have his knee replaced last year. Well, surgery was set for Wednesday July 30th. He was scheduled for 6 am. His oldest daughter Maryann arrived on Tuesday, and visited with her dad that night and then again Wednesday morning after Ben's surgery was delayed due to an emergency. After 8 hours of trying to save him, the doctors let him go. His heart was just not repairable. Each patch or sewn area would spring additional leaks...the doctor said around 200 leaks. He and the other doc had finished the surgery within two hours, but spent 6 hours repairing the leaks. They could not stop them. We are all very sad that Ben is gone. He was such a part of our lives down here, and Paul has so many memories of his childhood of Ben taking him fishing and camping. He will be sadly missed. Of course, his daughter were devastated, and his special lady friend Bev is heartbroken. Bev went to St. Louis with Maryann for the funeral. We had his memorial in the park on Wednesday. It was very nice and even tho there are few full time residents here right now, over 70 people attended. Ben was a Pearl Harbor survivor, a working man who adored his wife and daughters. Ben's wife Cecelia was Paul's aunt, sister to his late mom, Katherine.

I have a few pix to post. As I said early on, this has not been a very good time here in Weslaco for us. I am frustrated with my relapse, but think that perhaps the stress of the situation with grandpa and the hurricane and then Ben's death affected me more than I had thought.

Here is what the front of the rig looked like after we hit miles and miles of some icky sticky moths that were swarming after the hurricane along the gulf coast.

Mack's favorite traveling position....

We were getting ready to move out and he was terrified of the diesel noise...poor little guy...

Finally Mack gets used to grandpa's house....

Some skinny puppy gets a bath...but then he is dry and fluffy again!

There's peace in the kingdom...at least for the moment...

When Mack rests...Pepe and Snickers get a break...the little guy terrorizes them constantly. Hmmm, both getting payback in the scheme I life I figure!

More later.

Dennise

2008-07-28T19:05:00.002-05:00

We have arrived...
We arrived in Weslaco around 4:30 p.m. The area does show the destruction, missing roofs, trees uprooted and debris all over the place. Guttering, pieces of roofing, awnings and the like littered the sides along the roadway. All the trees now lean in the direction where the winds blew in through the area. Very strange looking too.

Grandpa seems to be better since we are here. I think he was really scared to go through this himself. Of course, getting up on the roof in the storm was a bit foolish, which he readily admits. I am thinking we may be here for a long long time as he is just not as he used to be. Of course, we have to look at the fact that he is gonna be 92 years old. I don't think that he wants to drive anymore. He must have had a close call recently that he is not telling us about. The inside of the house if fine...the cleaning ladies must have been here before the storm hit. The outside is a wreak, the grass is like a jungle and everything is overgrown. We will get it in shape. I think he was greatly affected by not having electricity in this terrible heat, and the water was also off. We now have both and we now have the air going. The days are quite hot...in the high 90's but when the sun goes down, there is a nice breeze and it cools down a bit. It would be unbearable without the breeze.

Mack was fine once we got on the road, he mostly slept which is good. He would only eat if Mom hand fed him the little stinker. He did sleep on my shoulder alot while in motion. Maybe he felt safe up there. I have some pictures I will post hopefully tomorrow and will get some of the area if I can. I was useless today...I think the pressure to get here and the stress of what we would find made me a bit wound up. This of course makes a stressor for me and you know what happens then, LOL!

This has put a new spin on our plans for the holidays. I talked to Zack and I think he would rather come here for Christmas so we will look into that.

Well, that's about it for now. I will continue to update as we get things in order.
Hugs,

dennise
in hot, hot Weslaco!

2008-07-26T12:44:00.002-05:00

Saturday 12:45 pm.

We are almost to Intersate 430 which will meet with I30 and get us into Texarkana, Tx. Sounds good, but then think about it... its a looonnnggg way from the top of Texas to the bottom. I think this route will take us through Houston and down along the coast to Corpus Christi. Suits me fine...seafood on the way home, YES!!

We will probably have a long day driving today...we have this feeling we are needed asap. Left Branson about 8:45. Took the Arkansas Senic Highway which took us through some beautiful awesome landscape. Rough on the Prince who had his hands full taking the curves and no guard rail narrow highway. Really spectacular views from them thar hills. LOL! I wanted to stop at Booger Gap, but by this time, the Prince had a pained expression on his face, and I could see the grip on the wheel was a bit tight. Obviously, the Prince was not enjoying this particular scenic road!

Our little guy Mack was absolutely terrified of all the new sounds...he shook for two hours it seemed like! He did sleep after I calmed him down little bit, poor baby. We stopped for a potty break and he went four times.

Well, that's about all I can report at this point, but will keep you posted on our progress and what we find.
hugs
dennise

2008-07-26T07:06:00.002-05:00

Quick update...
Due to the Hurricane down home in Texas, we have left the workamping job two weeks early, and will resign the other gig before we even start. Grandpa is not handling this storm well, which is quite understandable. No electricty yet, water just turned back on. Bev called us from the park and was very concerned. His "color" is bad, and he is staggering a bit when he walks. There is no air conditioning and he was caught up on the roof removing debris and tree limbs. Old fart! And to make matters worse, his cell phone somehow got "fried". Now he can't even call us! His brother in law is now in the hospital with heart irregularities for doing similar stuff and the heat. Grrrr.

We will leave Branson this morning, Saturday and it is about 1000 miles or about 16 hours of driving. I hope we don't try to drive straight thru, I am unsure that I can drive at all now. This constant vertigo forbids me to do that.

I will keep in touch as we progress.

hugs,

dennise

2008-07-25T07:27:00.003-05:00

Sorry about not getting my new video up...I have been unable to use the park wifi for some unknown reason. Everyone else can, but me, the closest to the repeater, continually gets "local access only" (should read local and internet access) or a one bar signal which is truly useless.

I am trying again today...

welllll...again I am getting errors, grrrr, sorry! Foiled....again....!

I have been working hard at my new Editor job at Bella. I have to finish the training course by 7/29 I guess. There are numerous courses that I have to complete, each one has a quiz. The last several are very time consuming. Either I a truly a dork, or I just don't get some of the "webmaster" duties I must do. Frustrating to say the least. I did get two articles posted...one I must edit to get the link done correctly...after I posted the article I continued to read the last of the editor "must do's" and "must nots" and lo and behold...we are not supposed to do links just yet. Ooopsie.

I have also spent tons of time creating an Amazon shopping site. I can later add this to my site. I will be discussing most of the stuff I am listing. RV books, kitchen appliances I can't live without, and even some camping gear I would like to have if I don't have it already! I would love to be able to get this kinda stuff free to test and do a review of. I just read about a guy in Australia who gets free cars to test and review...there was an estimate that his blog's "worth" is over $5 million. I can just wish can't I?

I just saw the most ridiculous TV commercial by the McCain camp...they talk about high gas prices and how tough the economy is and they then show a picture of Obama and infer that it is his fault. Too funny. Sad thing is, they really believe that! Hmmm. Wonder about their inability to actually tell the truth. Obama caused the rise in oil prices. Yeah, well, OK. 'Nough about campains...I am sick to death of the crap on tv here in MO too...ugly stuff.

We are off today and would like to go see a show. It's called Noah the Musical and it is supposed to be incredible. The stage is u-shaped and there are supposedly real animals along with animatronic's. Then the Prince wants to see Shoshi...I have no need to see him, but I guess I'll tag along. It is very hot and veeerrrry humid here. Just like I remember our last week of July summer vacations in Osage Beach. Somehow being in the pool with the gang from Chicago sipping on some exotic frozen drink made it feel much much cooler! I miss those weeks, although I don't wish having to wait all year while working to get to that last week in July! Retirement is so much more enjoyable. I miss my friends at work but absolutely nothing else.

Well, have another article or 10 to write...gotta get ahead so I can then do some more research to do future articles!

hugs

dennise

2008-07-22T21:06:00.009-05:00

Good grief....

I haven't posted since last Wednesday! Well, I have an excuse, LOL!

I've been in the middle of a Meniere's attack. Wow, they are so very different now. No more barfing and vertigo. My attacks are milder yes, but still last several days. Terrible dizzies, headache, tiredness, nausea. I keep walking into things in the rig! Back to the quad cane alas! I shall survive! Bad thought...maybe this is the beginning of the left ear going...crap.

