The map below in the previous post represents where the SKP Graduating Class of 2006 is at this point in time...kinda cool to see where our friends are spending the winter or are off exploring. Sometimes you will notice that I reference our graduation "class" of 2006. This was a small thread that began on the Escapee's message board under fulltime rver's about who was hitting the road full time and when. They formed "classes" and so far I think there are about 6 "graduate classes" out roaming the USA. We had initially wanted to hit the road full time in spring of 2006, but our plans changed with my hip problems and two surgeries that summer. I had already purchased our pins and official t shirts but the class said we could still be graduates even tho we didn't leave until Thanksgiving 2006. Each class holds get togethers. For example the "Class of 2007" just held their graduation at Quartsite AZ, as did the class of 2006 last year, which we missed due to our travels to Texas. We just met some of our classmates for lunch on Tuesday and had a ball. There are quite a few who winter now in the RGV and some that are still on the move. The only reason we winter with grandpa is that we can store the motorhome for free and still spend time with him taking care of the place and getting things ready for our next trip. Due to Paulie having to have his other hip replaced we still don't know what we are going to be doing come March. I was hoping to volunteer at a COE park in North Dakota but I can't even apply til we know when his surgery will take place.



I will post some more later...I still am behind in my posting...I have had a super busy week and haven't even practiced guitar so I still stink. I tried out a wonderful guitar while in Fredricksburg and now my guitar sounds like one from the clown band. Ugh.



til later...oh yeah, we are off to see LaJoya High School's Folkloria...should be fun...

hugs

Dennise

Saturday PM

Just got an email from Flickr...they are down and some of the new photos I uploaded are gone. Crap. Crap. Crap. Now I hafta do this all over again. For me that is tragic! I am so not computer savy with this kinda stuff....grrrrr.



Now for my continuing saga...
We are having Bev, Ben and Dorothy over for dinner. I think Grandpa thought we wouldn't be home until later tonight and invited them for dinner...so now it's Paulie who is doing the cooking...steak, roasted veggies, salad, bread and of course, wine.

I had to go back to read what I wrote earlier so I can continue.

After Paulie got back from taking Mom to the airport we settled in to watch the bowl games. Illinois was playing in the Rose Bowl. Gee it was a waste to watch the Illini get their asses kicked by those left coast kids. Sigh...and I swore after the superbowl I would NOT get caught up in picking a team and rooting for the losers. Oh well. They say the road to hell....

The week after the New Year was unexciting...it took me several days to pack away all the Christmas stuff. My guitar lessons continue and I still stink. On Tuesday, Jan 8, Paulie was scheduled to go to the VA in San Antonio for an Agent Orange test. We had planned this trip in advance and scheduled several free rooms from Choice points in both San Antonio and Fredericksburg. After SA we headed to Fredericksburg a German settlement. Wow, the shops and bakeries are amazing. We did stop first in Comfort, Tx but there was little to see after Christmas. We missed the lights at Riverwalk in SA by one day...we got there and they were not only taking the lights down, they were DRAINING the canal. So it goes...lucky Paul and Dee.

We went to a brewery in town and saw three real cutie pie cowboys all dressed up in authentic cowboy stuff...right outta Hollywood. They were reinactors. I got my picture taken with them and while talking to the three of 'em I found out one was from Lombard! Some cowboy. Lombard has a lilac festival for cripesakes. They were cute tho and they were fun to talk to. We had great pizza at the place and the beer was pretty good too.

On Wednesday we shopped all day long...now for those out there who don't know Paulie very well...this was a monumental concession on his part...he hates to shop. I did leave him outside a few places to rest his hip, but actually we had a great time. We had a great lunch at a German place that claimed the best rubens and hamburgers in town. The ruben was only so so, the hamburger Paulie said was good. Pffft...you'd think I learn not to believe all the hype.

We got back to the room, and I took a nap after spending a few bucks. Can you believe I didn't have to BEG? We stayed in and watched the crap they now call TV. Jeesh it sucks. Game shows, reality garbage. I can now convince Paul that we should watch TLC and Disc and LEARN something.

On Thursday we headed over to the LBJ Ranch and State Park. What a great place. We took the tour of the ranch...I can understand why Texans from this part of the state always come back...the hill country is beautiful. His ranch apparently was his refuge. Lady Bird has been laid to rest next to Lyndon, but the family has yet to decide what to do for her headstone. Beautiful red roses now mark the spot. The house where LBJ was born has been reconstructed and it is a nice little place. They were like most at the time, quite poor. His grandfather along with his brothers drove cattle, grew cotton and raised sheep. LBJ's father was a local teacher turned politician just like his son. The Texas White House is still under the family's control until one year after Mrs. Johnson's death when it will be turned over to the State. They are hoping to at least refurbish the room used as a conference room and have it available by next summer. We visited the show barn and saw descendants of LBJ's first herd of cattle. His favorite saying was apparently something like the cattle go out and the money comes in. I was not a fan of LBJ due to my protesting of the Viet Nam was as a teenager. Now I know that he truly was a prolific President and many of the programs he initiated back then have made life for many Americans better such as Head Start, HUD and Medicare. These programs have been criticized by so many people over the years, but I believe that we are a better people for reaching down to help those who need a boost. We owe LBJ for enlightening us about our environment too...he passed many bills such as the clean water act, which I think we now take for granted. Enough of my grandstanding for LBJ whom I never really cared for as a President. I still don't agree with that war, but he did do alot for the middle and lower classes. Pffffft to the naysayers!

After the LBJ ranch we went to the Suter working ranch which LBJ established for folks to understand how life was like in the hill country circa 1915, when he would have been around 7.
There are interpreters who actually work the farm. I am glad we were there on Thursday...we saw the animals they were gonna butcher next week...pooor piggies and calfs.

After the Suter ranch we found Luckenback Tx. It's NOTHING. A post office and a dance hall. Period. What a waste. From there it was back towards San Antonio and then on to Corpus Christi. We landed at a Quality inn on the beach but it was pretty empty. The place was in dire need of cleaning and altho the pool and the hot tub LOOKED clean, upon further inspection I decided not to risk the plague and stayed out. We had dinner at a place called Blackbeards. I had FRESH yes, fresh red snapper caught that day, and cooked blackened. Ohhhh...heaven. Paulie had fresh fried clams and they were also very good. We were entertained by a clone of Jimmy Buffet who sang a lot of James Taylor and America. He was pretty good and I was able to watch his effortless chord movements on the guitar. I'll never be able to do that...

We headed back to the room, watched some TV and hit the sack. All that walking on the ranches wore me out, and my scooter was not really capable of traversing the land there.

On Friday we headed to Big Padre Island, and visited Mustang Island. I didn't see any mustangs tho. A few jaguars and a few beemers. Ooops...bad joke I guess...We also checked out a couple of RV parks...on a resort with pads for sale ($50k up to $90+k) and a nice resort I could stay at with no problems...right over the sandunes to the gulf waters.

In Port Aransas we had lunch at a place called Finn's. Great hamburgers and the fish baskets looked great also. After lunch we headed back over to the mainland and headed up Tx 77 back home. We made it home around 5. We took the Vue over to Pep boys as the driver who shall remain nameless smacked into a bag full of empty cans some ass had dropped on the highway and the right front tire is losing air. I guess reflexes do deteriorate over time (insert evil grin here....!)


Well, that brings us up to date. Now I am back to redoing the upload of all those pix. Wish me luck.

Take care and Happy New Year about a week or so late!

hugs

dee

Saturday afternoon....

I have been uploading pictures...there are quite a few...some good, some not so good...

I am too lazy to be picky about who wants what picture where yanno?

Go to the right hand column and select the set you want to see and click....Viola! Pictures of various events and places....


here is the link...
Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ziaja/

hope you enjoy...will be updating more on the blog later....

I am staying in tonight...tired from our trip to SA/Fred/CC. It was a nice get away tho...

hugs

dee

Saturday...January 12....

I apologize to all my readers...I haven't posted since Christmas. Not that I don't have the time, its just pure, unadulterated laziness and lack of desire to put into words all the stuff going on. For this I have no excuse.

