Happy Easter!! Anna Visits and An Invitation

Happy Easter!!!

DeBary, FL.

57 deg. clear, S. wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast = Today: Partly cloudy. Highs around 82°F. South southwest wind 7 to 13 MPH, gusting to 17 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 64°F. Southwest wind to 9 MPH.

It was about 11:00 when Jim and Linda took CLT and headed out yesterday. They're still looking for some small miscellaneous items for the house, so they hit a couple yard sales and stopped at Good Will and a place called Hospice. All of the aforementioned places had a wide selection of household items at very reasonable prices.

They didn't find a lot, but did find some coasters to use for drinks, some queen sized sheets, a blanket and a neat ceramic bathroom set that included a soap dish and a toothbrush holder. 

Linda seems to be getting over her cold, but both she and Jim are still doing a lot of coughing. They also don't seem to have much stamina because by the time they did that small amount of shopping, they both were ready to come back here to relax and take naps. ; )

About 4:30, Anna called and wanted to know if Jim and Linda were going to be around because she wanted to stop by and meet Bobbie T. They weren't doing anything but watching an old movie on TV, so a few minutes later, she and Laura stopped by. I think she liked Bobbie T, but like everyone else, thinks she's really small compared to Emrys.

Today Jim and Linda have been invited over to Marv and Inez/s house, (Lindsey's parents), for Easter dinner. It doesn't sound like Inez is having a real big "spread", but whatever she has, you can be sure it'll be very good. Linda baked some brownies to take and I'm sure, like every other time, other people will be bringing food too.

Did you know that Pysanka is a specific term used for the practice of Easter egg painting?

Woof!!!

 

It's Falling Together and Waiting And Waiting And Waiting

DeBary, FL.

43 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 79°F. South wind 0 to 10 MPH, gusting to 10 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Lows around 57°F. Southeast wind 5 to 10 MPH.

It was about 10:00 yesterday morning when CLT took Jim and Linda over to the house. On the way over there, they stopped at a garage sale and found a few small items that they'll need at the house. CLT says that he thinks it was about 10:45 by the time they arrived at the house.

Now, of course the reason to go over to the house this early was to be there during the 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM time frame that "Rooms To Go" had told them that the delivery of the bed would be made. Like I said, this was fine with Jim and Linda because there were things that needed to be done over there anyway.

Also, Nancy, (the Community Manager), upon Jim's request, had set up a meeting with a man named "Bob" who she said would be willing to take care of the lawn during the summer and possibly do some other work around the house that will be needed while we're up North for the summer. She also said that he was very knowledgeable as to what needed to be done to the house to ready it for the summer.

Bob lives at Highland Country Estates, so about 12:45, he pulled into the driveway in his golf cart. After introductions, he, Jim and Linda sat down and talked about what needed to be done before we leave and about the normal yard work that needs to be done along with some other things that Jim and Linda would like to have Bob do during the summer.

CLT says that Bob was there for over an hour. He and Jim went all the way around the house and discussed  different items that he and Jim thought needed attention.

Well, to make a long story short, Jim and Linda liked Bob and hired him to do the work. He seems very responsible and conscientious  and his prices are, (Jim and Linda feel), more than fair. Jim and Linda have his phone number and e-mail address and he has theirs, so there will be some communication while we're gone.

All this is very new to Jim and Linda so they're going to have to rely on recommendations and advice of some other people.  This first year will be a test and there will probably be some things that they'll change in the future. Only time will tell. ; )

OK, back to the delivery of the bed from Rooms To Go.

A little before 3:00, Jim and Linda received a phone call from Rooms To Go, saying that the delivery truck was running a little behind and it wouldn't be arriving until a little after 3:00. By 4:00 there was still no sign of the truck and Jim was just about ready to tell them to,  ,  ,  ,  ,  , well, you can imagine what Jim was thinking!!

Anyway, Linda called the phone number they had for Rooms To Go and finally talked to the dispatcher who told her that "the truck was on it's way and should be there in just a few minutes."

OK, they continued to wait!!! And wait!!! And wait!!!!!!!!!!

Finally, about 5:30, the truck pulled up in front of the house!!!!! By this time, Jim and Linda had been waiting for the delivery for about 6 1/2 hours and both of them were not happy campers!! But, it didn't pay to tick the delivery people off, so they tried to be pleasant as the men unloaded the bed, brought it into the  house and assembled it.

Anyway, they now have it and Linda really likes her "4 Poster Bed"!!!!! ; ) And in the end, I guess that's what's important. : )

By this time, both Jim and Linda were hungry so they headed over to Steak N Shake for a sandwich. Then came back here to Highbanks and watched TV until bedtime.

Oh, one last thing. Jim needs to find out for sure, but he and Linda heard last night the the couple in the MH parked next to us had an accident with their motorcycle yesterday. They heard that he has a lot of "road rash", and she is in the hospital over by Titusville with some broken bones, but nothing life threatening.

I'm sure Jim will find out more today and I'll be sure to let you know how they're doing. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers as they seem like a very nice couple.