I am not going to write alot today, just post some pictures the Polish Prince took of the new little Princelet.

We had this visitor on our car, and he managed to stay aboard until we got back after an afternoon of shopping and errands!

Pretty cool looking dude eh? I did not take these pictures...as you all know, I don't get near buggy creatures or any creatures that are not domecticated like dogs and cats.

I have another video to add but can't get a strong enought wifi signal with the rain we are getting, so check back later and it may be here.

hugs

dennise

2008-07-16T21:39:00.002-05:00

The Mack Attack takes a tumble....

I awoke this morning and Mack was eating something off my pillow. He had been outside and had a bite to eat before we went back to bed around 5 a.m. I know, I said he would be crate trained, but I know that eventually he will be in bed with us, so I caved. Such a toughie I am.
Anyways, he had barfed and was cleaning up after himself. Ick. So I got up and cleaned up the little area...the food was pretty much undigested and still in the kibble form. His vomiting continued throughout the day, and he never did make #2, except a bit of nasty runny stuff. Of course, I start to worry. He is very sleepy and has slept a lot of the day away...just like his mom. He was just fine this morning after our walk in the dawn, but now he is just blah. So I call the vet, the girls are busy, so I leave my name and number and describe the problem. Meantime, Paulie takes him outside to try to get him to do his #2. He comes back and says...not good watery stool. The vet's office phones and I tell her what is going on and she says bring him in NOW. I am scared to death thinking it's parvo...which although is treatable, usually means the death sentence for such a little guy like Mack. We get to the vet and they take not one, but three stool samples. They stick this little stick up his little bum and OH, I wanted to cry when he just whimpered. He was very weak...he blood sugars had most likely dropped and perhaps he was dehydrated. Doc tells us, no parvo, thank goodness, but he gives him some antibiotics in a shot and something to help him stop vomiting in another. He has more antibiotics for a week...It was really very scary. OH, and I forgot...when Paulie was bringing him in to the rig from that last walk, he squirmed right outta Paul's arms and fell about 5 feet to the ground!! OMG! That poor baby just cried and cried. Of course, Paulie felt terrible and all this on top of the little guy being so sick.

Just like having a kid all over again.

One crisis averted. I am so happy he is OK. We have only had him one week and already the little stinker is giving us heartache!!!!

Back to work tomorrow, early shift...only 4 hours, so I should be OK. Paulie and I will take one last trip over to Treasure Lakes to talk to the concession manager. Then we need to decide if we are gonna workamp (if he is...) or we are just going to find a place to hide out for a couple of months and do some sightseeing...swimming in the pool and maybe Paulie can do some fishing. Works for me!

hugs
dee

2008-07-15T10:12:00.003-05:00

Again I have let the days slip by without posting. I was doing so well, too!

We have been a bit busy with the new puppy. Mack is really developing a personality. He loves the new 3 month old poodle, Sassy that Linda and Al just got. She outweighs him by a pound or so, but he doesn't let his small size deter him from getting in his own "licks". They wrestle pretty strenuously and he has even figured out she's a female and did the obligatory "motion", if you catch my drift. She rolled on her back in submission too. These babies are 3 months and only 6 weeks! Instinct is pretty strong I guess. He is slowly learning not to be so afraid all the time. He still startles at everything though. Miss Snickers is being quite the drama queen. She slapped the lil' guy for nothing the other day. Now Mack is terrified every time he sees her, he cowers away from her. If he is eating all she has to do is sit near him and he totally freaks. Poor baby...not afraid of the other dogs, terrified of Snicker, and let me just say, she knows that she if torturing the poor thing. She is like most kitties, utterly evil deep down and just likes to be superior, LOL!

We went to visit Acorn Acres, another campground here to check out the monthly rates...cheaper than a month at the SKP park by almost 100 dollars and electric is included. That is really significant I think. The workamper positions are for husband/wife teams and each person works 18 hours. We are both "paid" $7 and hour, but then they take out the cost of the site, which is $350 per month. The balance is paid in cash I believe. The manager said that all the earnings could go on either SS# if one of us was disabled. Hmmm, lots of hours for I am not sure if I can work 18 hours, or 6 hours a day three times a week. I have a hard time working the four hour shift sometimes! My back is still giving me problems from the compression fracture and of course my fibro is centered in my whole back, neck and shoulders. Sometimes I have to come home from sitting in the chair at the office for three or four hours and have to immediately take pain pills and lay on the heating pad. Nothing helps and by the time I go to bed and take my skelasken I am again in agony. OK enough sad sack stuff.

We are going over to Treasure Lakes soon so Paulie can meet the lady at the concessions. I am not sure if I am going to work or not. I need to have a chair, but could do like the register I guess. We'll see after we talk to the gal. Will post as soon as we know something. Had a video call with Zack last night. I ordered the Microsoft V5000 from Amazon as they had the best price. Zack has a new Mac notebook, and his video cam is built in. So, I finally got the video stuff downloaded, joined that stupid AOL instant messenger and we actually we talked for about 20 minutes. I held up Mack so he could see him. It was a weird sensation knowing we were on the Internet, seeing each other and talking. I would love to give these cameras to Kathy, Jan, Mom and Grandpa so we could video call all the time...three of the four just wouldn't be able to operate the thing though...Kathy being the only one who could connect! No new pictures to upload today...I missed every Kodak moment yesterday and this morning. I will get a video of Mack following along for his walk. He is just so adorable, he runs, falls down, tumbles over and starts up again.

Well, gotta make some breakfast and then we are out to Treasure Lakes, we both have to work at two. hugs dennise

2008-07-12T17:26:00.006-05:00

I had a early shift today...ugh.

I am not truly comfortable arising in the middle of the night at 6:30 am to shower, get dressed and all the other stuff I can find to do in the early morning light, yanno. It is not in my chemical makeup to get up so darned early. It was harder this morning for some reason.

I apologize for the delay in photos of Mack, but circumstances beyond this poor gal's control...well somewhat beyond my control. We had a vet appointment...needed puppy supplies, have a Chicago dog over at Mickey's Chicago Dogs...stop at the fruit and veggie stand...yanno, important things!

Mack's first day and night was a series of sleeping, waking up in fright, and being startled by each and every noise. Maybe the little guy was only used to the sound of TV cartoons, what was on the TV when we arrived to pick him up on Thursday...I am NOT making this up! He sipped some water, but would not eat much. Paul crated him and put the crate on the dresser. When Mack would whine, Paul would stick a finger in the grate and try to comfort him. I guess he sorta nodded off and was promptly awakened by sharp little needle teeth trying to ch w off his finger. Foolish man. I got up with Mack about 6 and he did his biz on the puppy papers. He did really well on his first day, each time he awoke from his naps, I would put him on the paper. He complied each time! First stage of potty training begun!

Here is a picture of one of the many nappies Mack took....

After we got Mack on Thursday, Linda and Alan, fellow workampers, got another baby to join 5 year old toy poodle. No name as of yet but she is an light apricot, about three months old. She won't get much bigger than her current 3.5 lbs according to the what the breeder told Linda.

Here is a video of Mack and little new itsey bitsey poodle this morning....

They are so cute together. Just after I turned off the camera, Mack got around her and started doing the you know what puppies are apt to do...it was embarrassing, he is only 6 weeks old! Can you believe he knew she was a female and that's what a guy is supposed to do? At 6 months, snip snip!

Here is another video of just Mack

And finally a picture of Mack and his little girlfriend...

Ah, the joy of watching a puppy personality emerge is truly fun. More later, folks.

hugs

dennise

2008-07-10T21:18:00.005-05:00

Mack attack...Puppy is home

Just a quick update and some not-so-good-pictures.

We have started calling him Mack...his full name is Machk which is Native American for "bear".

He doesn't look or act like a Bear...he is so adorable, but Mack fits him. He is startled by some noises...and others he sleeps right through.

I know he looks young, but is now 6 weeks old. As I think I mentioned in another post, the gal we brought him from did not get the puppies any shots, or have them start being wormed. When I called the vet, she asked how old he was and didn't remark on his age. He is so small yet, he doesn't even know when he piddles! I promise more pictures tomorrow and also a short video...today was kinda hectic and scary for him.

hugs,

dennise

2008-07-08T20:40:00.005-05:00

Gosh, here it is Tuesday...time is just flying by!