The last post was Dec 23rd, and I had sent the three fools (the Ziaja men) to Mexico to get them outta my hair. I did accomplish a lot while they were gone. They arrived back home about 4 pm. I had just taken the fat fart Pepi out to do his biznes and up drives grandpa's car with Paulie behind the wheel. I watch them disembark. Grandpa opens the door, and Pepi sees him and runs to the car. Grandpa then falls out of the car on the grass. Oh, great. The three fools are now the three drunk fools. Zack proceeds to the trunk, a bit of a weave in his step, and pulls out this bull whip. Yup, a freakin' bullwhip. This sucker must be 15 feet long. I go back in the house, leaving grandpa on the grass rolling around playing with that stupid dog. No way am I going to get involved in this foolishness. I stand at the kitchen window and watch my 22 year old son play with a bull whip. I was hoping he'd wack himself in the privates, but alas, I didn't get that lucky. That certainly would have put an end to the playing bullwhip crap. Then Paulie starts....oh how I wish for just one minute he'd smack himself...anywhere on his body would be fine. Again I am disappointed. The rest of the day goes downhill the minute the three fools enter the premises. I finally told Paul to get out and find something else to do...all he was doing was criticizing what I had accomplished. How dare he? He was playing with the bullwhip while I was making this party we all planned work and he had the freakin' nerve to criticize? Not to me he isn't. Once a fool, always a fool I guess.

Monday Dec 24th...

I go to my guitar lesson, leaving about an hour early....Paul and I head to Mcallen to pick up Mom and Cecil. No problems parking, the place is relatively normal. The mall across the street is jumping but access into the airport is unobstucted. We see Mom, she sees us and starts crying. Cecil proceeds to wander off into the farthest regions of the airport on his scooter which he has on full "rabbit", the fastest setting. He makes these u-turns in front of folks, scattering Mexicans as if he was Teddy Roosevelt. What an old goof he is. Mom, at the top of her voice starts that familiar screechy "Cecil....CECIL....CECIL!" Musik to my ears, LOL!

We get their rental car...mom and I drive the rental, Paulie takes Cecil. We head out of Mcallen back to Weslaco to their motel...at Victoria Palms. We get them checked in and settled in their room so they can take a rest. We will pick them up at 5 so we can attend Bev's Christmas Eve get-together. At five, Paulie goes to pick them up and they come back to see grandpa's place. We then head over to Bev's. Had a nice time...big group, good food which goes fast. Cecil fades around ten so Paulie takes them back to the motel. Zack, me and grandpa head home. Zack was so bored at the party he hit the hot tub. At home, the few little presents Santa is bringing need to be wrapped. Nothing changes in MY life or habits...jeesh, I wait until Christmas eve every year to wrap stuff. May have had it in the house for weeks, but never wrap until the night before...I have a circuit loose someplace in my Christmas brain section I guess.

Christmas Day....

We are up early, and I am at the hall by 8:30 to set our table up. I finish and go back to the house....we open a few presents. We told Mom we'd pick them up when they called to tell us they were ready, but the surprised us by showing up about 10:45. We have coffee and my absolutely delish stollen. (Martha Stewart's mom would be proud...it's her recipe and I make it very well, if I do say so myself....no bragging....truth as Paulie would say.) We get ready and head for the hall around 11:30 for dinner which begins at noon. Too damm early for dinner for me ...dinner is FIVEISH...am I right? I never like to eat at noon. That's LUNCH. We are the second to the last table called to hit the buffet line and the first three tables are like really empty. But there was plenty farther down, the folks here don't skimp when it comes to potlucks. The desserts look wonderful and of course, I get dessert before I eat my main meal.
We had a nice dinner and at the last minute, Katie, and older widow was planning on eating alone....she plays cards with Paulie (he said she's a viper at the table) so we invited her to join us. She was truly an enjoyable dining companion for Zack. He couldn't eat he was laughing so hard with her.

After we cleaned up, Paulie and Zack stayed for the major clean up. To my surprise, Zack volunteered and mopped the ENTIRE floor in the rec hall. Hmmmm.

Once back at the house, it was full speed ahead to get things ready for the open house. Mom rolled the sausage balls, the meatballs in the crockpot put in early this morning were coming along nicely. Paul chopped up all the cheeses, Zack wiped down the bathrooms, and grandpa wiped off chairs. Oh yeah...Cecil insisted on going back to the motel so Zack took him. PIA.
I did the parm cheese sticks...another PIA...I also had prepared the puff pastry brie so when the meatballs were done all I had to do was pop it in the oven. I had also done the fake eggnog, so all we had to do was add the brandy. I made the Mexican Rum Hot cocoa, and Zack had made the apple pie liquer the day before to age. We were doing great. I could hardly stand, but we were doing good. The hams had been sliced the day before when I baked 'em, and the rest of the stuff like the relish tray were easy. Nachos and salsa trays were easy, as was the dessert table. I had two different rum cakes, my fruit cake and a huge box of candy. Our guests would be bringing sweets for the dessert table. We had three different wines, but no beer. That's always a BYOB item here in the park. Well, folks began arriving at 4:45 and were amazed at the spread. I must admit we did a great job...we all worked together to accomplish my goal.

I wanted to thank Grandpa's friends and neighbors for keeping an eye on him while we are gone. It means alot to us that some many folks invite him to dinner, take him with them on trips to Mexico and Mcallen and making sure he is out and about.

Zack was amazing (now this is just from past experiences yanno...he IS maturing thank the good Lord!). He served drinks, he made drinks, he took trays of stuff and acted like a server...he was just , well like I said, amazing. I spent the entire party on my butt on the sofa in the living room. Everyone was tickled at the village (the one I painted years ago) and it looked great all lite up and set up in the living room, little trees and the pond etc. They loved my tree with all the santas and snowmen and the hand crocheted snowflakes drew a lot of attention. Those who had not seen the house were amazed at it's size. All in all, it was a great party and finally broke up about 11. Talk of the park for days I am told. We have been told we throw the best parties by far, which is good...there aren't gonna be many of them.

Well, the next couple of days were spent resting (me), lounging at the pool (mom) and fleamarketing (Zack and Paul). Gene rested and I think Cecil spent most of his time asleep at the motel...We made Zack's fav meal, marinated flank steak for dinner on Wed evening. Always a treat, it was really good.

We had to take Zack to the airport on Thursday. PIA Cecil decided he didn't want to spend the money on the rental car (great, now we can be at his beck and call...grrrrr) so we did that when we took Zack to Mcallen. I was so sad to see Zack leave. He was such a different kid!!! He was anxious to get back to his life....the life of older retiree's is not his cup of tea, however he was attentive and quite the gentleman with all Grandpa's friends.

After he left, we decided to get some lunch, Paulie wanting to try the Chinese buffet down the street from us. It was closed believe it or not! So we went to Keno's a local Mexican place. Had a late lunch, so we wouldn't need dinner. Took mom and Cecil back to the motel so he could sleep and mom could hit the hot tub. Later Paulie picked them up and we had a "leftovers"

On Friday, we took Mom and PIA to South Padre Island, giving them the visitor's tour. We of course ate at Dirty Al's and the shimp were as ususal terrific.

Saturday, we went to the flea market, which was lots of fun. Mom and I found denim jackets for 8 bucks...since PIA and I both had our scoooters, we saw alot. We took them back to the hotel, and made plans to go to Little Italy with them and the Elks gang grandpa hangs with. The food was amazing, but very very pricey. I had chicken marsala which was superb. After the meal, we headed to the Elks club for Karaoke. Yes, you read that right, Karaoke. Paul went to play Texas hold'em the poop...he hates Karaoke. We all had several drinks and sang. Mom cried when I sang her a song. Weepy Dawnie. Afterwards, we went back to Bev's to sing somemore and have some cocktails. Paulie took Mom and PIA home.

Sunday was Mexico. We looked at lots of shops....mom was going nuts wanting things, but since they had to fly from here to Florida, it was not possible to buy much. We then hit the Arizona, and true to form, we all got sh*tfaced on the twofer margaritas. We arrived back at the house and PIA fell asleep on the sofa, Mom in the recliner. We took them home around 8.

Monday, New Year's Eve.