Did you know that the Earth is 80 times the size of the moon?

Walgreens, Making Arrangements and A Delivery Today

DeBary, FL.

42 deg. clear, W. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 73°F. Northeast wind to 8 MPH.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 48°F. East wind 1 to 7 MPH.

Not much happening, so that's why I didn't post yesterday. Until later in the day yesterday, Linda still wasn't feeling well at all, but I think she's past the worst part of this really bad cold now. : )

Yesterday afternoon, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over to Walgreens. There were some items that they desperately needed and although they didn't have a large selection, they picked up a few groceries to hold them over, too. From there, they went over to the house to take care of a few things  and then headed back here to Highbanks. 

Jim has also been talking to Nancy, (the park manager at Highland Estates), and in the next few days will be making arrangements for the yard to be taken care of at the house plus talking to some folks from the park that are familiar with what needs to be done to the house to make it ready for the months we'll be gone this summer.

Today, Rooms To Go is going to be delivering the bed that Jim and Linda bought about a month ago. They have already received a phone call informing them that the delivery would be sometime between 11:00 AM and 3:00 PM. So, this morning they'll head over to the house and wait for the delivery.

It's OK though, there's lots of stuff that they can do, like organizing some of the things that they've taken over there. I think that there's probably more laundry that needs to be done too, so I'm sure they'll stay busy. ; )

Did you know that tomato sauce was sold in the 1830s as medicine?

Woof!!!

Record Breaking Weather, Still Not Feeling Well, A.S.A.P. and Dave And Dee Dee

DeBary, FL.

37 deg. clear, N. wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Today: Sunny. Highs around 63°F. North northwest wind to 13 MPH.
Tonight: Clear. Lows around 43°F. Wind chill around 39°F. North wind 5 to 11 MPH.

Did you see what the temperature is down here in DeBary?  Yep, that's no misprint, Jim's thermometer, which seems to be very accurate is showing 37 degrees and there's more time for the temperature to drop yet before the sun comes up!!!! I wouldn't be at all surprised if the temperature would drop another 2 or 3  degrees!!!!

Except for the record breaking low temperatures, not much else has been happening here. Linda is still not feeling well, and Jim is not yet up to full speed. Jim adjusted the air pressure in Bobbie T's tires and re-arranged things in the back of CLT.

OH, the other day, Jim noticed some water on the floor, near the tub, in Bobbie T's bathroom. he wiped it up and took off an inspection panel. He said that it looked like a water line fitting was leaking, but he couldn't see for sure. Being that it would be a big hassle to make an appointment and take Bobbie T back to LaMesa, he decided to call Jack from A.S.A.P Mobile RV Repairs, who does a lot of RV Repair work here in DeBary and the surrounding area.

Jack was very busy but he was able to come yesterday morning where he found a couple of problems. It seems as someone else has tried to find this leak and had replaced some of the pipe with improper fittings and pipe, so he changed that. He also found the real problem, which was a plastic elbow that had a pinhole leak and only leaked when it got hot from the hot water going through it to the tub/shower faucet.

Jack was very good and in no time he had the problems repaired at a very reasonable cost. He cleaned everything up and suggested that Jim leave the inspection panel off for a day or so to let everything dry out under the tub.

If you're ever in the area and need some repairs on your RV, (no engine or chassis work), give Jack a call at 386-775-7423, He's one of the "good guys" and will do good work at a very fair price. : )

Very soon, Jim and Linda are going to need to get some groceries. They're out of some of the essentials so even if Linda isn't up to it yet, Jim will probably go to the store and buy them. The laundry basket is full, so the laundry needs to be done, so they really need to go over to the house to do it.

Hopefully, Linda will be feeling a little better today, so they can get at least some of it done.

Oh!!!! Jim got an e-mail from Dave. If you remember, he and Dee Dee were heading back to Illinois and the weather forecast wasn't good at all!!! Well, they made it, but had all kinds of problems. They had snow packed roads, very heavy snow, 10" of unplowed snow once they got off of the Interstate near their home in Central Illinois, almost getting stuck with their truck and 5th wheel trailer crossing the Illinois Central RR tracks and getting the trailer backed into their driveway, (which took almost an hour).

They're safe, but they can't use their car because the trailer is blocking the driveway. There's at least 10" of snow on the ground where the trailer needs to be parked and it's uphill, and they'll have to try to dig the snow out of the truck bed so that they can get to the things that they have stored in there.

Boy!!! Am I glad I'm in Florida where the temperature is now 36 degrees!!! ; )

Did you know that the greatest snowfall in a day was 75.8 inches in Silver Lake, Colorado; April 14-15, 1921?

Woof!!!!

It Wasn't Allergies and Remembering Illinois Winters

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. partly cloudy, NW wind @ 9 mph.

Forecast = Today: Sunny. Highs around 70°F. Northwest wind to 19 MPH, gusting to 28 MPH.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 45°F. Wind chill around 39°F. West wind to 15 MPH, gusting to 21 MPH.

Well, I guess it wasn't an allergy condition that Jim has had the last few day. Guess how I know????