Good news! Puppy is eating canned doggie food and drinking from a bowl...so at 6 weeks, we can get him! I had emailed the gal and she said it was OK, as I had written that I wanted to get him to the vet ASAP. So Thursday morning we head to Rockaway Beach to pick up the little munchkin. Still no name...lots of suggestions...but, until we get home and have him around for a while, I am not gonna make a decision. I will post new pictures on Thursday.

I just had to go down to the office to turn off the alarm. Paul went down to get something that needs to be at the guard shack and wrote the alarm access code number down wrong. He also blamed me for giving him the wrong number and swears I "looked" at it...(I was typing on the 'puter how could I do that????) but once again, his dyslexia is the culprit and the number was wrong. Of course, I am the problem according to the Prince of Darkness...it's NEVER his fault...he always has an excuse to blame me for everything....This is as close to slapping him as I have gotten in a loooonnnnng time. Enough about potential domestic violence...I have my phone ready to call 911...kidding of course!

Kinda how I am feeling towards him right now....

I had to work to almost 6 today, office usually is closed up at 5. We had a guest who had her confirmation letter from Lynn, with the number etc...and I didn't have a card, there was nothing in either the phone log OR the reservation book. Gulp...so I had her fill out the card, and told them to come back in the a.m. I told Lynn about it when I transferred the phone at 5 and she was really surprised. OK, so am I. I'll let Buckie deal with it in the morning...she is the owners Mom, so she can handle anything...86 years old or not! Hehehehe! I also had to switch sites as they choose site 13 which was reserved for Thurs with a full weeks stay. I moved the Thursday arrival to another "close to the facilities" spot suitable for a van. No problem! Good thing we pencil in reservations in the registration book!

I am off til Saturday morning...the Prince of Darkness has to work two hours tomorrow. I am playing my violins of course. I will prolly go shopping so I won't have to clean the rig by myself again....we can share the cleaning when he gets off and I get home.

Well, except for us being on the outs (and what else is new?) not much going on here. I am really looking forward to Thursday. Can't wait to get my little guy home. I may soon be regretting this, but I am sure excited right now!

hugs
dennise

2008-07-06T13:06:00.004-05:00

Wow! Talk about time flying when you are having fun!!!

We have been very very busy at the campground over the holiday. First time all filled up this season. Weather has been spotty...rain til noon and then sunshine the rest of the day. It is like a sauna out there...even your teeth sweat!!!

We didn't do much except sit out under the shade of the awning hoping for a slight breeze. We made a couple of nice dinners over the last couple of days...I am trying to low-carb some pounds off (darn beer!).

Today is just a lazy day. Of course, the rain and barometer affect me a bit, and now I am just trying to make it through a fibro flare. So tired of feeling bad. But the good news is that I never missed my turn in the office...may have struggled thru a few times, but I have made it each time.

I sent an email to the puppy's owner (is that what you would call her, I already paid for him, lol!) to see if he could come home at 6 weeks instead of 8...I need to get him to the vet asap, as this gal isn't providing any shots, etc. I don't want to get him home and have him get sick...it would break my heart...

Well. Not much happening here, we have to work Mon and Tuesday afternoons, which is the shift I hate the most...don't know why, it's just three hours of sitting but it seems to be really busy in the afternoons. Oh well.

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

hugs

dennise

2008-07-01T20:18:00.002-05:00

Its already Tuesday and I haven't posted in a couple of days. We have been very busy at the campground, the Holiday weekend has every spot filled...except the three we never ever fill because they are too small for even pop-ups. We may have to use them yet!

We went to Treasure Lake RV Resort to interview with the workamper boss there today. We did some browsing at the Factory outlet mall before our interview and I picked up some half off Capri's and a new T shirt. This is the second T this week...both for $5 and really nice quality...can't beat that price. Heck I keep this up and I will have to give something away as we won't have any space for more clothes...nah, I can always find a hiding spot for a T-shirt! We met the workamper boss and talked to her for about 1/2 hour. They are desperate for help and we can pretty much decide where we want to work. 24 hours per couple gets a full hookup in an older section of the resort. They have a beautiful pool, nice clubhouse and game room. I think I will sign up for activities...I can sit on a stool and hand out golf clubs and pool sticks! Paul thinks he wants concessions...wants to stay inside and be cool for the hot August and September months. We shall see. We need to complete the applications.

I have been looking all over the net for puppy accessories...need a crate, and a carrier, and I even found a neat little sweater to knit. I don't know his measurements but I guess I can guesstimate based on his weight...like I know how much he will weigh in 4 weeks...a pound or two, maybe?

Well, not much else going on here...it is hot and muggy here. Typical Missouri summer. Chiggers, ticks, mosquitoes and black flies. Ick. They flock to me to suck my life's blood...ever deet products don't keep 'em away. Looking for suggestions if you have any!

hugs
dennise

2008-06-29T20:11:00.003-05:00

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

2008-06-27T10:10:00.005-05:00

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

2008-06-24T21:51:00.004-05:00

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

2008-06-23T12:10:00.002-05:00

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

2008-06-18T11:15:00.003-05:00

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

2008-06-17T10:53:00.002-05:00

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

2008-06-12T07:06:00.002-05:00

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

2008-06-11T08:29:00.002-05:00

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

2008-06-08T21:34:00.005-05:00

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

2008-06-06T13:25:00.005-05:00

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

2008-06-05T18:54:00.007-05:00

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

2008-06-03T23:25:00.004-05:00

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

2008-06-02T22:57:00.005-05:00

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

2008-06-01T13:14:00.004-05:00

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

2008-05-30T20:40:00.002-05:00

Dixie repercussions...

The Prince got sick about an hour after we got home. He said it seemed as if he had something "stuck" so I guess his surgery is still working fine. We had those itty bitty chickens, that were roasted to perfection...juciy, moist and tender. The pork tenderloin slice was dry, so I only had a taste. I think since he ate most of his (he loves roast pork), this was the culprit. He couldn't sleep, but yet couldn't get the offender up out of his little tummy. He sat and watched TV all night...til about 4 a.m. I heard him in the bathroom...poor guy! It is truly hard to listen to somebody you love having such a terrible vomiting episode. I guess I can now understand how hard it is on the Prince and Prince Zack when I have those horrible vertigo attacks accompanied by days of vomiting and being flat on my back from the Meniere's.

From this point, the Prince's day just got worse. He tried to sleep but was unable to. He had to go work a short two hour shift this morning and he was really not doing well. I tried to tell him to call Al or Dave to step in for him...it was only two hours for goodness sakes. Prince would do that for either of them without hesitation, and I am sure they would do the same for him. Nope. The Prince pooh-poohed the idea and looked at me as if I had grown bunny ears. OK, be a martyr, why should I worry?

About an hour later, I see him trudging up the hill. I see the golf cart...it is up against a tree. Oopsie. I guess he had a little problem going up the hill...it is tricky in the old clunker of a golf cart we have here, you have to ease the brake while giving it the accelerator cause the hills here are quite steep. Well, the rest is um, history. Damages were relatively minor, a twisted tire rim and flat. However the real damage was someone's ego being bruised. At noon, after the owner came by to take the tire into Springfield to get fixed, Prince returned to the rig, walked into the bedroom, closed the door and went to bed. Poor guy.

I spend my day writing out article outlines; doing a bit of research for article content, and more importantly, competetive research of other RV cooking sites. The good news is that there are only "pages" on other RV sites that deal with cooking. However, some savy old babe has bought up a lot of .com's that deal with RV cooking, RV kitchens, etc, but they all lead back to her site which is basically a recipe site for any type of cooking. Tons of advertising and little content for us. Nothing RV specific, but she owns the darn sites. Bummer! The only competetion is a site called The RV Cooking show and she does do rv cooking but via you tube type videos. They don't load well on typical RV computer setups like mine...via aircard or cell phone connectivity. Thus, it is difficult to watch as it keeps stopping and reloading the video. Quite irritating. I wonder if the gal thought of this while developing her site. Wifi is spotty at best for most fulltimes and part-timers, and most RV'ers don't have the ability to stream video into their rigs and then save to a laptop and run it back to get the recipe. So, I think my idea for the photo step by step is a valid one, and then have a recipe actually printed so the RV'er can just cut and paste the recipe into their files, accessible or printable at anytime, anywhere.