Grandpa is the New Year's baby this year. We got him a sash that reads 2008 and a cardboard happy new year hat. He will wear an adult diaper, hold a cigar in his teeth and have a bottle of rum with a nipple on it. Should be fun. The party started at 8 so we had dinner at the house of leftover flank steak, fresh corn on the cob and salad...still good the second time around. The rec hall had been limited to 130 folks so the crowd wasn't too big. It was BORING...watching oldies just dancing. We were drinking premade bucket cosmos, and everyone else was doing scotch.
At 11:40, grandpa left to do his thing. At midnight, Old Man 2007 arrived with New Year's Baby 2008 in a wagon. It was worth the four hour wait to see grandpa in the wagon.

We went back to Bev's after the party ended at 12:30 but we didn't stay long. Paul took Mom and PIA back to the hotel...they are leaving New year's day.

Paulie picked them up about ten on Tuesday...we had a nice chat over coffee. I was so wiped that I didn't go with them to the airport...Paulie drove them to the airport and saw them off.
It was a great visit. I am looking forward to seeing Mom in Feb when I go to Ft. Myers.

Gonna take a break now...will post more updates about our trip to San Antonio, Fredricksburg and Corpus Christi later.

hugs

dee

Sunday....

After watching a very satisfying Bear's game on TV (lucky we got it here...this is Cowboys country....I can root for them now since the Bears are out of chances...)
I decided to move the Christmas Village from under the tree so Zack and I can set it up on a table in the Texas room. The little fat fart Pepi and that damm cat keep trying to sleep under the tree, I guess because of the warmth of the lights. Anyways to my sheer disgust I found Snickers poop in there. She must have liked the snow blanket that I have used for years...which is now safely in the trash...all houses and stuff wiped off with disinfectant wipes. Grrrrr, I swear, if she wasn't so old and it being Christmas and all, I would have thrown her out the freakin' door to fend for herself in an unknown territory. UGH. Ick, Ick, Ick...

I am having a wonderful Sunday afternoon all by myself, setting up really for the open house we are having on Christmas night. I sent the three fools off the Mexico...they'll all come back tipsy on those two-fer margaritas. Of course, BOTH grandpa and Paulie claim this shindig has NOT been discussed. Screw'em both for being stupid. I have been making lists, buying stuff, decorating and making stuff for WEEKS. Where the hell have THEY been? I can understand grandpa, he won't wear his hearing aides so he may NOT have heard some of my discussions with him or he's getting senile, but PAUL!?! Foolish goofman. Grandpa made out the guest list for cripes sakes...HE was the one who invited 45 people...I don't KNOW 45 people here....I have been talking menu for days and I get this struck dumb look. OK, dumb and dumber...I wrote it all down and made them READ the menu, where the setup and tables will be, what the drinks were....man, I am NOT happy.

We did pick up Zack on Friday and then had a nice dinner at Chili's. He looks very good, but then the hair thing is a bit unusual for him. He looks like a bearded Josh Groban...but really cute. I'm his mother so I can say that he looks cute!

Yesterday we took him to South Padre Island. Ate at Dirty Al's then took the "tour". The place was deserted, I am not kidding. You would think it would be jammed for Christmas....nope. We also stopped at the micro-brewery and had the sampler. Last night Zack and Paul played Texas hold'em and grandpa went to dinner and the Elks. I watched a tv movie, had two beers and was in bed by 8:30 for heaven's sake.

Well, I am off to make fudge for the party...and later will do my stollen. I still need some little things from the store, but I won't trust the three of them to pick it up for me on the way home...

I was gonna write a nice piece about Christmas but I am a bit on the frustrated side with the "menfolk" and losing what little patience I have left. Mom and Cecil arrive at one tomorrow afternoon...great, the airport is right across from the mall.....can't wait to make that trip.

Merry Christmas from the land of bedlam.

hugs

Dee

Tuesday

I had my third guitar lesson yesterday. I swear it is the most fun I can have on a Monday at 8:30 in the morning! There are between 23 and 28 at any given time, most of us beginners. Yesterday, the gentleman behind me was admiring my L'Boutique Target guitar. When I told him that I had gotten it on clearance for $32 he almost fell off his chair. It certainly isn't the best guitar around, but for a beginner it suits me just fine...and it has a built in tuner and it came with a case! It sounds as good as the rest of the beginners....if I decide to continue, I will look for a better one, but so far, this is it! I can now do FIVE songs...four with the same tune (Honky Tonk Angels has four songs with the same melody) and yesterday we learned.....Blue Eyes Cryn' in the Rain....can ya believe it? I am anxious to do something besides the downward strum, but Tom the instructor has his reasons for us to stick with the simple down stroke until we all understand the concept of timing. We are still working the key of C which has some tricky fingering but I shall persevere. My fingertips hurt like the dickens but I shall survive.

Grandpa is feeling poorly, I think he has that rotten bug that is going around the park. It starts with a fatigue and achy bones thing than slams you to the ground pronto. We have plied him with Zicam and nyquil/dayquil so hopefully he will be running at full speed by the end of the week. Zack gets here on Friday...I am anxious to see him since I haven't seen him since July. I can't wait to see how good he looks 100 lbs thinner either. I bought him some goofy undies like I usually do for Christmas and it was neat to by xl instead of 4x. Mom and Cecil will be here on Monday...at least their flight will be in at one instead of 4...I do have a lesson that morning (hey the guitar class voted and I am not gonna miss a class) so I guess I will just have Paulie and Zack drop me off, they can go have breakfest and then we can go to the airport to pick them up. They have rented a car, but there is NO WAY I am gonna get in the back seat with Mother driving. I wanna live a few more Christmases...maybe she will let Paul drive...then Zack and I can follow in our car. We have a Christmas Eve Party at Bev's...if we get them to Victoria Palms where they are staying which is just down the road from us about a mile, then maybe they can rest and have a bite to eat. There is an IHOP and a Luby's just down the road from them at the Palms. Christmas day will be a simple breakfast here, early because the park dinner is at noon....waaaaaaay to early for my taste. Then, we will be hosting an open house at grandpa's place with lite appetizers and rum and fruitcake. I am making "Mexican hot cocoa" which is really cocoa with cinnamon and some booze, and then some fake egg nog, made with milk and vanilla pudding with real rum and cool whip. I am not doing cookies this year, except Paul's favorite oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip (how very Christmasy his choices are....but who the hell knows where my cookie press is...spritz are MY favorite and I can't have any....saves on the pants size I guess.) I have all these plans in my head to do this and that and wind up just letting it go...I had to have Paul stir the fruitcake batter...I couldn't do it because of the fibro. Days like that really suck.

I am off to the doc's again this afternoon...bladder infection for the like 15th time this year. There is obviously some low level infection going on here that keep rearing it's fugly head. Enough is enough....

I have gotten some pictures from back home of the snow...ooooooh. I feel your pain....it is in the 70's but a bit overcast today...supposed to pop up to 85 and sunny on Friday...but then highs in the upper 60's on Saturday and Sunday. Anything is better than 2 below with a wind chill in the teens...of course, Christmas lights do look lovely covered in the white stuff, but I'll take my palm tree wrapped in twinkle lights and going out to pick an orange off the tree in the back yard.

Hope this finds everyone well, and not to far behind in your Christmas preparations....its only a week away yanno....be done already!!!!!

hugs

Dee

Tuesday

Well, yesterday the poor woman who is to be my new primary care doc got to meet me. I say "poor" cause I don't know if she knows what to make of me yet...all she kept saying was...."really" or "seriously" when we discussed my various afflictions. We did the obligatory blood work, urine test, etc. She did tell me that my cymbalta has probably contributed to my inability to lose that stubborn rotten #)($)(#*$# 20 lbs I have managed to slap on my butt. *Sigh*.

I have been practicing my guitar...my fingers are feeling a bit on the sore side...as the teacher said they would followed up by a "tough, get used to it" comment. I have now learned, well er, shall we say, I can "do" 6 chords. I can sing and play Honkey Tonk Angels, the Kitty Wells version, all by myself with just a bit of fumbling around really really badly. Practice makes perfect so I guess I just have to keep plugging away.

I am still searching for the Christmas spirit. Is there such a thing? I used to have it in freakin' October, now it's hard to come by. Maybe because I can't do the things I used to love to do. Bake, make candy, gingerbread creations, all the stuff that made the holidays so much fun...well fun to eat anyways.