Now, Linda has it, and I've never heard of catching allergies from someone else!! : (   Linda didn't feel too well Saturday night and then when she woke up yesterday morning, she had very sore throat, was sneezing and blowing and just felt generally crummy!!! : (

So,  ,  ,  ,  neither she or Jim did much yesterday. Both napped from time to time, sat and watched quite a bit of TV and in general, just kicked back.

I was watching the news yesterday and they were forecasting a lot of snow for the Midwest. I can remember the winter before I went full-timing with Jim and Linda, (winter of 2000-2001), and sure am glad that they've decided on Florida to buy a house. . In this 1st picture, everything was covered with ice. It sure was pretty, but it did a lot of damage. : (

Then, after the ice melted, we still had the snow to deal with. This is poor Mariah sitting along side of the garage at the place where we lived. (Mariah was the Winnebago Chieftain Motor Home that Jim and Linda had when we started full-timing).

I remember those days well. Jim outside shoveling show and knocking ice off of the edge of the roof so that when the snow melted, the water didn't damn up behind the ice and run back up under the shingles and come inside of the house.

Not once, have I missed that kind of weather!!!

What got me thinking about all of this was the forecast I heard on TV and the fact that Dave sent Jim and e-mail the other day saying that they were just about back home in Illinois, but the weather forecast was for snow and he wasn't too sure that he wanted to continue heading in that direction.

I think that maybe he and Dee Dee should have stayed down here for awhile longer. ; )

Hope you made it home safe, Dave.

Did you know that the U.S. has the highest dog population in the world?

Allergies? Laundry and Pizza

DeBary, FL.

69 deg. cloudy, S. wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Today: Partly cloudy with isolated storms. Highs around 88°F. Heat index around 100°F. Windy, with a south southwest wind 14 to 23 MPH, gusting to 32 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 50%. Precipitation amounts between one quarter and one half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with scattered storms. Lows around 61°F. Windy, with a west southwest wind 15 to 20 MPH, gusting to 28 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 50%. Precipitation amounts up to one quarter inch possible.

It was Friday when Jim's head started blocking up and he started sneezing coughing along with sore throat and a runny nose. Jim has a lot of trouble with allergies and the pollen count has been sky high lately so he figured that was the problem. He had also been laying on the ground, under Bobbie T to get those chair bolts removed, so he figured that also made it worse.

Now, I'm definitely not an expert on human ailments, but I'm kind of doubting if it was allergies or not! He's still coughing and sneezing, but the nose and throat are getting better, so I'm thinking he just caught a bad cold somewhere.

So,  ,  ,  ,  , Friday, he didn't do much but rest and drink lots of fluids. He also took some vitamin C, which he figured couldn't hurt and used some throat lozenges for his sore throat.

Yesterday, he and Linda loaded laundry in the back of CLT and took it over to the house. Once there, Linda did the laundry, (3 loads worth), and Jim went through some boxes to find a few things that he and Linda will be needing when we head North two weeks from today and rested in his Barcalounger.  ; )

One of the main things that he wanted to find was their weather radio, since we'll be getting up into tornado territory in the spring when there's a good chance of a storm. Besides some other small items, he also loaded his air compressor in the back of CLT. CLT will have to carry it now because there's no compartment in Bobbie T that large enough.

It was getting late buy the time the laundry was done so before they left the house, they called the local pizza place here in DeBary to order a pizza. Then, they stopped by and picked it up on the way back here to Highbanks.

Jim's still doing some coughing and sneezing and the weather report doesn't doesn't sound too good, so I doubt if much will be happening around here today. Probably, Jim and Linda will just kick back and watch TV or something.

Did you know that Napoleon Bonaparte was afraid of cats?

Dave And Dee Dee Visit, A Little SNAFU and A Recliner For Linda

DeBary, FL.

42 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 75°F. North wind 4 to 9 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with isolated showers. Lows around 63°F. East southeast wind to 8 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 20%.

Let's see if I can get all that happened in the last few days posted here in the right order.

Tuesday, Dave and Dee Dee stopped by on their way to visit friends in Orange City. They're part of the "Illinois Bunch" who we usually go to see while they are wintering down in Thonotosassa, FL and who come to see us when we're up in Illinois during the summers. We didn't get to go to Thonotosassa this year because of the house and the new RV, so they were nice enough to stop by here and say "Hi"!!

I'm sure they were curious about Bobbie T, and when Jim and Linda suggested that they go over to the house to see it, they said that they'd like to go to see it too.

So, after visiting for a little while and taking the "tour" of Bobbie T, they headed over to the house. I think that they liked Bobbie T, but thought she was pretty small compared to Emrys, and from all reports, they liked the house and thought it would make a good home for Jim and Linda.

Thanks for stopping by, Dave and Dee Dee, Jim and Linda were very pleased that you came. : )

After Dave and Dee Dee left, Jim and Linda went to a couple furniture stores to look for a recliner, (that would fit), to replace the barrel chair here in the RV. At the second store that they went to, they found just what they were looking for and purchased it. They didn't bring it back here though because Jim wanted to get the old chair out to make room for it first.