Well, that's pretty much in a nutshell what we were up to today. Somedays are better than others whether you live in a stix and brix house or one on wheels...

hugs,

dennise

2008-05-29T23:48:00.003-05:00

Update: The Dixie Stampede

We were unable to get into the 5 p.m. dinner show, so we went ahead and purchased tickets for the 8 p.m. show. We stopped at Dunkin' Doughnuts to see how much the ground coffee was. It is cheaper for a pound at Dunkin' than it is for 12 oz. at Wally World. Guess where I'll be buying my coffee?

We took a detour, well we were killing time, and went down to Branson Landing. It was dinner time and kinda quiet. The Prince needed some B12 liquid, which we can only find at GotNuthin'Cheap aka GNC. He walked down to the store while I indulged in a Cafe Americano with three SF vanilla shots. Three is way too sweet even for a Grande'. Ok, so I know Gloria Jeans shots of SF vanilla are real shots, not wimpy half pumps like at Starbucks!

Paul came back with his B12 and we caught the Trolley back to the parking lot. We stopped for gas...13 gallons and it was over $50. When is this insanity going to stop?

Arriving at the Dixie place, we are ushered into the Carriage Room, a place where a pre-show will take place. They sell drinks and popcorn at outrageous prices...what a stroke of marketing genius...$40 plus per ticket for the dinner show and $10 bucks for two Cokes and a tiny cup of popcorn. Just like the movies!!!

The pre-show was a juggling act...I really dislike juggling acts. Talented people do this, it just does nothing for me personally. I would rather have wandered around in the gift shop. Anyway, what I did allow myself to watch was quite good (juggling 20 flashing hoops makes me really dizzy, so most of the time I watched a little boy pick his nose). The juggler was a very funny guy and his jokes were really good. He kept teasing the kids in the front row with the fire rings and the bowling pins he was tossing around. We had a chance to talk to him after the show as we were in the back of the room and the last to leave. I told him I normally don't enjoy jugglers but he was outstanding. He was very appreciative. I wonder how much the Dixie Stampede folks pay a juggler who does a pre-show for 30 minutes? Hmmmm. Gotta be worth it for this fella, he does three shows a day...noontime, 4ish and 7ish when we got there.

In a nutshell...the main show was good...Grey Vs Blue (yanno Civil war kinda blue and grey.) The Prince was sure the Blue would win, since the North won the war. Foolish man. We are in a show called Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede. She's from Pigeon Forge TN and therefore the South or grey guys and gals always win. He doubts me. Well. He thinks cause he is a Prince he has smarts. I let him think that all the time. I did enjoy myself and there was a lot of audience participation. The chicken scramble was really funny...two grey kids and two blue kids get to chase chickens down the arena. Poor grey kid, Zachary fell and his poor little face went right into that nasty stuff the horses roll around in...btw, there was no pooping antics by horses either. We all gave Zachary a nice round of applause and he got a be-ribboned medal and a Dolly Parton CD.

Well, they forbid pictures, so I can't post any...bummer.

Well, I guess I am ready to hit the sack. I was just thinking I hope I don't have lizard nightmares. Ick. I still catch my breath when I think of how close that little bugger came to crawling up my shorts!

hugs

dennise

2008-05-29T16:37:00.002-05:00

Dixie Stampede Tonight!
Yep, we are going to the Dixie Stampede Show...the same as in Dollywood and some other place I can't remember.

I just read my post from last night. I must have been very tired...it made no sense to me at all. So far today the most exciting thing that happened, well there were two things. First, this morning I spilled a mug of hot tea all over me and the wing chair. Ouch. I just hate when that happens...

The second thing happened just a few minutes ago...we have these little creatures in the park...lizards of some hardy stock to survive here in Branson. They look like the little gieco guy on TV but I haven't had any meaningful conversation with any of them. Usually, I just go in the rig until they lose interest in me. Well, I was busy checking email and one of them little suckers climbed up my leg. Instant tachycardia. Once I could inhale I let out this blood curdling scream which brought out campers up and down our street. The Polish Prince thank goodness was at the office in the basement aka down under, looking for some scrap wood to make my steering wheel table...yanno the kind they sell a camping stores for $45, and are made of plastic? That'll be the day when either the Polish Prince or myself spends that outrageous amount when we can make one of our own. I took pictures and will be posting an article on how to when my new website is up and running. I am starting to get more and more ideas on stuff, I have to write them down right away or pffft! they are gone from my overloaded brain.

I did recover from my frightened state and ran in the rig...all these guests must think that dizzy blonde campground host is nutso. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now!

Well the Prince says we have to leave now so I will post more with pictures I hope of the Dixie Stampede...supposedly they have LONGHORN steer in the show now...gee, how much more excitement can I take today!

hugs
dennise

2008-05-28T22:50:00.002-05:00

Benefit Show for Missouri flood and tornado victims...

We attended a wonderful show put on buy 50 or so Branson entertainers such as Moe Bandy, Pierce Arrow, Roy Rodgers Jr. and Penny Gilley among many others. It went on for four hours! Incredible talent all doing this charity show. At $20 a ticket it was a steal...the show was fabulous!

Just wanted to post a bit but I am really tired (had a busy afternoon in the office, lots of check in's...at least 7, phone ringing off the hook, and it was our day to scour the bathrooms. Will be taking some meds and will be hitting the sheets asap.

Take care and hugs,

dennise

2008-05-27T23:24:00.002-05:00

Two Wolves

An old Indian Grandfather said to his grandson who came to him with anger at a friend who had done him an injustice.

"Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times."

He continued...

"It is as if there are two wolves inside me; One is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way. He saves all his energy for the right fight.

But the other wolf, ahhh!

He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing. Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eyes and asked..."Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The Grandfather smiled and quietly said...

"The one I feed."

As posted by
Scarletwoman
May 27th, 2008
Democraticunderground.com

2008-05-26T11:44:00.004-05:00

Memorial Day...

I belong to a number of blogs, and am a faithful reader to most. I will check them all for updates and now I know how my readers feel when I don't post for a while. I guess, unless you are a dedicated daily blogger, you just get involved in everyday stuff and then forget to post. Subject matter is never an issue with me...I have a lot of stuff to talk about. Anybody who knows me knows that I am a talker.

This morning I read a moving entry by a gentleman I greatly admire, a man who self-publishes a newspaper for RV'ers, and many, many books. He is wickedly funny, irreverent and opinionated. I sometimes agree, sometimes not. Today, being the day we honor those who have given their lives in service, he wrote a heartfelt, wonderful message reminding us that our freedom here in the USA has been earned by those willing to sacrifice their lives to keep our country safe. Well, I agree. This particular war in Iraq just nags and picks at me. Supposedly, we entered this war with the intent to get the terrorists that destroyed the Twin Towers right? The Bush administration made a compelling and emotional case preying upon our fears and our sorrows over this terrorist act, that these terrorists were tied to Iraq. Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, and they were soon to be aimed at us. Yes terrorism is frightening. Yes, we should be vigilant and ever watchful for those who would do us harm. Yes, terrorism is the one thing we seem to have a hard time wrapping our minds around. I know I do. Yet, in the Revolutionary War, were the colonist's terrorists? The British certainly thought we were. How 'bout them Calvary guys, like Custer. Didn't the US Calvary decimate hundreds upon hundreds of Indian villages, killing old people, women and children? I bet the Indians thought we were terrorists. The legendary pioneers settled in lands that since the beginning of history had belonged to Native Americans? Terrorists? Well, of course not...Americans are not terrorists. This is all history, right? Well, most people agree, Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist. Alrighty then, I will get off this tangent and say what I feel I need to say. It is simple perspective.

