Another Fine Meal and Christmas Shopping?

Rantoul, IL

58 deg. clear, NE wind @ 3 mph.
Forecast =  Mostly sunny. Highs around 82°F. Light wind.

Friday evening, Jim and Linda were again invited to a meal over at Paul and Louise's site. Louise was having steak sandwiches and some of their friends here in the park were bringing other dishes. So, Linda put together a fruit salad and about 5:30, they headed over there. ;-)

The first thing on the agenda was to light the campfire,

so that everyone could gather around to talk and enjoy the beverage of their choice. ;-)

While Louise was getting the table with all the food that people had brought set up,

Paul was relaxing and enjoying a drink while talking to the folks who had already arrived.

Larry, cooked the steaks and then he and Louise put them on "French" style bread. The rest of the meal consisted of a potato dish, corn, deviled eggs, and Linda's fruit salad. Oh, and I almost forgot, Chocolate Pie!!! :-)

Both Jim and Linda said that everything was delicious and it was great visiting with everyone.

Thanks again, Paul and Louise!!!!

Yesterday, Big RED took Jim and Linda down to Champaign to go Christmas shopping!!! Yep, you read that right!!! Christmas shopping!!!

Linda had been wanting to go and get a head start on shopping for the holiday, but it just hadn't worked out before now. So, yesterday they bought a whole bunch of stuff, and in fact, probably about 75% of the gifts that they'll buy this year have been purchased.

Now, that's a good head start!!!! ;-)

Awhile back, Louise had given Jim and Linda a 1/2 rack of ribs that had been cooked and frozen. Well, yesterday evening, (after thawing them), Linda wrapped them in foil and put them in the oven for about an hour. Wow!!! Did they ever smell good!!! And, by what Jim and Linda said, as they were eating them for dinner, they were just as good as they smelled!! :-)

Those ribs along with a vegetable and some of Linda's fruit salad, made a very tasty meal indeed!!!

Another big Thanks, Louise!! :-)

No big plans for today. Jim has already started checking things on Nora in anticipation for our upcoming departure on the 6th. Linda has a list of things to buy at Walgreen's, so they may do that today.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what happens. ;-)

Did you know that  approximately 37.2% of Americans begin holiday shopping by Halloween?

Woof!!!

Finalizing Plans and Laundry Day

Rantoul, IL

57 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Highs around 81°F. East wind to 5 MPH.

Jim's been working on finalizing a plan for our upcoming trip. Of course, it still depends on the 2 eye doctor visits that Linda will have this coming week, but since Linda hasn't been experiencing any discomfort, vision problems  or anything else with her eyes, we should be able to leave here on the 6th of October as planned. :-)

One thing that Jim has found is that, at this time of the year, (especially in the Smoky Mountain area of Tennessee and North Carolina), there are a lot of "leaf peepers" out and about. In fact after doing some research, he found that many of the campgrounds in that area are booked up already. So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  even though he and Linda don't like to be tied to a schedule, he did make a reservation at one RV Park.

Yesterday, Jim and Linda finally did the laundry!!! They left here a little before noon and by about 1:30 they were back from the laundromat with clean clothes! :-)  Being that the machines there are quite large, they were able to get it all done in 3 loads and then by using one very large dryer and one regular sized one, they were able to get it all washed and dried fairly quickly.

No big plans for today. It's supposed to be real nice today, so Jim will probably be spending some time outside. Going over to the laundromat and doing the laundry yesterday kind of wore Linda out, so we'll have to see how she's feeling today. Sometime before long, she needs to go to Walgreen's to pick up some things, and I know she'd like to do a little shopping down in Champaign before we leave here.

Did you know that a Laundromat in Philadelphia that opened in 1947, is believed to be the first coin-operated laundromat in the United States?

Woof!!!

 

A Little Break and Big RED Goes To The Big City

Rantoul, IL.

deg.
Forecast =

Yeah, I know, I haven't posted for awhile, but there hasn't been much to post about. Besides that, my little paws get tired, trying to find the right keys to press, so I needed a little break! ;-)

We've had a lot of wind here lately, so Jim didn't go out much. Linda wasn't feeling real well Sunday and Monday, so she didn't feel like doing too much. Monday Jim took Big RED to the gas station and bought him a drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel and then headed down to the Farm & Fleet store on this side of Urbana.