So, that was the big project for Wednesday. It seemed like it would be fairly simple to remove the old chair, but it was bolted to the floor with some flat-head bolts that were pretty rusty on the bottom where the nuts were. Needless to say, things didn't go easily and even after spraying WD 40 on the bolts, it was a struggle to get the nuts off. And, of course the bolts turned, so he had to use a vise-grips on the top side to hold them. : (

OH, I almost forgot!!! Before Jim started removing the chair, he called the DMV in South Dakota to see what the status of the license plates for Bobbie T was. Well, they had not received any papers from LaMesa so there were no actions taken. Jim immediately called LaMesa and asked to talk to the person who does the paperwork and sends it to the state. He was put through by the operator but his call went to voice mail because it said that the person was out of the office and would call back. After an hour, Jim called again, got the same voice mail and again was told that the person would call back. : (

So, Jim took CLT and went to LaMesa to talk to them in person!!! When he got there, the receptionist said that the lady was busy and suggested that he go to the "Cafe" for a cup of coffee, but Jim said that he'd just wait at the desk. Jim said that he wan't going anywhere as he had already spent over 2 hours trying to get to talk to this lady to find out what had happened to the paperwork. Well, it didn't take too long and the lady came out to the desk and said that there had been a mix-up and the paperwork had never been sent to S. Dakota!!!! Really?????  She apologized, took down some additional information and told Jim that she would personally see that the papers were sent this time.

She also told Jim that if he didn't get the plates or transfer from SD by the time he was ready to leave and head North, she would issue him another temporary plate for an additional 30 days, and then apologized again.  

Yesterday morning, Jim took CLT and headed over to the furniture store and picked up the new chair. They loaded it into the back of CLT for Jim, but when he returned here, he knew that he'd need help getting inside, so he called Lindsey to see if he could come over.

Well, Lindsey was sick with stomach like flu symptoms so he couldn't come to help, so Jim asked Marshall (the man who lives in the park model behind our site), if he could help? He said that he'd be glad to and came right over. In no time at all, the new recliner was inside and Jim was thanking Marshall for his help.

Thanks Marshall!!! : )

As soon as Jim got the recliner positioned in just the right spot, Linda sat down in it and after just a little while, fell asleep.  I guess it's real comfortable for her. ; )

You know, I just realized that there have not been any pictures taken of the inside of Bobbie T. I'll have to see if I can get Jim to take a few so I can show you what she's like inside.

Did you know that one 75-watt bulb gives more light that 3 25-watt bulbs?

Woof!!

Warning!!! Hugging and Cupcakes

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. clear, E. wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast : Today: Mostly cloudy with showers likely. Highs around 77°F. East southeast wind 4 to 13 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 75%. Precipitation amounts between one quarter and one half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 52°F. Northwest wind to 16 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 75%. Precipitation amounts up to one quarter inch possible.

Warning!!!!! You may not agree with the following comments. They are the thoughts/beliefs of mine and not necessarily the thoughts/beliefs of anyone else.

On the morning news, they are reporting that there is a school up in the NE U.S (I think it was Maryland), where they have banned "hugging"!!!! It seems that the school  board thinks that "hugging" is bad for the kids and could lead to other advances.

In another story, they told about a little boy who had brought cupcakes to school to give to the kids at a birthday party for him. But, there was a problem. The cupcakes had toy soldiers on them for decorations and because the toy soldiers were holding guns, the cupcakes were taken away from the little boy!!!

There have been other stories on the news where a child has gotten in trouble or even been expelled because of some stupid rule that the school came up with. Where is it going to end????? One viewer on the morning news suggested that maybe they should just close all of the schools, keep the kids at home, locked in their room, where they're sure to be safe from everything!!!

Come-on people!!!! Use some sense!!!! Let the kids be kids and let them have some fun!!!! You're taking away all of joys of childhood!!!! Not everyone who has a picture or a paper cut-out of a gun is a terrorist!!.

And hugging???? It's an act of affection!!!! Everyone needs a hug now and then.

Especially small dogs. ; )

Did you know that strawberries contain more vitamin C than oranges?

Woof!!!

Shopping At Wally World and Shopping At LaMesa RV

DeBary, FL.

64 deg. Clear, NE wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Today: Mostly cloudy with isolated showers. Highs around 81°F. West southwest wind to 7 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 35%. Precipitation amounts less than one tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 64°F. East northeast wind 0 to 7 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%. Precipitation amounts up to one quarter inch possible.

Not much happening around here. Sunday, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed Wally World buy some personal items and a few things that they'll be needing for the house. They then went to the house to drop the house stuff off and to look for a few items that they've determined that they'll be needing here in Bobbie T this summer.

By the time they returned here to Highbanks, the NASCAR race had already started so the rest of the afternoon was spent watching that.

Yesterday, Jim took CLT and headed over to LaMesa RV and picked up a bunch of stuff for Bobbie T. He got a couple mud dauber screens, one of those anode rods for the water heater, a couple vent covers and a few other miscellaneous items.