Please please don't think that I am not patriotic or a person who does not daily pray for those men and woman who serve, sacrificing each and every day, or that I don't pray for our President...I do, really I do. I just don't agree with this war.
That's it. I don't want to see any more kids killed...family men with kids, family women with kids, sons, brothers, fathers, mothers, nephews and nieces, grandsons and daughters...just bring them home. The tribes of the Middle East have fought for centuries over stupid things...Sunni Muslims vs Shi-ites. Will our presence change this. I think not...they hate us too...! OK. I am done. I love my country, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with all it's policies or actions.

Bless you all this holiday...and a heartfelt thank you for those who serve, who have served and whose have loved ones who have served and continue to serve.

hugs
dennise

2008-05-25T12:41:00.018-05:00

The first test of my idea for my web cooking site for RV'ers.

Ever since I told everyone what my new website will feature, I thought I'd give you a preview of the type of content, such as instructions and pictures for making the recipes. I started with the most simple of recipes, beer bread. So here goes...please leave your comments, suggestions and any feedback you may have.

EZ Beer Bread

This is a great recipe if you are looking for something different to bring to a potluck or just make dynamite french toast or even regular toast for that matter. This recipe has been handed down over generations of campers. Well, I think it has, anyways..but if I just made that up, we can start handing it down to future campers, eh? It is great to take along the ingredients in a plastic baggie...just the flour and sugar ok?. Keep the beer warm. This recipe can be made in a rig kitchen oven, a counter top roaster, which is how I did mine today, or in a dutch oven over the coals with a few briquettes on the top to brown the bread top.

Assemble your ingredients. You will need:

3 cups of self-rising flour (yes make sure it says self-rising on the bag!)

2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar

12 oz. of any good lager beer.

Here is good place to experiment. Use seasonal specialities, unique imported beers, local microbrewy offerings. Be bold for goodness sakes. I brought this Blue Moon in Edwardsville, IL where the college kids imbibe great quantities of this served in glasses with slices of orange in them. It does have a slightly citrus note to it. I have also made this with MGD. I could fib and say that I send Paulie to the grocery store to buy beer just for bread, but you will all laugh at me and snicker to yourselves...Pffft! So I enjoy a cold one now and then!

Now, get a nice big bowl and a wooden spoon...I have only one large bowl in the rig so it is a multi-purpose mixing bowl, serving dish and punch bowl.

Measure three cups of the self-rising flour...dump into the bowl. Next add the sugar.

Now slowly pour in the beer. Reminder...only use warm or room temperature beer. And, no, do not warm up the beer in the microwave...just don't put it in the cooler or fridge. Again, you can use cans or bottles, it's your bread yanno.

Next just mix until the batter has incorporated all the beer and there are no dry ingredients in the bottom of the mixing bowl. The batter will be lumpy and sticky. Like this...

Then this...

A closer look...I need to mix just a bit more here...

Flop the sticky dough into a greased pan. I am using my old faithful silicone bread pan, only 'cause I didn't bring a regular bread pan for goodness sakes. I don't like the silicone cause it bulges in the center. I use Pam baking spray with flour in the silicone pans.

Smooth out the top...I like it lumpy...it seems more homemade or "rustic". All right, no comments on the brown edges on the pan...it is a well used staple in my kitchen and it was a cheap one to boot.

Now put the bread in your cooking appliance of choice. It should bake at 375 degrees for approximately 45 minutes. I am using my Nesco knockoff. I left in the rack, turned upside down just to keep the pan off the bottom of the roaster. I have also made this in my rig's oven . I have added a flat pizza stone, or you could slip some unglazed ceramic tile into the oven. I have found(after burning countless goodies in my oven) that you need something to absorb the heat and let it distribute evenly. Rig ovens can be tricky to use. Not the convection oven...I don't have one of those...yet. My old Pampered Chef cookie/pizza stone works well for me. The temperatures are very static in these propane devils.

OK, set your timer for 40 to 45 minutes. If you don't know how hot your rig oven cooks, keep a watchful eye on the bread...you don't want it to over-bake.

I lost track of time and I think I over-baked by about 5 minutes. I will note this on my personal recipe so when I use the Nesco knockoff, I will adjust baking time. I will add dutch over baking in a campfire at the end of this recipe. Note: use a serrated knife...it will make slicing easier.

I just had to try it so I slathered it in margarine (I hate margarine, which is all Paulie wants to use...I do have real butter in the freezer...) and blackberry jam. Ohhhh.....

It's great!

See, I have NO self-control. I just had to eat a big bite. Then I sat down and ate this with a french press brewed cup of coffee with cream. Oh my. So. Good. Paul came in and he whacked off a hunk. He only put that crappy fakey margarine on the bread and then had the nerve to say it was...."well, you know...bland" Ass. From now on I shall refer to him on this new site as "The Polish Prince". He doesn't deserve to be named.

Dutch Oven directions for a campfire...

The difference here is you are really camping...kinda like pioneer people...and good for you! One of these days, I think I will try it. If I can convince the old skin-flint Prince to let me buy a decent Lodge dutch oven...when pigs fly I guess. Anyways...if you are a Pioneer Camper, just grease your smallest dutch oven and plop the sticky dough in...Bake over hot coals about 1 hour. Place a few hot coals on lid so top of bread will brown.

So, folks there you have it. My first attempt at my RV cooking website. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I will now be "photographing" my cooking adventures and saving them in files I can upload to the page. It may take a couple of weeks to get enough stuff to post with. I will not only be posting recipes, I will be sharing a lot of tips and tricks I have collected in my years of RVing. (And reading other tips and tricks, and yeah, picking fulltimer's brains...!)

Take care, and hugs to you all

dennise

2008-05-24T22:05:00.003-05:00

I found this quiz on line and gacked it over here...

1.) If I were a doll, the accessories packaged with me would be:
diet pepsi, a cuddly puppy like a Morkie and books.
2.) I have an irrational fear of: being murdered, beheading and falling in a green pond, weird crap I know.
3.) What type of food did you eat at your grandparents house? I only had one great grandma and I can only recall fried chicken from the local chicken shack and small sausage sandwiches we bought on Belmont Avenue and were 5 for $1.00. Honest. Oh yeah, she liked to serve spoilt milk...ick.
4.) What weight were you when you were born? All of us McPhillips girls were porkers, um, er Campbell's soup kids...over 8 lbs to answer the question.
5.) What would you do if you were stranded on an island with the person you hate most? When they fell asleep I would bury them in sand....
6.) What would you do if you found out you had been cheated on? Find a good lawyer like Alan Shore on Boston Legal...
7.) Do you stalk anyone on myspace? Snort...why bother?
8.) I find the thought of childbirth: very scary and painful...why do you think I have just one?
9.) Next door to my house is: an empty campsite!
10.) My feet are: incredibly large and ugly...it's that long second toe yanno.
11.) My preferred style of jeans is: Boot cut, nicley stretchy, thinner material, they are much more forgiving and make my ass look less fat.
12.) Why is your 1 your 1? I married him and he's cute to me anyways.
13.) Know how to cook? Yes and rather good at cookies, candy and fruit cake.
14.) I am annoyed with: Ultra conservatives who think their way of thinking is the ONLY way of thinking and call those who disagree unpatriotic or communists....suuuurrrrre. I also get annoyed with all of the talking heads on Fox News...fair and impartial, my ass.
15.) What is the worst way you were dumped? via the telephone from Colorado...
16.) What child-related smell do you not like? Vomit or Poop....take your pick, I can't abide either without getting dry heaves.
17.) What sea creature scares you? Sharks and stingrays. Any biting creature...I NEVER go in the ocean...it's full of fish poop.
18.) What hair color do most of the people you are around have? Around me? Blonde in varying shades.
19.) What object have you broken most recently? Just a compression fracture in my back...oh yeah and I dropped a can of diet pepsi on the floor...horrible mess.
20.) Name one of the Spice Girls. Scary spice Mel B on dancing with the stars.
21.) What was the last thing to make you cry? I had a bad fibro day and was having a pity party.
22.) What are the stems on wine glasses for? You got me there....to swirl the wine in the glass?
23.) My favorite shoes are: My newish blue suede cowboy boots, followed closely by my new eel skin cowboy boots.
24.) Can you use chopsticks? Ummm, I can't use a fork well yet...
25.) Do you prefer beaches or forests? I like both, but I love beaches, because they're usually next to large bodies of water. However, I never enter the water, I just sit and watch it.
26.) What serial killer do you find most disturbing? Jeez, they are all disturbing, I try not to think about the suckers.
27.) Who knows a secret or two about you? Hmmm, any one of my sisters, which scares me.
28.) Have you ever burned yourself? Too many times to count.
29.) Who is probably talking a load of crap about you right now? Nobody...well I think nobody!
30.) Who is/are your hero[s]? Hillary Clinton, and anyone who has been to Iraq. Well, that does NOT include the current fool serving as president...so sorry, I think he's a putz.
31.) Do you believe in things that last forever? Nothing lasts forever. Well, except God.
32.) What are you listening to? Josh Groban.
33.) What do you smell like? Me, Smell? I use deodorant yanno.
34.) Are you married? Yep, going on 24 years...
35.) Does anyone regularly tell you they love you? Yep and on a daily basis.
36.) What's most confusing to you? The terrible stuff going on in politics right now...we are all Americans, yes?
37.) Do you have any bad habits? Oh no, I have no bad habits since I stopped biting my nails years ago. Well, maybe I like beer a little too much for my own good and weight?
38.) Have you ever wanted to be a teacher? Yeah, but I decided I didn't really like kids, way to hyper and once they learn how to talk they lose their charm... so I encouraged my son to become one.
39.) What is one thing you've learned about life? It ain't for sissies. And sometimes it hurts.
40.) What's your favorite color? Red
41.) Have you ever been stuck in an elevator? Yes...with a person who was doused in some gosh awful cheap perfume.
42.) What does/did your dad call you? Deedee is the only one I want to remember, LOL!
43.) Has anyone told you that they like you as more than a friend? Ah, yeah...many times, it started in kindergarten and just continued until I met Paulie.
44.) What are you looking forward to? Zack's graduation and the financial relief it will bring...sure...
45.) Who do you miss? Zack, my son, my Mom, my sisters...my dad who passed away a few years ago...my friends from my old work since I am retired. The Chicago Girlfriends, Karen, Eugenia, Roseann...my knitting friends in Springfield, my support group from Springfield, my good friends from our FMCA group, The Cenois Prairielanders, our SKP friends, the folks in Weslaco....I could go on and on but now I am depressed and glad this quiz is over....