This year I did make a batch of fruitcake...don't know how it will turn out...by the time I had the fruits prepared and soaking in brandy it was a whole week before the cakes were made....thanks to the flu. The raisins had soaked up so much brandy, Paul kept adding more. By the time I added the fruits to the batter the raisins turned it dark! It was ripe right out of the oven!

The tree has finally been finished but Pepi and Snickers have ransacked the town I had so laboriously put together underneath it...rotten flea bitten creatures. I am gonna have Zack fetch it outta there and we'll set it up on a table in the Texas room. We are planning an open house for Christmas night...we never really do too much entertaining during the holidays anymore and I figured folks could use a bite after such an early noontime Christmas Dinner. I will have fruitcake, rum cake, Mexican Hot Cocoa, Christmas punch, and some lite appetizers like sausage balls, hot crab dip, cheese tray, some sliced baked ham and little rolls and maybe a relish tray. I have added a request for Christmas cookies on the invite or a Christmas speciality to be brought along. Should be fun unless Paulie turns into the Grinch again like he usually does.

Well, not much else going on...a cool front has moved in along with some rain and it should be more seasonal....highs only in the low 70's... the hot has been nice tho...with that nice breeze, it really doesn't seem 90 at all...no air, just keeping the windows open lets the cross breeze keeps things comfy.

More later...

hugs

Dee

Wednesday

I am sorry I have been out of it... literally, for four days with the most wicked flu bug I have ever had. Thank goodness it didn't do what it usually does, morph into pneumonia like it normally does. It started Saturday and I finally came back to this world around noon today when the fever broke. I actually did make my guitar lesson on Monday, sitting in a dining hall chair for THREE hours ....but what the heck we learned I have no clue, I was out somewhere circling jupiter. Man. I haven't been this sick since I babysat Janice's kids and I caught pnuemona and laid in bed for four days before one of my "neices" decided to peek into the room I was in to check to see if I was dead yet. Same thing here...I had to call Paul on the freaking phone so he would come in and give me something so I could stop the chills. Zack called and I complained to him and then he called Paul and I guess told him I was really sick and he needed to check on me. I guess it made Paul feel guilty and he did come and check on me more frequently. I guess he thought I just wanted peace and quiet. The first temp he took after I had taken tylenol was 102. I guess he thought I was faking or something, who knows.

Well, Santa Claus is Coming to town is on TV so I gotta go...

hugs

dee

Friday...

Another day lost to the curse of Fibro and Meniere's. I did get the fruit cut up and soaking in brandy for the fruitcakes. I also made a banana bread. By then I was totally useless. The tree is still nekked except for the lights, and to be honest, the look is growing on me, LOL! Hey, I have three weeks to get this decorated right? I also set up the village under the tree, but it really doesn't look good down there. The tree skirt won't let anything stand up strait and that damm fattie Pepi decided he liked the warmth under the tree from the lights and knocked it all down so he could warm himself under the tree. Little p*sser. I will have Paulie move it out from under the tree...I had a bit of a problem getting my arse off the floor between the knees, hips and achy old body, I had to slide on my butt over to the couch and use it to get myself up. Too bad there wasn't a hidden camera, I'd have been the newest hit on You Tube.

I purchased a new photo scanner from Ebay. I bid 47 bucks and won...others older went for 75 to 100 bucks. Think I did ok. It is an Epson and it is designed to do only photos, negatives and slides. You can do four photos at a time and each one will scan as a single jpg. Unlike my visioneer, all photos were lumped into one image and then you had to crop out stuff to make four separate pix. There is an automatic feed for prints available for this, but it is about $150. I could load it with 24 photos and they will automatically feed and scan. I have soooooo many photos, and I have purged them several times. All I want to do is scan the photos onto cd's to make sure we save all of our memories.

The VHS to DVD project is going well...once we learned the correct DVD's to use.
Now all I have to do is find a software program to edit these...I can add music and still pictures and put in titles and stuff. Something to do on those long January nights when TV is so boring.

Paul stood in line for three hours on Wed in order to get tickets the the Weslaco Panthers playoff game. The have won the last two games and are now set to take on San Antonio's champion for some championship. There are several guys here in the park that go to all the games just because they like football. There is a running back on the Panther's that is a phenom...runs like 500 yards per game. He is only 5'7" so I am not sure any big name Texas Univ will take a chance on him, but he is sure to get a full ride scholarship to a smaller Div II school I am sure. This town is absolutely nuts over this game. Signs and posters everywhere. The pep rally last night drew huge crowds and there is a huge tailgate party planned this afternoon...tailgate parties are a bit different here...nachos, tacos, barbarcoa and other TexMex delights will be on the menu. I see how some of the locals eat their nachos....they positively LOAD the entire plateful with jalapeno peppers...just looking at it makes my eyes water and my throat begin burning, LOL!

Well, I guess I better get off my tush and do something around here...I should get all the pictures in one place and set up a work station to begig the scanning process. I will let you all know what happens. You all know how mechanically inclined I really am...

hugs

Dennise

Thursday

The tree is up, but is nekked except for the lights that came on the tree. I have set up my Santa collection on the top of the TV wall bookshelf thingy. I found Catherine's manger set but it is not one I recall her using. She had a very old ceramic set but I think that perhaps when they downsized she must have given it away. This set is like a dark pewter with glitter...she must have gotten this in Mexico years ago when they used to come down to the RGV for the winter. I have decided to set up my mismatched Christmas village under the tree since we don't think Santa is going to be bringing any packages...envelopes perhaps, but no biggies to fit under the tree. We are just going to give Zack some gift cards along with the traditional underpants, socks and handkerchiefs...its tradition from Grandma Catherine and a good one I think. She always got both Paul and Zack these needed items that one never buys for oneself.

Paul found me a used guitar stand at a pawn shop and we got a real deal on a music stand from the music shop in town that we have been to 6 times and they have been closed. So...all set for my beginning guitar lessons with the geezers at the Alamo Rec RV park.

We went to the Elk's club for dinner....Thursday is chicken fried steak and it was really good...the local "guys" from the lodge provided some nice country music and even did some Cajun numbers.

We finally decided to make fruitcake. My mom was disappointed that I wasn't gonna make it...the stuff I need is not easy to find down here until now. I usually make the cakes in October and no later than the first weekend in Nov. They are nice and mellow sitting in their weekly brandy showers by Christmas. I did give away my treasured pans (thinking I'd not make them again....*sigh*) but all I need is to borrow an angel food pan for the large cake and do a large loaf. The two cakes together weigh about 20 lbs they are so laden with fruit. I don't care for citron so I use candied pineapple and cherries, chopped apricots, dried cranberries and cherries and a whole pound of pecans and a pound of both white and dark raisins. It is like a white fruitcake, very similar in texture to a wonderfully dense pound cake with the fruit. Delish. I know a lot of folks make fun of it, but I bet they NEVER had a really good homemade one. I don't care for the molasses and rum type cakes...but in a pinch will suffer thru a piece. I will also make stollen for Christmas morning, a simple Bacardi rum cake and brown sugar choc chips. I may make some spritz if I can find someone with a cookie press, and what would Christmas be without pizzeles? Paul sold my pizzele maker....and those were his favorite! If I do one thing per day, I can handle things...mornings should be ok and then I can rest in the afternoon. No candy this year...we can't have it (except grandpa) but I can have grandpa make Hank Kerr's microwave peanut brittle. Zack certainly won't be eating anything sweet...he'll save his calories for his Jack and coke.

Well, the weekend is upon us again, and I am looking forward to going to the farmers market...the grapefruits are ready!

hugs

Dee

Goodness...it's Monday already. For Thanksgiving we did go to the hall with 300 other folks for what turned out to be a nice dinner. Of course, I hated the turkey,(dry), the stuffing(cornbread, ick) and mashed potatoes(which I practically had to restrain the dufus serving that I DIDN"t want...) but everyone brought a dish or two and it was an incredible site to see all this food laid out. I found one or two things I liked (sweet potato casserole and raspberry cobbler) and was content. LOTS of green bean casseroles, peas and carrots in cream sauce (blech!)

Friday, Paulie and I did venture out to Wally World to get some DVD's so we could continue our transfer of VHS to DVD project...and for the 4th time I went to the music store to get a guitar stand and a music stand and it was closed! Maybe he took the weekend off.