He also ordered 2 window awnings for the 2 large windows on the drivers side of Bobbie T. They're supposed to be here in a week to 10 days, so he should be getting them in plenty of time before we leave the area.

Today, Jim and Linda may go and look for a different chair for Linda to sit in here in Bobbie T. That was kind of expected as the chair that's in here now is one of those barrel chairs and has proven to be not very comfortable. Also, Linda really needs a chair where she can get her feet up, so they'll probably be looking at some kind of recliner or at least something with a footstool.

Did you know that there are 701 official breeds of dog?

A Great Dinner and Happy St. Patrick's Day

DeBary, FL.

50 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Today: Partly cloudy with patchy fog. Highs around 77°F. South southwest wind to 9 MPH.
Tonight: Partly cloudy with isolated showers. Lows around 61°F. South southeast wind to 6 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 25%.

Yesterday was spent doing things that were planned for Friday but never happened. Jim and Linda went over to the house where Linda did a couple loads of laundry while Jim headed to ACE Hardware to buy those sale items that he wanted.

When he got back, he found Linda going through desk stuff, sorting papers and filing things away.  She told Jim that the file cabinet wasn't handy where they had it and asked if he thought he could move it to a different location which was under the  far side of the desk. It wasn't hard to do and in a few minutes things were re-arranged for more convenience. ; )

Since the laundry wasn't done yet, Jim went out to the shed, re-arranged some stuff out there, and found a few items that he wanted to bring back here to put in Bobbie T's outside compartments.

For dinner, Jim and Linda headed over to the Clubhouse because they were serving a St. Patrick's dinner. Beverages and a desert were included and you had your choice of corned beef and cabbage or ham and scalloped potatoes, all for the whopping price of $4 per person!!!  Linda had the corned beef and cabbage and Jim had the ham and scalloped potatoes and they both were still talking about how good everything was when they got back here. : )

Don't think there is going to be too much happening here today. Jim would like to watch the NASCAR race on TV. It's in Bristol TN. today, and the races there are usually pretty good.

Oh, I'd like to take this time to thank all of you that have left the very nice comments since I've taken over this blog. I'm so glad you like my posts. : )


Did you know that it is said the St. Patrick Died on March 17th? Hence we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day on this date. St. Patrick’s real name was Maewyn Succat and he was born in Scotland (not Ireland!) around 385 A.D.

Panic Time and All Plans Changed

DeBary, FL.

43 deg. Clear, SW Wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Today: Sunny. Highs around 79°F. Southwest wind to 9 MPH.
Tonight: Clear. Lows around 52°F. West southwest wind 2 to 8 MPH.

All plans were changed yesterday. The origina plan was to go over to the house, do a couple loads of laundry, gather a few things that have been taken over there and bring them back here, go to ACE Hardware to buy a few things that they currently have on sale and continue re-organizing the storage areas of Bobbie T.

But, that didn't happen!!!!

Now, I'll bet you're wondering why?  Well, about 10:30, Linda asked Jim to hand her the phone so that she could call her sister, (Nancy), up in Illinois and wish her a Happy Birthday. Jim looked on the table, where thy usually put the phone at night, and it wasn't there!! Then he and Linda both started looking everywhere inside of Bobbie T that they could think of.

No Phone!!! : (

Now, what to do? All of the phone numbers of all their contacts were on that phone. Many of them not written down anywhere else. And, they only have that 1 phone, so there was no way to even call anyone!!!

Panic Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, time to sit back and try to figure out where the phone might be, and how to go about finding it. The day before, Jim knew he had it in the morning because when Roland and Louise were coming, they called for directions. But, after that, the phone wasn't used all day!!

Jim had an idea. He'd go over to Birdie's, (a lady who lives in a class C near us, who Jim had done a favor for awhile back), and ask her to call the phone while Linda stayed home and listened for it to ring,. (Maybe it had slid down behind a dinette seat, or something and Linda could find it.) Well, she called 3 times but Linda didn't answer so it was presumed that it wasn't inside of Bobbie T. : (

Then, he asked Birdie to call Roland's number (which he had looked up on the computer before he went over there), because he thought the phone just might have come off of his belt while he was in the back seat of his car when they were going over to see the house.

Well, Birdie called Roland for Jim, he went out to the car and looked, and sure enough, the phone was in the back seat of their car!!! : )

OK!!! Found the phone!!! The only problem was that Roland and Louise's house is about 90 mile away in Frostproof, FL. And, it's on the other side of Orlando, which is notoriously very busy, especially on a Friday!! Jim and Linda really did need the phone though, so there really was only one option, and that was to go to Frostproof to retrieve it. : (

So, about noon they left, filled CLT up with 87 octane and headed West on I-4, (through Orlando which was already starting to have serious traffic back-ups), and South on US 27 to Frostproof. It took them about 2 hours to get down there.

Once at Roland and Louise's, they picked up their phone, and then Roland and Louise fixed them a great lunch consisting of steak and a salad!!! And, both Jim and Linda said the steak was excellent!!  What a treat!!!!