Now you know a little more about me and it's crazy kinda stuff!

hugs,

dennise

2008-05-23T18:40:00.004-05:00

Prune face...

I don't endorse products on this blog...that may be changing, however. I have found the most wonderful product. It is a mist/spray that is spritzed on face and body. Here is the description:

Non-oily The Natural Moisturizing Factor In Human Skin Twinlab Na-PCA is a Ph-balanced, concentrated solution of the sodium salt of pyrrolidone carboxylic acid, the natural moisturizing factor found in human skin. Na-PCA is synthesized from glutamic acid, a nonessential amino acid. The skin contains natural moisturizers, the most important being Na-PCA. Old skin contains only about half the amount of Na-PCA as that found in young skin. The ability of skin to hold moisture is directly related to its Na-PCA content. It is water, and not oil, that keeps skin soft and supple. Na-PCA pulls water out of the air, moisturizing the skin, improving its appearance, and giving it a moist and youthful glow. This is not a cosmetic cover up; it is a physiological correction of an age-related deficiency state.

Here is a photo...

It is called Na-PCA with Aloe
I have been using this for a few days, morning and night. The change in the texture of my face is truly unbelieveable. Yes, in just two days! I spray it on the legs and arms and they are improving from my normal dry prickly skin. For my face, I spritz the stuff into my hand and then apply. I am really impressed. I had to buy it over the net, from http://www.vitacost.com/. I paid $3.something for each one with aloe...so I got three. I also purchased some other stuff that I can't buy in Branson (or even Texas for that matter...no quality health food stores in the BBQ state). One is a herbal flower formula for Stress...which works well...the other is a Relax and Sleep tablet that really did nothing for me last night. (I am still recovering from the 100 mg of Paulies sleep med from the VA...Trazadone. I slept all day Wednesday, our midweek day off...won't do that again!) I did a search for a health food store and found one 35 miles away in Sprinfield, MO. The price for one bottle was $9.69! I got three for that...and shipping was a flat $4.99. I bookmarked that site so I can order again!

I heard about this product from several gals on my GBIC list and they all reported excellent results. Now, at the ripe age of 55, I am looking for something that will help my poor tired face. I hate the rows and rows of highly priced "wrinkle" creams and serums. Ick. What brand do I buy, and can I convince myself that a $40 jar of goop is gonna work. $3 plus some change is better IMHO! If there is a Vitamin Shoppe in your area, or a GOOD health food/vitamin shop, they may carry it. I don't know the cost at these outlets tho.

Just my little "tip" for the day...oh yeah, and fish oil supplements are good for skin too. So is getting fat, it fills out the wrinkles, but heck, I've been there, done that. Well, at least I don't look like Star Jones, all pruney and mean looking! Ooops...did I just really say that? Jeesh. My bad.

Workamping...

We were off today, but are filling in for another couple tomorrow morning. They have to drive to Kansas City for a memorial service...they lost a nephew in a fatal morotcycle accident. It has been quite busy the last few days, all the Memorial Day guests arriving. The problem has been that many of our guests don't like their spots. I don't know what they were expecting, calling at the last minute...primo spots? The early bird gets the worm...which is a nicer and larger campsite. Grrrr. It is our job to make them happy so yesterday we were moving folks all over the place. This is an older park, built when a 27'er was considered a big rig. Now we have folks driving 45 footers and we just cannot accomodate them. I met a KOA workamper at the Red Skelton impersonator show and told them I was sending the big rigs over to them. I have sent so many, I am thinking of asking for a finders fee!

New Web Site update...

Well, not too much to report. I am still trying to pick the best .com name. I really like JoyofRVcooking.com but I also like about 25 others. All of my choices are available which is remarkable. I want something catchy and easily remembered. I am open to suggestions...here are some of the one's I am pondering....

RVcook.com....EZRVcooking.com...RVfoodie.com....RVcoolcooks.com...TheRVcook.com

RVcookingplace.com...CoolRVcooking.com...RVCooks.com...RVCookingClass.com...

RVKitchenWitch.com...TheRVingCook.com...Just a few...I said the other day I will put up a poll...but I have to narrow it down to 4 for the poll. If for some reaon, Google won't let you post a comment, just send me an email at

rocketmom1985@yahoo.com OR rocketmom1985@gmail.com

Having two emails is great...I just keep forgetting to check them both at the same time!

take care all...hugs

dennise

2008-05-21T11:19:00.008-05:00

Wednesday...Paulie has to work for about three hours, but I have the whole day off. I need it! Tomorrow I work in the afternoon and it is my day to clean the bathrooms. Well, Paulie and I clean them together. The weather is beautiful, sunny and warm with a beautiful breeze.

When we finished our shift yesterday, we received a frantic call from Zack. He was checking with financial aide to make sure the student loan funds are available for the summer session. Gee, ya think he's growing up a bit, I didn't even have to nag him this time. Apparently, we did not "e-sign" the promissory note. For those doubters out there, we do all of our banking on line, and besides an occasional "operator" error, have found it to be convenient and easy. We have always made sure the sites are truly secure, and never do the transactions on public open access...well, maybe I forgot once or twice and used the open wifi here at the park. Then I pinch myself and tell me that I have been foolish and if we get dinged by identity thieves, it is my very own fault. We do have a special service on our credit card...more than two purchases a day and they are calling us. Makes it hard when I am on a buying spree (yeah, right, shopping spree, married to The Polish Prince...riiiiiight). OK, so I calm down Zack who has reverted to childish whining and nasty language directed at the Financial Aid staff who has told him at least 5 times (according to the boy...) that his aid package was complete and nothing else was required to disperse funds. He needs the funds not only to pay his summer tuition, but to pay his RENT. Oh yeah. He needs to eat too. Apparently, this has been a bust of a day for my poor Zack. He finds out there is no money to be dispersed, and his new roommate who was to move in and begin paying half the rent on June 1, has now delayed his arrival to mid-August. It seems the kid's dad had been in a bad car accident and he is needed at home. Zack is not sure if this is truly the case or the guy is miffed that Greg, the current roommate didn't move out May 6 like the new guy wanted. Hmmmm. College games. I told Zack to go ahead and put another ad on the roommate match site on SIUE.edu. Unless this Jordan guy comes up with some cash, he may just lose the room. As the old saying goes, a bird in hand...