Saturday we just kinda puttered and then went to dinner at the Elks. Prime Rib. Worstest prime rib I have ever eaten, and I am NOT making this up. Ugh. Never again...I just get a baked potato or something from the salad bar. Ick Ick Ikc.
I did sing two songs and they were well received by the crowd. We all went back to Bev's house afterwards except for Paul the poop. Not kidding...he had salad and had to use the bathroom immediately.

Sunday was a bad day for me...I slept alot and later it rained. Paul went to play Mexican Train, Grandpa was watching some slasher movie and I just read in the bedroom. We found our that one of the resident's here died Sunday morning so our dinner with Bev and the gang was cancelled for Sunday evening.

I am planning on putting up the tree tonight. Zack usually sets it up for me, but that's not gonna happen so I better ask Scrooge.

Well, not much else is going on...we finally have sun and 70's again but this weekend is looking nasty...rain and 60's again. Oh well, it is better than snow and biting cold wind!

hugs

dee

Tuesday

Oh my, where do I begin? Paulie is off shuffling (like all the old farts who live here...Friday he lost $1.40...at this rate we will be broke by March...the loser!)
The other old fart went to get his hair(s!) cut. Just got done watching the weather forecast...jeesh, it is gonna only be in the mid 60's for the rest of the week...crap, I'll have to get out pants and close the windows. Well, we can't complain, the weather has been perfect since we got here.

I am still struggling with the problems on my computer. I have the four backup disks that I must scan for the sickies before I can reload my pix and documents.
Am just not up to facing the aggravation. So yesterday, since Paul didn't buy the DVD-RW's I asked for to start the video to dvd transfers, I decided to rifle through the thousands of pictures still not scanned and put on CD's. There must be 3000. I have been searching for a photo scanner that has an automatic feed. There is no way I am ever going to get them all scanned if I have to manually do each one individually. I did find an Epson photo/biz card feeder which was called a "scanner" but on further research, found that it is just an attachment that works with two other Epson photo scanners. Imagine my surprise when I tried to find out the prices on these two photo scanners...they are discontinued. Can you believe this crap? So I look on Ebay and there are two used ones...I hate to buy used cause you never know if someone has junked it up and is now dumping it to some unwary Ebay freak. *Sigh*. The attachment is about $150 with shipping, and the scanner I am thinking will go for about $100 with shipping. Services will scan the photos onto CDs for prices ranging from 12 cents each to 500 pictures for $60. Either way, its expensive. Paul's solution? Pick out the good ones (yeah, like I can choose which pose I like better of all Zack's baby pictures...unthinking foolish oaf...) With 3000 photos from both of us and our lives before we got married, our whole married life, including visits to now deceased relatives, and all the stuff of life in between like vacations, Christmas and other holidays, it will cost about $400 no matter what I do. Hmmm. Anybody wanna chime in here and give me some advice? I dumped all the fuzzy pix, bad pix of me (snark snark....most of Zack's life I was a blimp so many of those hit the shredder) and duplicates. I still have 3000 after the purge. I also have lots of pix my mom gave me of long ago with my godmother, grandfathers, and lots of great shots of Jan and me as little kids...no way am I gonna lose these. What is up with MEN? They are pack rats with THEIR stuff but goodness, God help the woman who wants to save her kids birth announcement for cripesakes. Grrrrr.

OK...I have about 15 minutes before the shuffleboard loser shows up and I need to get to Walmart. WE are bringing jello salad (carrots, pineapple, nuts and yellow jello) and I have three large bananas I will magically transform into my favorite and FAMOUS banana bread.

BTW, Zack is down about 75 lbs. 25 more to go before he'll cut his hair...it is down to his shoulders but curly(where that came from I'll never know...he had it when he was a baby too...blond ringlets that I cried when he got cut off....). He had a fill last Thursday, but didn't complain of any problems until Sunday when I dragged it outta him. He couldn't keep even water down...putz, what does he think he's superman and doesn't need any hydration? So get this...he tells me he is taking a lot of SHOWERS to hydrate his skin. OMG. Did he think he'd not get dehydrated by sitting in the tub or taking a shower? What is this kid learning in college for heavens sake...well, I guess as an English major he didn't take any science classes....common BRAINS would tell you to call the doc right?
He didn't want to bother him on the weekend....cripes, that's why you PAY the doctor to be there when you need them. So, being his mother I called the doc. Got the service, explained the situation and told them to page the doc and have him call Zack asap. Doc was on airplane and called as soon as he landed. Told Zack to sip Gatorade and get his ass to Clinton first thing Monday morning. The PA had overfilled his band, so the doc took our 1cc of the 2 they did on Thursday.
I am sure I was not told just exactly what the doc told the brat...sure hope he reamned him good. Supid ass. Well, like father, like son so they say....

OK, off to get ready to go to Wally world...well, at least get dressed, LOL!

hugs

Dee

Geez, arn't y'all lucky today!?!

Two posts from me...

OK, so I'm reading the boards and see the post about how to store DVDs. I get inspired (which is really rare these days ) and made Paulie dig out the VHS/DVD player/recorder out for me. He bought this for me four years ago so I could transfer all our vhs tapes to DVDs. Ok, so some stuff got in the way , like knitting, soap operas, rv trips, yanno...the normal important stuff. Well like I said, I never used it, we never even hooked it up 'cause the kid went off to college and who else is capable of adding another "thing" to the Dish/TV/DVD components?I read the instructions or should I say I paged thru the manual at least 5 times and NOWHERE did I find out how to transfer the video to the DVD. Paulie and I had some spicy conversations (read: bad words for each other!) trying to figure this out. Finally I got on line and did a search on the model etc and found some feedback on buyers of this damm thing...one guy lost his manual and asked on a board how to do the video to dvd thing. I just about stroked out....it was there all along under, get this, DUBBING. I don't think of myself as a stupid person, actually for someone who has medical issues and spends alot of time visiting brainfog land, I do quite well.DUBBING...isn't that like voice overs on tapes and tv shows and movies? Grrrrrr. I killed a whole afternoon missing the instructions cause it was called DUBBING, not what a normal thinking person would look for...something like "How to transfer Video to DVD" or something equally intelligent and understandable to the normal NON-geeks of the world? Ok, I am done ranting.Now all I have to do is find the video thingy where you put the 8MM tapes in so you can watch 'em on the VHS so I can covert these also.I give up. 6 plus years of college and grad school did nothing for me...well, I did study marketing...hmm...maybe I'll "market" a how to for dummies on DUBBING.
hugs
Dee

Friday...

Nothing new here at this point in time...my laptop is still in shambles, I could write a book about this experience. I can't add much to Grandpa's computer and it is too slow to do anything other than get my email. Grrrrr. Hopefully I will be up and running again this week...have to figure out how to reload backup stuff without creating havoc with this piece of crap.

Sorry...not a happy camper....

Grandpa wants to eat Thanksgiving at "the hall" with everyone else. Crap. I had my face fixed for deep fried turkey, my stuffing, cranberries and pie...not see thru jello salad and cold pressed turkey. Hmmm, maybe I can change his mind? Do my own turkey on Saturday? Conflict with a 90 year old who has an extra set of stubbon genes (get the joke?) is a waste of energy and a certain trip to the medicine cabinet to get Maalox.

hugs

Dee

Hellllooo everybodee, as Elmo would say...

I am using grandpa's computer so I now have wifi internet access. It took me about three days to get it up and running(god only knows what a 91 year old brain thinks and then DOES when using this thing, lol!). Everything is now updated and is running a lot faster thank goodness. Problem is my puter is off to the big kahuna Geek at Gateway in the sky...perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. They have assured me that they can recover all my files and docs plus my precious pix

I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last blogged. It has been a strange and frustrating journey to establish domicile here in Texas. I was led to believe that Texas welcomed us full time RVer's with open arms, making things easy and quick to get drivers licenses', vehicle registration, ect. Bullshit. I will write more on our experiences at a later time, maybe when I can write coherently without using all kinds of cuss words.