OK, I know that this is getting pretty long, and I'm probably boring many of you to death, but we're getting to the end. ; )

After eating, Jim and Linda hopped back into CLT and headed back this way. Being that I-4 was now backed up for miles and miles, Jim decided to take US 27 all the way up to Leesburg, and then take routes 441 and 46 back here to DeBary. It was further but they didn't have to sit in traffic back-ups.

Anyway, by the time they got back here, it was close to 7:00 PM!! Jim was very tired, so he laid down on the bed and just crashed for about an hour while Linda dozed in her chair.

Not at all what they had planned for the day, but both said that it was nice to see Roland and Louise again so soon. And, they had to drive a long way to have a great lunch, but both said that it was worth it!!!! ; )

Thanks so much, Birdie, and Roland and Louise!!! You're great friends!!! And, because of all of you, the day ended as well as possible. : )

Did you know that the first e-mail was sent in 1972?

Oh, and Linda did get to call her sister and wish her a Happy Birthday!!!! ; )

Park Rules and A Good Visit With Very Good Friends

DeBary, FL.

36 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast : Today: Sunny. Highs around 72°F. North northwest wind to 7 MPH.
Tonight: Clear. Lows around 48°F. East southeast wind to 7 MPH.

I spend a lot of time just looking out of the windows of the RV and so I see a lot of what's happening in the Campground. One of the things I've noticed is that the campground rules don't seem to apply equally to everyone.

Case in point:  If you remember, there's a little grass island in the middle of the main road going through this park. This is where they set up the Christmas Decorations during the holidays. On each side of the island there is a sign saying, "keep off of the grass, no pets allowed". Most of the people in the park obey this rule and walk around the island on the roads. But, every day, this one guy comes by with his 2 dogs, walks onto the grass and lets his dogs do their "business".

Now, I'm trying to figure out what this guy's reason is for doing this. He walks right past the signs each time. Either he can't read, he just doesn't care, he's ignorant, or he thinks he's above the rules and doesn't have to follow them!!!

In any case, it really burns me to see him get away with this day after day!! And what burns me even more, is that the manager of this park lets him get away with it!! Yep, I have seen the manager drive by on his golf cart when this guy is standing on the grass island with his dogs and he doesn't say anything!!!

What good are rules if you don't enforce them? What kind of message does this send to all the other RVers in the park? Should anyone else follow any of the rules in the park?

OK, enough of that!!!

Roland and Louise arrived about 8:30 yesterday morning. After h and h, (hugs and handshakes), they came in and checked Bobbie T out. I think they liked her because they had some very nice compliments.

After talking for awhile and catching up on what's been happening, everyone got into Roland and Louise's car and headed over to the house to check it out. Again, it seemed like they liked the house and what Jim and Linda have done with it.

Once they were finished checking out the house, Linda and Louise stayed at the house and talked and Jim and Roland headed over to LaMesa RV so that Roland could check out some of the RVs there, and try to get a handle on what would work for he and Louise.

Roland found a couple of Class B motor homes that he thought would work for them, and of course the salesman wanted to close the deal right there and then, but Big Herb, (their Winnebago Journey motor home),  is still up in the RV garage in North Carolina, and Roland's not ready to trade right now anyway.

After leaving the dealership, Roland and Jim went back to the house, picked up Linda and Louise and then headed to Gram's Kitchen, for lunch. After still more conversation, then came back here where there were more h and h before Roland and Louise headed back down to Frostproof and to their double-wide.

All in all, it was a very good day with very good friends. If it works out, we may be able to swing by their house in NC for a few day later this spring, on our way to Illinois.

Did you know that a bee needs to flap it's wings 250 times per second to remain in the air?

Woof!!

Comment Replies and Friends Comming

DeBary, FL.

42 deg. clear, NW wind @ 10 mph.

Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny. Highs around 64°F. North northwest wind to 16 MPH, gusting to 23 MPH.
Tonight: Clear. Lows around 43°F. Wind chill around 39°F. North northeast wind 5 to 12 MPH.

Hasn't been much to report. Jim and Linda have been reorganizing, taking stuff to the house, bringing different stuff back here, and finding out how the different things in Bobbie T work.

Had a few comments on my last post that I'd like to address. Rod wanted to know about Bobbie T's name and if it's Welch or Gaelic like Myrddin or Emrys?  Well, I don't know much about Welch or Gaelic, but I think Bobbie T is just good old American!!! ; )

Barbara wanted to know if there was room for me on Bobbie T's dash, so that I can report from the road? I'm sure there is. I'm pretty small and I can squeeze in almost anywhere. Besides, I've been riding up on the dash of every MH that Jim and Linda have owned, and I'm not about to take a back seat now!!!

Thanks to all of the rest of you that commented. I'm glad you like my blog so far.

Today, Roland and Louise are coming for a visit and to meet Bobbie T. You long time readers know that they are some of Jim and Linda's best friends. We've stayed at their house in NC, went to visit them in Frostproof in the winter, and they've come up to Rantoul, IL to see us when we're up there for the summer.