Jim didn't have anything special that he wanted to buy, but it's a neat store and he just wanted to go. Well, he did end up buy a few things. One of the main things he found was a Coleman Deck Chair, that was in the seasonal close-out section at quite a reduced price! :-) He has one of these chairs and really likes it, but it's getting pretty old, so he's been looking for a new one.

Big RED said that Jim spent close to an hour, just wandering around in the store.

Later Monday evening, Jim cooked a ham steak out on the grill and Linda cooked some of the last of the sweetcorn-on-the-cob inside.

Yesterday, Big RED took Jim and Linda up to Naperville, IL to see Linda's sister, Nancy. Big RED said that it was a long drive up there, (about 135 miles), with lots of traffic the closer he got to the Chicago metro area,

 but Nancy and Linda and had a great time visiting and catching up on the past year's happenings. :-)

About noon, Nancy took Linda and Jim out to lunch at a family restaurant and then they returned to Nancy's apartment and talked some more. About 3:00, Big RED started the trip back down here and was surprised at how much more traffic there was on the way back. (Probably people getting off work by that time.)  They also had 2 construction areas, so that added to the traffic problem.

But, by 6:00 Big RED was pulling into his parking spot here at Prairie Pines where he rested after his trip to the big city.

Linda said that it was really good to see Nancy again. A lot has happened in the last year, and it was good to finally catch up. ;-)

Jim and Linda still haven't done the laundry. They'll have to go pretty soon, or they won't have anything to wear!!!! :-O

Did you know that The population of the Chicago CSA (Combined Statistical Area) is over 9.9 million people?

Woof!!!

A Very Nice Birthday, New Plans and A Cook-Out At Paul and Louise's

Rantoul, IL.

deg
Forecast =

First of all, Jim wants to thank everyone who commented, e-mailed, called, stopped by, or in some other way, wished him a happy birthday Thursday.  ;-)  He had a very nice day and all of you made it even more special.

Thank You!!!! :-)

Jim didn't do much Thursday, just enjoyed a nice quiet day and the great weather that we had. Then for dinner, Big RED took he and Linda down to the LongHorn Steadhouse in Champaign. Both of them had steaks and both said that they were excellent.  The service was also very good and they both enjoyed the experience. ;-)

Yesterday, Jim worked on a new trip plan for part of the day. He called Roland and he and Louise will still be at their home in North Carolina when we'll be passing through the area, so we'll be stopping by there for a few days. He also called a few small campgrounds near Mike's house in Apex, NC., but they were booked for the dates that we'd be there, so we'll have to settle for a larger one that  we've stayed at before or go to the Jordan Lake SRA, both not first choices, but well serve nicely.

Then, yesterday evening, Louise and Paul had a gathering at their site here at the CG. Louise made chili and cooked hot dogs on the grill along with all the "fixin's". There were about a dozen people from the park there and as far as I could tell, everyone had a good time talking, eating and sitting around the campfire. :-)

Thank you, Louise and Paul!!!!

No big plans for today. Tomorrow, Jim and Linda need to do laundry and then on Tuesday, I think Big RED will be taking them up to Naperville, IL. to see Linda's sister, Nancy and her son David. Naperville, is about 125 miles from here, so it'll be a long day.


Did you know that on this date in 1953 - The TV show "Letter to Loretta" premiered? The name was changed to "The Loretta Young Show" on February 14, 1954.

Woof!!!

Good News, Next Appointments and What Does This Mean?

Rantoul, IL.

51 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Mostly sunny. Highs around 72°F. Northeast wind to 7 MPH.

It was about 10:45 when Big RED pulled out of the campground and took Linda and Jim down to the South side of Champaign for Linda's follow-up appointment after the cataract surgery on her right eye. The appointment to see Dr. Anderson was at 11:30 and Big RED said that they made there with time to spare.