I will now tell you all what I have been researching and working on. A new website. Not just a personal site, but a site that is a "how to" for cooking in the RV on the road. There are so many quick and easy recipes we can do in the rig kitchen, but many Rv'ers tend to make the same things over and over due to space limitations, limited pantry staples and just plain not wanting to cook after driving, site-seeing or workamping for the day. So, this is my idea. I will cover the rig...what is standard equipment, discuss appliances that perform more than one function and we can't live without (espresso maker comes to mind...Paulie says it is unnecessary and wants to pitch it...I say ok, then pitch the golf clubs we have carried for ten years and you have yet to play golf....standoff!), space saving tips, organization, buying staples, and mainly recipes that are easy, nutritious and quick to prepare. I have been collecting recipes all my life, and I have files and files on line. I have also been doing research on various appliances, what works, what is great to have but space hogs and even solar cooking in addition to traditional camping favorites such as dutch oven cooking. There are so many easy recipes for singles and doubles, rather than the way we are used to cooking...for families. I have a great three step bread recipe that is good and I am going to take step by step pictures as I prepare the dishes. I have a great camera and it should do a decent job. Another area that I want to explore is how to bring a dish to a potluck that doesn't cost an arm and a leg (and doesn't always have jello in it!) I am pondering a site name, and have come up with loads of them. I want a catchy, easy to remember, easy to link to site that can grow along with the educational stuff I want to add. I am going to set up a new poll with a couple of ideas, and tell me what you think. I will most likely do that this weekend. Oh, yeah...I will also be advertising products on my site. I will be hooking up with Amazon and a few others to promote products I talk about, recipe ingredients when I post those, such as King Arthur flour, etc. This should be adequate to pay for the hosting fees. Maybe even enough to buy some yarn!!

Once I get the RV cooking site kicked off, I have already outlined several other pages I can write about...Fibromyalgia and CFS, Meniere's Disease, Gastric Bypass, pros and cons of joint replacement (lots of experience in all of these, lol!)

Each site will have the ability to generate $ by advertising products and other places that sell related items to the subject.

OK, enough information for you today! Keep my ideas in mind and if you have any ideas of site names, send me a comment or an email.

hugs

dennise

2008-05-20T06:50:00.003-05:00

We finally had a day off after working three days straight. Not really all that hard, yanno...three hours in the afternoon...well, er, that's for me. Paulie had to work 5 hours each shift. Poor fella. Driving around in that little chug-chug golf cart is really tough. Oh yeah, some days he must water flowers or run the blower to keep the streets clean. He does check bathrooms for me, which is nice. Work camping is certainly not difficult. We are not full, but this weekend for the holiday we are pretty well booked. The RV's are getting bigger and bigger it seems, and we can only handle about 6 big rigs. This little campground was built maybe 20 years ago when a 28'er was big. Plus we are built on the side of a hill, each spot carved out of the landscape stairstep fashion. Many of our guests are just weekend campers and get white knuckly when they see how they must either pull in or back into their spots. Lots of trees, and a tight turn at the bottom of the hill right by the office. I can peek out the side window and see the faces of the drivers and it can be quite amusing. We also get a lot of calls fishing for info on pricing. It isn't cheap to camp in Branson, unless you want to drive a long way. Even the outter lying parks are pricy. The Corp. of Engineers Park at the Lake is beautiful as is the Missouri State Park. Unfortunately, their lakeside sites are underwater and limiting the number of campers they can take. I am seeing numerous cancellations in our books too, no doubt due to the price of fuel. Diesel is like $4.67 here. Ya think it'll go down by the time we leave in August? Nah, we prolly will have to stay here forever.

Since it was our day off, we went off to ride the Branson Belle, the paddle boat dinner show venue. Quite a treat. I will certainly suggest that place to folks. It is a bit pricey...$50 per person for dinner...that hurts. But since Paul and I are work campers and now possess a MO State ID, it only cost us the price of the meal...$25 for each of us. Still pricey to me at 50% off, but then I am a cheapskate at heart. Dinner was a delish beef tenderloin, a nasty chicken cordon blah, mashed taters and mixed veggies, steamed of course. Good bread, great salad with Silver Dollar City Vidalia Sweet Onion dressing. (the Branson Belle is owned by the same company as Silver $, Celebration City, The Ducks, the waterpark and Dixie Stampede, they must own most of Branson....). The entertainment was good...the usual four singers, two guys, two gals who sing and dance well, a good band, and an unusual Russian act. The husband-wife team do a kinda aerial act with what looked like sheets looped on chains. I guess you hafta see it to understand. Very enjoyable. Then the ventriloquist. I hate ventriloquists...along with jugglers, clowns and oh yeah, flying monkeys. Call me nuts, but somewhere in my childhood, I must have had some sort of frightening experience with a clown. I hate clowns. Ventriloquists creep me out...I think I saw a horror movie about them once. I find jugglers stupid. Especially the idiots who toss around knives. Just my luck, I'd see some fool cut off his hand. Flying monkeys are self-explanatory. That damm Wizard.

Back to the show...I will admit however, this guy, the ventriloquist, used real dogs in his act. He had some sort of muzzle on the dogs to do the flapping lips thing. He asked basic dog type questions...like why do you do this or that. The dog answers are hilarious. I laughed the whole time he was up there which says alot.

After we docked, we went off to the Mansion for a VIP performance from Red Skelton. Yeah, he's really dead but the show is a tribute to his comedy. The actor who performs is wonderful. He has all the mannerisms and wandering joke lines Red was famous for. Great show, and really a treat since he never uttered a four letter word or did obscene jokes. I will recommend this to everyone also, however his shows are at 10:00 in the morning!

Well, I have to get dressed and head down the hill to my "job". This morning I work 8 to 12. I will have Paulie bring the camera and take some photos of the place now that the trees have filled in nicely and we are having beautiful weather.

hugs

dee

2008-05-18T12:27:00.003-05:00

OK, why aren't you guys voting? Do I have NO ONE reading my blog? Geesh. I am crushed.

I guess I will just have to do more exciting things, eh?

dee

2008-05-17T21:42:00.006-05:00

I promised some photos of Zack before and after surgery. I don't have one with the actual incision, but I am sure he will send me one soon...

Here is the boy, all smiley, waiting to go to surgery...

Here is the boy showing off his nifty little cyst. How could he have missed this? It has to be the size of a jumbo egg.

And here is the boy after surgery...the same look I got 18 years ago when he got his tonsils out...like it is MY fault he is hurting. Like a knife to his mother's poor heart....

And, here is a picture of Paulie, going off to orientation at Celebration City. I don't think this gig is gonna last long...on his feet for 5 to 6 hours is just too much for the poor guy.

Hugs

dennise

2008-05-17T13:15:00.005-05:00

It's Saturday and Paulie and I are scheduled to work this afternoon. It was also our turn to clean the bathrooms. We can get all four done in 40 minutes...we are a great team. I am just waiting for a few more minutes then I will change clothes and head down to the office. I don't mind the work...it can be fun and then again, there are a lot of goofs in this world. Yesterday, a man traveling with his 95 year old father (sound familiar?) wanted a better "spot" as the black tank wouldn't drain. Now for those of you who don't RV, you NEVER keep the black tank open when parked...the sewer smell will sneak up through the lines and make the whole place stinky. You decide when you need to dump the black, then make sure you close the grey water valve(where dishwater and shower water goes...ick to the black, not so ick to the grey). Then when you dump the black, you can then use the grey water to flush out the black tank. Simple. I am assuming this is simple...however I have never done the dumping before, so I may be talking gibberish. This guy needs RVing 101 school. Well, we all have to learn the hard way I guess.
I brought three packagaes of Jay's Kettle Chips back with me from Edwardsville. I was gonna stop and buy a lot more, but then, heck I don't need the damm things. Just an excuse to overeat something I shouldn't ever let near my lips. Gosh, they taste good after a year of not having them. Ah well, I'll just suffer. I am chowing down on them now...great lunch, kid.
It is a nice day here in Branson. The sun is shinning, no clouds, and the temps are in the 70's. The park is half full. Lots of cancellations lately. I guess gas prices are affecting the economy here. Too bad...I guess it is gonna get worse before it gets better...
Well, I hafta get ready to do my thing this afternoon.
later...
dennise

2008-05-16T20:36:00.002-05:00

OK,OK...I know, I know...I have once again fallen behind. However, this time, I have a real excuse. I had to travel to Edwardsville to accompany and comfort my baby while he had his surgery. If you recall, Zack developed a huge mass on his head on the left side which was thought to be a fatty cyst on the temple. It was huge. Who knows how long it was there...the plastic surgeon said easily a year. Well...after the CT scan showed it was a lipoma (fatty tumor) he set up a date to have it excised. May 12. So after I did my shift at Shenanigans on Sunday, Mother's Day, I hopped into the car and drove 5 hours to Edwardsville. Zack took me out to dinner at Pasta House and then we went to a movie, Iron Man. Good food, good movie too.