Jim and Linda met them during their first year of full-timing at a CG on the panhandle of FL. They weren't full timing then, but started soon after talking to Jim and Linda. Then, a few years later, while driving their car, they had a horrible head-on accident where Louise was very badly injured. After that, they couldn't travel as much, but Jim and Linda remained good friends with Roland and Louise all through the years. They've also bought a double-wide in Frostproof and are thinking about downsizing from their Winnebago Journey to something smaller like Bobbie T.

They should be getting here sometime this morning. : )

Not much else to post about. I'm sure today will be a fun day, visiting with Roland and Louise.

Post's over folks... you kennel move on now.

Woof!!

She Told Me Her Name

DeBary, FL.

67 deg. cloudy, light rain. S wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast : Today: Mostly cloudy with showers likely. Highs around 75°F. South southwest wind to 14 MPH, gusting to 19 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 60%. Precipitation amounts up to one quarter inch possible.
Tonight: Mostly clear with isolated showers. Lows around 54°F. West northwest wind to 12 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 60%.


After spending some time with the new motor home, I asked her if she had a name. She said that she did but didn't much like it, so she goes by the name of Bobbie T. I asked her what the T stood for, but she wouldn't tell me, so I'll respect her wish and just call her Bobbie T.

Anyway, from now on, I won't have to keep calling her "the new motor home",  that'll be nice. : )

Jim and Linda have been trying to re-organize Bobbie T's cabinets and compartments so that they can find things better. It's been a slow job because they're trying to maximize the limited space that they have available at the same time. Their gaining on it though. ; )

Laura, Lindsey and Ashley stopped by yesterday afternoon to see Bobbie T. They all seemed to like her real well and they all said that she looked really nice.

After they left, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Bob Evans to have breakfast for dinner.

Oh, I've got a few photos of Bobbie T to show you.

Today, Linda needs to get a blood test. It's one of those things that she really doesn't like to do, but her doctor back in Illinois insist on her getting one every 6 months. : (

 Did you know that A dog gave birth to puppies on the sidewalk and was cited for littering?

Woof!!

I've Messed Up Already

DeBary, FL.

54 deg. clear, ESE wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Day: Partly cloudy. Highs around 77°F. South southeast wind 6 to 14 MPH, gusting to 19 MPH.
Night: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 66°F. Southeast wind 7 to 13 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 45%.

Well, that didn't take long. Already I've messed up!

How did I mess up? Well instead of writing about Jim and Linda having problems with space restrictions in their new motor home, I should have told you about how the whole changeover at the dealers went first.

Oh well, better late than never.

On Thursday morning, (the 7th of March), Jim pulled Emrys out of this spot and hooked CLT behind of him. From there, it was only a short drive to LaMesa RV where we pulled up to the office parking area. Jim and Linda both went inside and talked to the salesman, Steve, and then headed to the new motor home for the walk-through and to make sure everything worked. After the walk-through, they headed back into the office and signed all the papers, making the deal final.

Once the papers were all signed, one of their drivers drove the new motor home to the KOA over in Sanford and we followed behind in Emrys. Once there, the driver backed the new motor home into a site and Jim pulled Emrys into the adjoining site so that the entry doors were side-by-side, making it easier to transfer their belongings from the  inside.

This was at no cost to Jim and Linda.

It was about 12:25 by the time both motor homes were parked and Jim and Linda started transferring stuff.

They both worked very hard until about 6:00 and then just collapsed.  By this time they had moved enough of their belongings to the new motor home that they were able to spend the night there. Then, by 7:00 on Friday morning, they were both up, and after having something to eat, went back to work.

By 10:00 they had everything transferred and were ready to leave the KOA and to head back here to Highbanks. It was at this time, when Jim hooked CLT up to the back of the new motor home that he found out that none of CLT's rear lights worked!!!

Now, being that the lights worked when hooked up to Emrys, it was evident that there was a problem with the light connector on the new motor home. So, Jim called LaMesa and asked if it would be all right if we stopped by there to have them checked out. They agreed and by 10:20 we were on our way back to LaMesa RV.

Once at LaMesa, 2 mechanics came out, checked and rewired the connector and some other wires, and then, after making sure everything was working, we were back on the road, arriving at Highbanks at about 12:30. (Again at no cost to Jim and Linda)

It was about 15 miles from here to the KOA in Sanford and of course another 15 miles back here to Highbanks. The final odometer reading on Emrys was 71304 miles, and the beginning reading on the new motor home when we left the KOA was 8285.

Yesterday, (Sunday), Jim and Linda didn't even go over to the house. Both were tired so they re-organized a few things here in the motor home, took naps and watched the NASCAR race on TV. After the race, Jim cooked a steak on the grill for he and Linda to share, Linda cooked some carrots and heated up some left-over rice inside and then both sat down and had a nice quiet dinner. ; )

Today, I think Laura is coming over to see the new motor home. She called last night and if she has time, she'll come.

Did you know that it's a fact that puppies sleep ninety percent of the day for their first few weeks?

Woof!!

Quite An Adjustment

DeBary, FL.