The follow-up went fine and after some vision tests and her looking into Linda's eyes, Dr. Anderson said that both eyes were doing well and that she wanted to see Linda once more in about 2 weeks. ;-)

Good News!!!!!

OK, now let's see what this means.

Linda's appointment with Dr. Gandhi, (the retinaologist), is on the the 30th of September, so that means that for the next 12 days, there are no doctor appointments at all!!!!

Then, 2 days later, on the 2nd of October, Linda has the appointment with Dr. Anderson.

If everything goes well at that appointment, we'll be "good to go" as early as the 3rd of September!!!!

That means that we'll be able to leave here about a week earlier than originally planned, which will mean that we won't have to hurry or cut short our visits with Mike or Joe and their families. It also means that we'll be able to take our time heading down the coast on our way to FL and if Roland and Louise are still at their house in North Carolina, we can stop by there for a few days to visit!!!

And, you know what else it means??? Linda will not have a Doctor's appointment for as many as 45 days!!!!!  That has not happened for more than a year!!!!

So, ,  , , , , ,  , , in the next few days I expect Jim to be getting out that big eraser again and making a new plan for our trip. (I think this will be "Plan D")   ;-)  As soon as he gets it penciled in on the calendar, I'll fill you in on our "tentative" schedule.

Did you know that today is Jim's Birthday?

Happy Birthday, Jim!!!!!!

Woof!!!

The Illinois Bunch Leaves and 2 Down And 0 To Go

Rantoul, IL.

50 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Areas of patchy fog early. Partly cloudy. High 67F. Winds light and variable.

There was rain just North of here yesterday morning and if you checked the radar, you could see that there was more rain heading right towards Rantoul. So, both Denny and Dave started "breaking camp" earlier than they normally would have. It's a good thing that they did because just as they were finishing, it started raining and rained fairly hard for the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon.

I don't remember just what time it was, but after h and h, (hugs and handshakes), they pulled out of their sites and headed for home. :-(   (I think it was around 10:30).  It sure was good to see them again and more than likely, we'll see Dave and Dee Dee down in Florida sometime this winter. :-)  However, Denny and Bev have decided not to go to Florida this winter, so we probably won't see them until sometime next summer. :-(

After they left, it was time to start getting ready to head down to Urbana. Linda's appointment at the Hospital was  at 12:45 so being that it was raining quite hard at times, Jim and Linda left here about 11:45.

Big RED said that it only sprinkled on the way down there and by about 12:15, he was pulling into the patient drop-off/pick-up area where one of the volunteers came out and took Linda inside with a wheelchair. By the time Jim found a spot to park Big RED in that scary parking garage, with the low clearance, and returned to the main entrance, Linda had registered again and was waiting for him in the lobby.

Another volunteer then took them up to the surgery area on the 2nd floor where Linda checked in and then waited in the waiting room for a nurse to come and get her. After about 1/2 hour, the nurse came and took Linda back to Pre-Op and then about 45 minutes after that, Jim was told that he could go to room 28 on the 2nd floor to be with her.

Then, it was time to wait again. :-(

Things did go much better this time though. About 3:30 they came into the room and took Linda into surgery. (again, Jim was able to just stay in the room to wait), and with-in a half  hour, they brought her back again, surgery completed!! :-)

By 4:30, Jim was retrieving Big RED from the parking garage and pulling up to the patient pick-up area. In just a little while, yet another volunteer brought Linda out and by a little before 5:00 they were pulling into the parking lot at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant. (Linda was hungry because she wasn't allowed to eat anything since midnight.)

After enjoying another good meal, Big RED brought them back here to the CG where both Linda and Jim relaxed, dozed in their chairs and watched TV until about 10:00 when they went to bed.

So, that's over with!!!! The surgery went well and both Linda and Jim were talking about how good it was to have the surgery completed. Now, maybe they can both relax a little. Linda will have to go for a follow-up on the surgery tomorrow, (Wednesday), and then on the 30th of Sept. she has an appointment to see Dr. Gandhi to see if she needs another injection. And, Dr. Anderson may want to see her again to check on the cataract surgery one more time before we leave here.