Of course, as planned, after leaving Indiana and the Escapade Rally, we headed down to Pigeon Forge, TN to check out future employment at Dollywood. I was awestruck at this town. It is like Branson tenfold. Paul thought Dollywood was hokey, I thought it was neat, kinda like a southern Silver Dollar City. Plus, I love the little shops, the bakeries and homemade candies. You know that will never change. We left on Saturday, I think and got into Weslaco on Monday. The trip was long,almost 1400 miles, and of course, the part of Texas we traveled thru was just so scenic (oh yeah, so many cacti to look at an of course the well kept homes along SR77. )

I think the trip took a lot out of me...plus the relief of being back in the Valley for a couple of months, all the stuff we had to do here, kinda stressed me out. Then I was hit with the mother of all bladder infections which knocked me on my ass for almost two weeks. Paul went down to Mexico to get me some antibiotics which I am now taking faithfully...did you know that e.coli is the culprit for bladder infections. I must be full of that bacteria as I get at least one a month due to my Fibro. It is a common side effect/added bonus of that wonderful disease.

The weather here is warm...Thursday in McAllen it was 104 and yesterday we went to the Island for the Master's Sand sculpting competetion. It was quite warm, even with the breeze off the water. Amazing things to see...I did take pictures, but won't be able to post until I get my laptop back. No softward on this one, and I don't want to clutter grandpa's computer since it is a dinosaur to begin with.

What I will prolly do is just recap the last three or so weeks with the pictures when I get my pc back.

FYI, Paul's cousin in CA, Tommy Ash was critically injured several weeks ago in a freak motorcycle accident, but is well on his way to recovery and is now recouping at home. Paul and grandpa are itching to call him and give him the business...60+ years old and he still can't ride that thing, LOL! We can laugh now but we were all praying very hard for him. We had some terrible news from our girlfriend in Chicago...our former neighbors, the Ryans, who lost their youngest daughter ten years ago to a brain tumor, just lost another son to suicide. Patrick was only 24, just two years older than Zack. Patrick and Annie were Zack's best buds when they were little monsters. I have many fond and funny memories of all the trouble the three of them got into. Its amazing what a 4, 5 and 6 year old can accomplish when they work well together as a terrorist team. It breaks my heart that Patrick was suffering from several issues that forced him to give up. I know in my heart that God is taking care of him now...Zack of course was devastated...Annie died when he was 12 and he had a rough time with her death too. Sometimes God's plan doesn't come into focus too well when we keep our eyes looking down instead of up.

Zack is swamped with projects for his senior year. Lots of analytical stuff about writers from the beginning of time, his prep for student teaching, etc. Well, yanno...you EARN a degree, it's not like you just show up and graduate like you did in HS. His schedule has seriously impacted his ability to work many hours, which then puts the squeeze on us. But, we did say we would support him for his four years of college and this is year four. We can't just very well pull the rug out from under him and tell him he's on his own cause we are retired. That was a family decision made at a time when it made sense. We will have some issues to deal with mostly health insurance and car insurance since we have moved to Texas as our domicile. *Sigh*. More bureaucracy. Crap. It never ends.

Well, I gotta get going...I am getting the evil eye from Paulie...I have laundry to do....

hugs

Dee

Monday

I have uploaded more pix before we leave the free wifi this morning. I will try to write somemore on the way outta Door County as we are trying to break camp and get on our way.

later

dee

just click on the photos tab to the right....

Well...I am finally able to post. My puter is all fouled up. I removed all the freeware crap, restored to an earlier date and now I discover that the cd/dvd drive, E is freakin' gone...once we get back to Weslaco I will take it into the geek squad at Best Buy.
I am so far behind in my blog I don't know if I will try to go back and report on what we have been doing. Right now we are in Sturgeon Bay, WI in Door County, exploring what is supposed to be one of the most highly rated vacation destinations in the US. Say what? My impression? Expensive, quaint, expensive, great food, expensive, beautiful homes and shorelines, expensive.

My impression of Mackinac Island? Expensive, smelled like horse shit the minute I got off the ferry(and never left...I still smell it in my sleep...)lovely to look at, expensive, quaint, expensive, good food, expensive, lots of horseshit all over, expensive.

Mackinac City was great, our campsite was right on the water.
Good food (pasties) good fudge, neat shops, great tourist places and nice folks.

Here is a new link for you to visit our photos....

http://picasaweb.google.com/rocketmom1985

hugs...

dee

Note...the clickable link is on the right side of the page under links....under Picture book

Update....

I have been without a computer for over a week now...I had a vendor at the Escapade do a "cleanup" for me to speed things up and see if there were any bugs...well, he downloaded some freeware and screwed everything up. I am still trying to undo the damage wrought and still can't get the sucker to run right.

We are in Mackinaw City, heading to the island today. I will try to get up and running again soon...

Weather is cool and beautiful...what a magnificent view out our front window of Lake Huron.

Later.

Dee

Thursday....

Sorry folks...took the computer in for some service...took like three days instead of the one promised...can't fault the guy, he was bombarded. So...I am behind. Can't do too much tonight, we are boondocking at a county park at Gunn Lake in Somewhere Michigan...Shellbyville I think. We are only gonna be on generator power for a short time before we go to bed so I will have to catch up over the next several days. So sorry.

Be back on line soon....

hugs

dee

Monday, Escapade Day One...

The mosquitoes have followed us from Elkhart, the suckers. I have been dousing myself with the deet poison crap and it's gettin' real old.

The first day of the classes and exhibits is always fun. I'm enrolled in a pine needle basket class, and I am quite excited about it. I have wanted to learn this craft forever. Well, the class was full and was being taught by a full timer Linda Payne...I have been reading the Payne's web page for years so I was thrilled to hear that she would be teaching this mini-basketry class. I arrive in plenty of time and visit with the other classmates. We are given our materials. Can you believe the basket bottom is made from a slice of black walnut....the real nut, so it has all these openings in which to attach the pine needles with the sinew(tougher than raffia that I had read earlier to use.) I think I am doing just fine, putting the edges of the pine needles along the edge of the walnut slice, weaving my stitches correctly and tightening the sinew. Along comes a helper and gives me some pointers. Another helper comes around and tells me that the other advice is not quite right and shows me something different. So, being the creative genius that I am NOT, I ask Linda to give me a hand. She takes one look at my walnut round, my stitches and the pathetic look of the very first round of the basket coil....she quickly grabs a new set of supplies and quickly whips one up for me to begin again without getting too far behind. By now it is 10 am, the class started at 8:30 and the entire class has learned how to change sinew when it runs out, do the second and third coils and begin to add more elaborate stitches and the basket is obviously "talking" to them...telling the creators just what the "spirit" of the basket wants the weaver to shape. Well, not being the spiritual type at this time of the morning, the basket spirit was not speaking coherently to me, but I sure was muttering to it. I was the only one in class who just didn't have the "spirit" to weave a basket...can ya believe that? Of course, I have been told never to try to do paper quilting by a very experienced quilter, and our guild's president, who just happens to be blind and teaches children to crochet has given up on me. How the hell did I ever learn how to knit or paint? Hmmm, I guess I must have my limitations. OK, so now Linda has become my basket weaving savior...I finally got the hang of it, but by now class was over for the morning. The others in the class had great looking baskets talking to them. I had a walnut slice with one measly coil. Crap. I will post pix tomorrow, I promise...I sneaked out the original so you can see how bad it really is...and the new one I am working on.

I went back to the rig for a break. Zack sent me some pictures that I will also post tomorrow...these are really scary...its when he had his hair spiked so he could go to a party as a pineapple. Is this the same Zack who is studying to teach the future of America? Yah, one and the same. Its scary.

After meeting me at the rig for a quick sandwich, I headed back to part two of my class. I actually was able to do one whole round or coil in an hour!!!
I left a bit early as my energy was sagging...you all know what happens when I tax my brain too much and have brain drain aka brain fog. I went back to the rig and Paulie had skipped his afternoon seminar in order to deal with our rig insurance dilemma...expires on the 16th but we don't have an Illinois addy and the policy is for Illinois...we need Texas, but won't get down there to change stuff until the end of the month.