Day: Partly cloudy. Highs around 77°F. East wind 7 to 16 MPH, gusting to 23 MPH.
Night: Mostly clear. Lows around 57°F. East wind 5 to 13 MPH.

It's been quite an adjustment for Jim and Linda. I was with them when they sold all their "stuff" and moved into their first motor home which was 35' long and I think that even after they moved many of their things into the house, it's just as hard to move from Emrys into this 27' motor home.

The thing that they're having the most difficulty with is storage space. They're used to the big basement compartments and the many and large cabinets and drawers that were in Emrys. In fact even after moving a whole lot of things to the house earlier, yesterday, they took 3 more totes full of things to the house because there just wasn't room.

Another thing that is proving difficult is the overall lack of space for them. Everything is smaller and they always seem to get in each other's way.

I don't think any of these problems are insurmountable but it will take some time to adjust.  

On another note, I think that we're the "talk of the park" here at Highbanks. Everyone that comes by wants to know if Jim and Linda really traded off that big MH for this small one? (I think most of them think Jim and Linda lost their minds).

Jim's been telling some of them that he took the big one to the truck wash and it shrunk!! : )

I had a little adventure the other day. Jim and Linda didn't know it, but I stowed away in one of the totes full of things that they were taking to the house. I hadn't been there and being that I'll probably be living there about half of the year, I wanted to know what it was like.

Here, I'm up on the back of the sofa looking out of the window. You don't see a whole lot, just the neighbor's house.

Then, I went over to the patio door and looked out. I couldn't see much there either.

Oh well, I'll have much more time to explore. To me, the place is huge and It'll take me awhile.

Jim did take a few photos of this new, (to us), motor home yesterday, but didn't load them onto the computer yet. I'll post them when he does.

Did you know that Dogs with little human contact in their first three months typically don’t make good pets?

Introduction To Blaine

DeBary, FL.

3-9-2013

Hi!!! My name is Blaine. Those of you that have followed previous news letters/blogs that were written by Mariah, Myrddin or Emrys already know who I am. But, for the rest of you, here’s a little about me.

To start with, I’m very grateful that Jim rescued me from a fate worse than death!!! You see, I was originally owned by a little girl who lived next door to where Jim and Linda were living before they went full-timing. The girl and her family were moving out of the house so they had a garage sale. Well, I was one of the items for sale, but for some reason no one bought me. After the sale, I was put into a bag with some other toys and stored in the garage until they moved away to their new house.

It was then, that I was put out by the curb with the trash!!!!! Luckily, Jim walked by, saw me sitting there in the trash and picked me up! He took me in the house, brushed me off a little, and after some thought, named me Blaine.

Now, the reason I was named Blaine was that the street going past the house was Blaine Street, and he thought it would be a good idea to name me after the street.

Soon after Jim found me, he and Linda took me out to their Motor Home, (who’s name was Mariah), and I’ve been riding with them ever since, and what a ride I’ve had!!!!

During the past 12 plus years, I’ve been on vacations with Jim and Linda, I’ve been through the process of getting ready to go full-timing, I’ve been to Alaska, and almost all of the “lower” 48 states and about ½ of Canada, I’ve traveled in 3 different Motor Homes and 2 different pick-up trucks, and now, I’m in my 4th Motor Home and will be living in a house in Florida when we’re not traveling.  

Like I said, “What a ride”!!!!!

Now I suppose you’re wondering how I ended up writing this blog. Well, Emrys wanted CLT (Cute Little Truck) to take over the blog, but he didn’t want anything to do with it. He said that there was no way he was going to write a blog after being drug around the country all day, and besides, he said that most of the time he couldn’t see where he was going anyway!!!

Then, Emrys suggested that maybe Jim or Linda could take over the blog, but neither of them wanted to take time to do it. By this time, I think Emrys had pretty much given up trying to find someone to take it over and was ready to just let it end.

That’s when I told him that I would take over writing the blog.

Well, I think a 20 mph gust of wind could have knocked him over!!!! I guess he never thought that I might be interested, and it was quite a shock!!!!

So, here I am! I’ve decided to keep some of the same features that are popular with you readers, such as our location, the weather forecast, the “Did You Know”, and the “Point to Ponder” but most everything else is up for grabs!!!  I’ll probably still tell you what Campgrounds we stayed at, how far we traveled and which routes we took, so that any of you that want to follow that route some day will know a little about it and the parks along the way.

One thing that will change is that I will NOT “beat around the bush” about anything. I may be small, but I’ve got a big Internet on which to express my thoughts. If something bothers me, you’ll hear about it!!! If I like something, you’ll hear about that too!! For the most part, I’m pretty easy going but I won’t be taken advantage of!!!

Some of you may not like what I write about or my views, and I apologize for that. But, I hope you’ll be opened-minded enough to realize that what I write is my opinion, and may not be the same as yours.

Did you know that the first guide dogs for the blind and visually impaired were trained in Germany to provide assistance for those blinded in the war? German Shepherds were used for their protective and strong sense of loyalty to their owner.

Woof!!