As far as leaving here, Jim has been working on trip plans and has decided that if at all possible, we should leave here by at least the 13th of October. If everything goes well, we may leave a little before that date to give us a little more time to head East to NC and VA to see Mike and Joe and their families and then head South to Florida,

Again, everything is written in pencil and Jim still has that big eraser. ;-)

Did you know that your eyes are always the same size from birth?

Woof!!!

Lots Of Visiting With The "Illinois Bunch" and Cataract Surgery Today

Rantoul, IL.

51 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast =  Mostly cloudy with isolated storms. Highs around 64°F. South wind 1 to 7 MPH. Chance of precipitation 60 percent. New precipitation amounts up to one quarter inch possible.

Not a whole lot going on around here except a whole bunch of visiting. Friday, Dorthy drove down here to the CG and stayed until early evening.  The Pot Luck went off without a hitch and everyone got plenty to eat. The only thing that could have been better was the weather. It was cloudy and quite cool with some wind. :-(

Saturday was sunnier and a little warmer, but there was still some wind, so if you were in the shade, it felt pretty cool. That, of course, didn't stop everyone from getting together around the campfire or inside of Denny and Bev's motor home to visit though.

Also on Saturday, Dave found out that the furnace in his trailer wasn't working. After some investigation, he found a wire shorted out down by the furnace. The wire was rerouted, but the furnace is now making some noise from the fan, so he'll probably have to take it back to the dealer for repairs.

Yesterday was very nice with lots of sun, temperatures in the upper 60's and almost no wind. Linda spent most of the afternoon over at Bev's, visiting and Jim, Denny and Dave spent the afternoon visiting and solving all the problems of the world. ;-) Dee Dee went shopping with her daughter who drove down here from her home, somewhere North of here.

For dinner yesterday, Jim and Linda and Denny and Bev decided to have Pizza for dinner. So, they ordered a Pizza from Monical's Pizza. After a little while, Big RED took Jim and Denny to pick it up and bring it back here to Denny and Bev's.

Again, the pizza was very good and they all enjoyed even more visiting and catching up on this last year's happenings.

Linda was getting pretty tired, so Jim walked with Linda back here to Nora and then went back to visit some more with Denny and Dave who had started another campfire.  

After visiting for awhile Jim came back here and then he and Linda watched "Da Bears" win a pretty good game over the 49ers.

This morning, Denny and Bev and Dave and Dee Dee will be packing up and leaving. Then, about noon, Big RED will take Linda and Jim down to Urbana so that Linda can have the Cataract Surgery on her other eye. Linda is not looking forward to the surgery, but is looking forward to seeing a little better out of that eye. (This is the eye that has the diabetic damage.)

Hopefully everything will go a little quicker at the hospital this time and she won't have to wait so long.

Did you know that the muscle that lets your eye blink is the fastest muscle in your body? It allows you to blink 5 times a second.

Woof!!!

Good News, 2/3 Of The Illinois Bunch Arrive and A Pot Luck Is Planned

Rantoul, IL

51 deg. overcast, no wind.
Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. High 63F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.

Since the weather was better yesterday morning than the day before, Jim and Linda didn't leave the CG until about 8:15. By a little before 9:00, (Linda's appointment time), they were in Doctor Anderson's office and being escorted back to one of the rooms where a nurse gave Linda a quick eye test. Soon, Dr. Anderson came in, checked Linda's eye and said that everything looked really good!!!

She also said that she didn't see any reason that the cataract on other eye couldn't be operated on this coming Monday!!! :-)

Good News!!!! Everything's going as planned!!! (so far).

Jim didn't have anything to eat before he and Linda went to the Doctor's office, so when they returned to Rantoul, they stopped by the Red Wheel Restaurant before coming back here to the CG. Both had the biscuits and gravy with a side order of sausage and both said that it was very good.

A little after noon, Dave and Dee Dee pulled into Prairie Pines Campground with their new Keystone Travel Trailer and their new Ford Pickup truck. This last winter, they bought a Park Model home down in Florida, so they really didn't need the big 5th wheel any longer or the big truck to pull it.