Well, I have been writing this for a while and my fingers are cramping...they were doing the same thing when I was trying to learn the basket stitching. I'm gonna sign off for now. I need to download some pictures from the digital and when I get ready to do that I'll pull out the walnut rounds and take pix of them too.

hugs

dee

Saturday, Goshen, IN

The bitch in the box aka the GPS did it again...Paulie put the fairgrounds addy in and we were off on a wild goose chase. One thing seems to reoccur...if you don't double check the state, it will automatically revert to the former state. Therefore, the bitch in the box took us to an addy in MICHIGAN....how's that for stoopid?Gggrrrrr. Same addy for some freakin' town in Michigan. I am the one that keeps telling Paulie to TRUST the bitch...but then perhaps he didn't check the state when he put the addy in...that's stoopid too right?

We arrived and were promptly parked. I never cease to be amazed at how well these volunteers work together and how hard they work. We have 30 amp electric and water and are in the handicapped section...that makes it convenient for me and my scooter. I can't walk for very long so at events like this, I use that puppy...and feel little guilt altho at first I did.

We watched TV last night as the rains came thru again. Ugh. My head is filled to the brim and my ears are just screaming at me. Nothing on the boob tube....6 gazillion stations and nothing on that is of interest to us. We went to bed early...we want to go to Dunkn' donuts for a peanut donut fix and to get the local paper. The crafts sign up isn't until 9 and I am bound and determined to get into the pine needle basket class...

Sunday....Opening day
Paulie and I made our run to Dunkin' so we are now happy with our "fix". We headed to registration and had a heck of a time finding the crafts sign up. Finally we found it and I was able to sign up for the basket class, and another class that will make an angel. I was also able to sign up Molly Pinner whom I met at the Grad's pre-rally in Elkhart. We had met earlier this morning and I volunteered to sign her up.

The markets are open, the "Row" where all the chapter reps sit are filled and the rigs continue to roll in. This is a great facility
(the 4H Fairgrounds in Goshen, IN) for a gathering such as this...lots of indoor exhibits and merchants, plus plenty of space for new rigs to be viewed and lusted after, lol! I made an appointment to have my laptop "cleaned up"...I was going to go to Best Buy but I hate the way they pressure you to buy software that I already have as freeware. I really need this baby sped up a bit. I was looking at cell phone signal amplifiers...geesh...I don't wanna spend $300 to boost my cell signal, but when we are off the interstate or in a rural area, I can't use the 'puter or the phone. Hmmm, this may be a hard sell to the polish prince. I also want some software that is $35 that tracks RV expenses, maintenance and all kinds of records and info about the coach. Then, of course, I gotta have a T shirt with the Goshen Escapee
logo on it. Hmmm. We keep this up and we won't be able to afford to full time!

Well, opening ceremonies are I think at 2:30 so I need to rest a bit or I won't make it all the way thru the entertainment that lasts til like 10 pm. I gotta take a couple of Valium then I won't CARE if my head and ears still hurt, LOL!

I will report later on the opening ceremonies and the entertainment, it's called Pantasia and they are a HS band from Ohio that are supposed to be fabulous...

later

dee

Friday, Elkhart Campground

Well, the heaven's opened up this morning and didn't quit until 4 pm. There were three different "fronts" that came thru just to make my life miserable. You all know what I did most of the day.
Paulie got ready for departure and put away all the outside stuff. The bugs were so bad it was a waste to put it out. Then the guy did the laundry...what else could a gal ask for?

We had purchased some pulled pork at the farmers market and some small buns for the Friday night potluck. I nicely sliced the rolls and put them in a pretty basket, warmed the meat just perfect and off we went. There was no one at the site. Hmmmm. We drove around thinking because of the rain they had moved dinner to an inside place in the campground, but we were unable to find them. Perhaps they didn't want us? We was ditched? Paul called Smokey, one of the hosts and he was really embarrassed...the dinner was cancelled, but they must have left us off the call list. Ooops. Maybe next time WE should call ahead to see if the dinner is still on...I wondered because of all the rain. What dummies we are sometimes geesh. Well, the pork won't go to waste...it is delish and the sauce is sweet but has a real kick to it. I love BBQ pork!

We finally did venture out just to take a little ride...we went to Culvers so Dee could feed her ice cream craving and have some more adversity via her lactose intolerance in the gastrointestinal area. Lactaid doesn't work, so you'd think I would stop craving ice cream. Oh yah. That'll happen anytime soon. Paulie is just gonna have to get a gas mask, that's all there is to it.

We both went to bed early as there was nothing on the boob tube. I read for a bit but quickly decided the book was not something I could get into right away...it is called "Mirror Mirror" by the same guy who wrote "Wicked". You have to have your brain ready for his writing and mine was just not capable after the day I had.

Saturday....heading for Goshen

We will be pulling out this morning (as soon as the prince gets up...he can sleep as long as he wants since he did all the work yesterday...). We are going in a day early as we have handicapped parking with water and 30 amp electric. We will have to dump the tanks first but we have a full hookup here so that is not a problem. I will try to post more when we get all settled. I hope to have a signal, but I'm not holding my breath.
If I can't get on line, I will try to get the word out here if I have to go into town and use a free wifi place. Wish me luck in Goshen, IN...I do recall a coffee house had it the last time we were there. Hopefully they are still in biz.

hugs

dee

Another quick catch up!



Tuesday...



We are expecting Hank and Elizabeth later today...I doubt they want to "do" dinner if they have been driving all day. I know I would just hit the bed and stay there!



Paul went with the Grads group to visit Travel Supreme, however somehow in the car "pool" to get there, he lost the wagon train. Neither he nor the couple he was traveling with remembered the name of the place they were going, nor did they have a clue where the place was! Hmmm...so they came back to the campground. Later, we dined out with the group. Paul took a bit of teasing for getting lost, which I think even he had to admit was justified. We went to a local place which is right on the small lake near the campground. Our reservations were supposed to be for the "enclosed porch", instead we were seated on the "sun deck". Right, 90 degree heat and I am gonna sit there. I think not. As soon as a few tables opened up, several couples including us went onto the porch. We had the special $2 1/2 pound hamburger and beer. Very tasty. After dinner, we stopped by to see Hank and Elizabeth for a few minutes. The rest of the grads tried to sit outside but the skeeters were again so horrible they chased everyone in. NOTHING kills these suckers. You can douse yourself with poison and they'd still bite ya. Just awful.



Wednesday...

Paul needed to take care of some biz this morning...one of the rear tires may be leaking. Crap. Plus we need an oil change. I



Paul did errands and then came back and helped me do some housekeeping stuff. Then, he and Hank went to some RV parts supply place and I went over to their rig to visit with Elizabeth for awhile. We had a nice visit and I was showing her my latest (actually the only thing I have even thought about knitting) a pair of socks. We decide to go to Callahans for dinner...the family type place that was advertising stuffed green peppers for the dinner special.

I left about three and laid down for a while...the new alternative down comforter is sooooo cozy.

About 5 we pick up the Kerr's and head over to the restaurant. Elizabeth and I get the special, Paul orders the senior chicken parmigiana and Hank orders one of his favorites (and mine too) a Ruben sandwich. The size of the portions are enormous...Paul must have had two pounds of spaghetti under this large dinner plate size chicken tenderloin. Hank's sandwich was so big it would have feed four. Elizabeth and I got two beautifully stuffed peppers with tomato gravy....yum. Then, we both had rice pudding...she shared her's with Hank, I ate my whole serving!

We went back to their rig and talked for a while, deciding where we would meet up in Michigan. We found out that one of their daughters needs surgery and it is scheduled for Sept. 24th. That will mean a fairly good pace for our trip. There isn't a lot to "see" in the UP except the scenery so that is just gonna be a kinda pass thru I think. We are most interested in Mackinaw and Door County Wisconsin. After we bid goodbye (the Kerr's are leaving for Grand Rapids in the am) we head back to the rig to change clothes. The Grad group is braving the skeeters so we headed over to join them. Some new arrivals have been introduced and one couple was heading out that night. They had met for a hobo supper while we had already made dinner plans with the Kerrs. We have yet to go over to the Elks rally...not really planned to do that but are having so much fun with the grads group. Next time I'll have to decide just who I wanna pre-rally with without spending money to no avail!

Thursday....