We had to check into the hospital at 6 am...ugh. He was scheduled for 8 and the doc said it would be about a 30 minute procedure. Baloney. He was in for an hour and 20 minutes, all the while this wuss of a mom was in the waiting room going apesh*t. Finally they get him into recovery and I talk to the doc. It was a cyst, not a fatty tumor, and it was full of gross liquid. It broke open when they tried to remove it, so it was a mess. It was a lot bigger than the CT indicated (this I don't get...) so it was a bit of a booger to clean up and get it all out. When I got to the recovery room, I got the same look from Zack that I got when he had his tonsils out when he was 5. Yep, it's MOM'S fault now just as it was then I guess. He was fine, said he felt like somebody had wacked him with a baseball bat in the noggin. He had antibiotics and pain killers to keep him comfy. Once we got home, he just slept the afternoon away. I tried to nap to no avail. When he got up around 6, we ordered takeout Chinese and had a good dinner. We watched "Dan in Real Life" and both of us hit the sack early. We had to go back to the doc's office to have the dressing changed Tuesday morning. We drove to Litchfield to meet Mom and Cecil for lunch. There was a drain which was left in since it still was oozing a bit. Gross, I know. I have some pictures which I will post as soon as I can get the camera outta the car. Paulie is at Celebration City for his second day on the job...and he took the car.

We are having fun work camping. The job is fairly easy and our co-workers are fun. We did have a scare last Saturday. Tornadoes were rampant in the area, so we had to make all the campers go into the basement of the office when the sirens went off. Scary. The storm actually split in two and Branson was right in the middle of the split. We were extremely lucky and all we got was some very heavy rain and some thunderboomers. 25 people were killed by this storm system...some just a few miles from us here. Again, it was so strange that the storm split north and south of here. I am so grateful for that.

We have been going to more shows and exploring the area. Lots of stuff to see and do. The weather has sucked, lots of rain and it's been unseasonably cool.

I am working on another web page. As soon as I get more done, I will clue everyone in on it's location. Content is top secret at this point. Have I peaked your curiosity yet? Tune in for updates!

hugs

dennise

2008-05-06T07:54:00.002-05:00

Oh my...it's already Tuesday, and I haven't posted since last week. Hmmm. I guess we are keeping busy!

Friday was a running around day...picked up the shelving unit from L'boutique Target, did a bit of grocery shopping and not much else. I am surprised at how tired I am after a short three hour shift in the office. I worked again on Saturday as did Paulie. I did the afternoon shift which is the shorter time. But, it was OUR turn to clean the restrooms. Ick. I swore I'd never do this. However, they are not typical RV park bathrooms...they are individual personal bathrooms, just like at home. And, the folks who use them are not pigs. They clean up after themselves. One lady said she thought they were cleaner than her home and she even wiped down the shower walls cause she felt guilty it wasn't as she found it! OK by me. They really are clean bathrooms. Of course, everyone checks them at least twice each shift and keeps them spiffy. Three times a week they are thoroughly scrubbed with bleach or ammonia, floors are scrubbed, etc, etc. I told Paul he had to help me...heck, I can't clean ONE bathroom much less four...! So, I filled all the toilets with cleanser, and sprayed all the shower walls with stuff. He brushed the toilets and then scrubbed the showers with another brush(I checked). He wiped down each shower stall and polished the chrome. I sprayed the mirrors and stuff with windex and wiped down the chrome, tissue and towel holders. The sinks are quickly done and Viola! All that is left is to scrub the floor. I swept each room out, then took the "green" cleaner, sprayed it all over and mopped it up. Easy. I was sweating however. Paul finished up by vacuuming the hallway carpet and we are done. Once a week we must do this. Each workamper team has an assigned day to "do" the bathrooms. It took us about 40 minutes. The other team took over an hour. Lorriane used rags to clean. Nope, not me. I don't do rags...its paper towels or nothing. Too bad if they cost money. I am not using rags for anything. That means putting hands(even with my rubber gloves on...) in water. Nope. Not me. Ok, I am crazy...deal with it. It just isn't gonna happen. Just like these toes will never touch the bottom of a lake, river, ocean or stream, I will not put my hands in water that cleans bathrooms. I refused to go in the pool down in Texas all year because it looked cloudy. Ick. What makes chlorine water cloudy? Body lotion? I think NOT. The filter is not working I think...or dirty people are bathing in it, OR there are no chemicals in it or they are not working....and if that is the case, there are critters growing in there. OH. MY. Ick. Ick. Ick. Paul already has to deal with my goofy idiosyncrasies. Now you can too, LOL!

Sunday was a bust for me...I was only up for a few hours. Terrible fatigue hit mid-morning and that was it. Paul had slipped on the gravel while painting one of the dumpsters and wrenched his knee and jerked his bad hip, so he was hurting anyway. The day off of just sitting around was beneficial for him although he'd never admit to that. Monday morning was my shift to open the office at 8 a.m. Paul had traded with Doug another workamper, so he was gonna work the afternoon. Of course, I get down to the office and there are three campers waiting for me. I open the door, punch my code into the alarm system and you guessed it, the sucker went off...again. Quickly I called Lynn and she gave me a code to punch in and thank goodness it stopped. I think I was a bit short with her (oh no!) cause I said, something like, this is the second time my code didn't work! Of course, Paulie is there, wanting to do our laundry and is asking me for the key...one of the other campers wants to check in and pay since they got in late last night, another camper wants to extend and another guy wants to use the local phone...his truck is acting up and he wants to get it serviced...plus if he does, he'll need to extend. The phone has not been transferred back from forward, so I gotta do that right away so calls don't go to the owner. Geesh. Everyone take a step back and I'll help everyone. Give me a minute to catch my breath. The day got worse as the phone messages could not be retrieved...the local phone company changed the voice mail system and requested everybody to reset the system...I can't do that...the owner needs to do the incoming message, etc. I can't find more reservation forms, or cards and am hunting all over the office. Paul helps a guy out and takes him into town to pick up his rental car. OK...he leaves the laundry which normally wouldn't be a problem...but two other campers come in and want to use the washers and MY laundry is sitting in the machines. Where the heck did he take that guy? I run to the laundry and move our stuff into dryers so the others can use the machines. Run back to answer the phone. Take a reservation. Get the picture? I had hang ups, wrong numbers, reservation calls that demanded certain spot numbers, and again, you can get the picture. Sweat is dripping off my hair I am so stressed. I can't DO stress remember. Finally it calms down and I can get stuff done. Grrrrr. It is never this busy, I gotta get a handle on this stuff. Oh well, this isn't rocket science. It is just crazy in the office sometimes and you are all by yourself.

And so it goes. Paulie is still asleep. I had a migraine last night...I had a mild Meniere's attack in the afternoon, so I knew it was coming. I didn't sleep well last night and got up early. It appears that my attack was triggered by a cool front which is bringing in some rain. Well, at least my radar ears are still working ok. We are off today, so I am not sure what he wants to do today. I need a haircut. I think one of the worst things about fulltiming is that you don't have a hairdresser. Not everyone can cut hair the way you want it. It took me years to find a good stylist in Springfield. I continue to get haircuts that suck. And I PAY these people to make me look stupid. There is no justice in this world.

hugs

dennise