We went with the grad group to visit the Ruthmere Mansion. This was built by Albert and Elizabeth Beardsley. He was one of the founders of Miles Labs, aka the Alka Seltzer empire. It is now owned by Bayer. The place was built in 1908 and is amazing. The Beardsley's had some ideas that have lasted to this day. Albert had a total shower surround like the rain forest types we see today. Quite impressive. The mansion has been restored by the Beardsley family and it is stunning. There are two original Rodan statues, and several other well know artist's works in the house of whom for the life of me I can't remember their names.
We really enjoyed the tour. The group split up after the tour...some going to the Farmers Market, others back to the campground and some like us needed to run errands.

The rain came after we got home from WalMart, so I did my usual ear pain and dizziness tricks and then laid down. That's it for now...not sure what the evening will bring. I am stick of smelling like deet poison so I am not looking forward to venturing outside after the rains.

Will post more later...

hugs

dee

Elkhart Campground
Day 2

Sunday...After lounging around most of the morning, we decided to take a ride to find the WalMart. It was about 2 miles from the campground, well, duh...the GPS would not accept the addy so we were a bit perplexed until we figured out how to put county road in the stupid thing. After finding it, we decided to take ride in the countryside, got lost and finally found a fruit stand where the guy told us we were going in circles (no sh*t) and directed us back to Hwy 19. We stopped at a former A&W root beer now a local homemade root beer drive in and had a frosty mug....oh so good. Paul had a RB float...ick. I eat my ice cream separate...then drink the root beer by itself. Civilized yanno. This was about 4 so there we go again, screwing up dinner. We just cannot get this right yet.

We stayed in Sunday night and watched the boob tube...

Monday...day 3..
Memorial Day. Again we slept in, showered and then we were off to the Shipshewana Flea Market. OMG...the crowds were unbelievable. The place is the largest flea market in the world. I have never seen such a jammed up place full of useless stuff. But...I did buy Zack and me a sweatshirt, and we got a deal on a new swim suit for Zack...he has lost over 50 lbs by now and his suit is falling off when he does laps. We stopped and had a pulled pork sandwich about three. There goes dinner...again. We got back to the rig and both kinda just napped...well I know I did, don't know what the Prince did. About 7 we walked over to the Class Reunion gathering at site 400. Had a great time talking, laughing and getting to know new folks. The mosquitoes were horrendous and a couple of folks just gave up and went home...even Deep Woods stuff doesn't faze these bloodsuckers. We stayed til about 10 and then headed home. We are looking forward to seeing Hank and Elizabeth tomorrow. They will be here a couple of days and then they are off to Michigan where we will meet up with them up near Mackinaw Island around the 15th. Not sure what is on the agenda for tomorrow. I think Paul and Hank are going to go to a RV surplus place when he and Elizabeth get back from touring the RV Museum. Elizabeth and I will prolly just sit and visit tomorrow afternoon and maybe do some knitting.

hugs.

Dee

Elkhart Campground...Elkhart, IN
Day 2

We both slept in today...around noon, we headed out to find the local used bookstore to hung down some of my ancient peoples novels...the gps (or the guy who selected the wrong address... I had just put the correct address in, and the "user" punched in the wrong one). This did however, allow us a complete tour of all parts of Elkhart...the good, the bad and certainly the poor ugly.
We finally found the place, but alas, no novels by W.M. Gear. Crap. I hate to think I'll have to pay FULL price for the rest of the series...4 or 5 books I think. I did check on half.com but by the time I pay the price of the book and add the shipping charges, I could buy them at Barnes or someplace else. I think Barnes carries them all, so I will just bite the bullet and get the rest of them.

After the bust at the bookstore, we headed towards the RV Hall of Fame. Ok, you can stop laughing now you non-rv'ers. There IS such a place and although it is not yet completed, what we saw was an interesting history of the RV industry. Way back in the '20's they had some really neat RV's. I took a ton of pictures which I have yet to download. I can use the free wifi here to upload them...maybe tomorrow.

After browsing for awhile looking a the few exhibits available, we headed back to the rig. Siesta time for me, relax time for Paulie.
We made fried shrimp and french fries for dinner. They were pretty good. The mosquitoes were awful so after we finished eating we hightailed it into the rig. I hate those damm bloodsuckers. I am their favorite target. Once in the rig I got three more hits...one on the darn head, one on the cheek if you can believe I didn't catch THAT one and I did kill the sucker on my left forearm.
Grrrr....

I think Sunday will be just a laze around day...or maybe not...we think we will go to Shipshewana on Monday...they are open for the holiday. The square and round dancers were at it again tonight, actually they started at 11 a.m. Gee, such stamina!

Well, that's all for today...I can't believe it is the first of September. Paulie has been doing some reading on the rising costs of Texas residency. Plus there is the yearly vehicle inspection and fees. Several folks we know from SKPs are changing domicile to South Dakota. Another dilemma. Geesh, this could pose a challenge. I don't give a whit where we register the vehicles and have our driver's licenses. We do have to think about Zack...his car is really MY car...his vehicle was the truck we sold last year. So, he will have to have SD plates and registration and just keep his Illinois stuff. I wonder how we will be able to do this? Hmmm, I have lots of questions to ask at the seminars next week.

Well, off to bed...

hugs

dee

Elkhart Campground, Elkhart, IN

Well, we were up kinda early for me (8:30 like) and Paul went to the grocery store to get some pancake stuff...we have both been thinking about them since the campers next to us in Muskegon made them for the kid's breakfast and the smell woke us up.

After breakfast we visited the Damon dealer next to the campground and drooled over the new 08 models. Cripes, we'd both have to sell our kidneys just for the taxes on it! We are very satisfied with our rig now that we have done some changes. Pulling out all the furniture has made a real difference. Now, getting rid of the crappy carpeting is my next goal.

We then went to several RV parts and salvage places to see if we could find some good deals on window awnings...the ones on the windows not under big awing. The sun does a number on a hot day even with the day/night shades down...I guess aluminum just absorbs that bright hot sun. Lots and lots of RV stuff like holding tanks, doors and windows, etc. No luck, so I guess we will have to go to one of the supply houses and custom order. We may wait until 08 to do this...we have sunk a few $ in this rig already this year.

Off we went to the Farmers Market, a huge Amish built structure which I mistakenly thought was in INDOOR fruit and veggie place. Well, it was meat shops, bakeries, handmade cheese, candies, and other really good stuff. Some of the little shops are run by Amish folks, others by just regular folks. On the upper level were crafts, furniture and the most beautiful quilts I have ever seen...well, Auntie Averil's are fabulous and these had nothing on her's...but the colors were so vivid and the stitching incredible and such intricate patterns. Paul found one he wanted for $950. Hmmmm. Then he found a handmade recliner for only $400. I wanted a cookie and he gave me a hard time. We did eat at the food court from a place called the Pickle Barrel Sirloin tips. OMG! For only $7 we shared a huge serving of mashed red skin potatoes, onions and peppers and prolly the best sirloin I have EVER eaten, no kidding. We also bought some peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (I should just slap these on my ass 'cause that's where they'll ultimately end up... on my ass)
We also purchased some pulled pork which for $8 will give us about 4 meals. Then we found a small strawberry rhubarb pie and then I had to have a homemade scoop of ice cream. Just don't let me near a scale...if I get on I'll prolly have a stroke.

We headed home, Paulie and I both took a siesta...but I think he only slept for about a half hour and went exploring. He stopped at the Elks club and had a cocktail and said the place was beautiful with a very high class restaurant. He also stopped to talk to the guy who runs the RV Driving School and discussed working for this guy in the Texas area. He will be sitting in on the class at the Escapade to get a feel for it. The guy was quite pleased with Paulie's experience. Most of the students are wives who don't want their spouse to teach them how to drive an RV...ask me how THAT works. He can earn $20 bucks an hour...the classroom part is on PowerPoint and then all he does is coach from the RV...he never drives the client's rig at all. He seems pretty intrigued...and we can do this as we travel. The company sets up the info on the website offering the class wherever the instructor may be. Interesting.

We heard music and square dance callers from the pavilion so this evening we walked over and watched the folks from a square/round dance RV club dancing. Then there was a singer guy who was entertaining. Overall a good day. Crappy diet all garbage, but a full and interesting day. I think we will do the RV History Museum tomorrow...or maybe just lounge around. We do have a full week here. Shipshwana flea market is only open on Tuesday and Wednesday now, but it will be open Labor day so we may go up there on Monday.

That's about all we did today...overall a A+ day.

hugs

dee