Then, about 1/2 an hour later, Denny and Bev pulled in with their Winnebago Brave MH.

(I'll get Jim to take some photos, just a soon as I can). ;-)

As I said yesterday, Gordy and Dorthy won't be coming because of Gordy's health problems, but I understand that Dorthy is planning on driving down here today, for just a day visit. Dave and Dee Dee and Denny and Bev will be staying until Monday morning. :-)

Being that Dorthy is driving down here today, a "pot luck" is being planned for today. The plan is to cook hot dogs, hamburgers and brats on a grill or over a campfire and then make the other items inside.  I don't know what Linda is making but it'll probably be either a vegetable or a desert.

Should be a fun day! ;-)

Did you know that the pin that holds a hinge together is called a pintle?

Woof!!!

A Little Glitch and The Illinois Bunch Arrive Today

Rantoul, IL.

56 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy. Highs around 63°F. North wind to 10 MPH.

Had a little g.itch yesterday morning.

Because it was raining hard, off and on, Jim and Linda left here about 8:00 so that they'd be sure to get down to the south side of Champaign by 9:00 for Linda's follow-up appointment. Big RED said that they were heading South on I-57 in heavy rain and wind when the phone rang. Linda answered it and was told that her appointment was canceled because Dr. Anderson was sick and couldn't come in to see any patients.

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  at the next exit they turned off of I-57 and brought some county roads back here to the CG. :-(

The nurse that Linda talked to said that Linda's appointment would be rescheduled for today at 9:00, but even the nurse was wondering if Dr. Anderson would be well enough to come in.

Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but we're on a pretty tight time schedule here. Linda is tentatively scheduled for surgery on her other eye this next Monday, it's still just tentative and now there's the possibility that the surgery will be delayed. If it is, it may cause a conflict with an appointment that Linda has with Dr. Gandhi to have another one of those injections.

Both of Linda's eyes seem to be doing well. She says that since the cataract surgery on her left eye, she can see better with it than she has for a long time. Most of the irritation has disappeared in both eyes and she thinks everything is healing up nicely. ;-)

Today, Most of the "Illinois Bunch" are coming here to the Prairie Pines Campground, (Because of Gordy's health I don't think he and Dorthy will be coming). and they'll be staying until Monday morning.  I imagine that they'll be getting here sometime around noon, so unless there's a delay at Dr. Anderson's office, Big RED should be able to get Jim and Linda back here by then.

We had a lot of rain yesterday. (I know it was well over an inch), and then late yesterday afternoon, we had pretty strong storm come through the area. After the storm, the temperature started dropping and now this morning, it's down to 56 degrees with a forecasted high of only 63 degrees today.

Did you know that on this date in 1967 - The Carol Burnett Show premiered on CBS?

Woof!!!

One Down And One To Go

Rantoul, IL.

60 deg. mostly cloudy, SE wind @ 3 mph. Thunder in the distance.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with isolated storms. Highs around 82°F. South southeast wind 5 to 10 MPH. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Yesterday morning was kind of hard for Linda and Jim. That's the problem with having "later in the day" appointments, you can't really start anything and you end up just sitting around, thinking about what's going to happen and worrying about it. :-(

About 11:45, they headed out to Big RED and he took them down to the Carl Hospital in Urbana.

The trip down there was uneventful, but once Big RED dropped Linda off at the hospital door and the nice volunteer took Linda inside, it was time to try to find a parking place for RED. Well, the only place to park was in this huge parking garage. He told me that as he went into the garage, there was a sign that said that there was a 7' height limit inside and he was sure he wasn't that high.

Once inside and making his way around the corners and up the ramps, he was sure that some of those beams from the above floors were below 7' though. He said that at times, he thought for sure that he was going to hit some of those beams with his roof!!! They looked really low!!!! :-O

Well, he made it up to the 3rd level where Jim backed him into a parking spot.

And, that's where he stayed for the next 5 1/2 hours!!!!!!

Yep, you read hat right!!!! 5 1/2 hours!!!!!

By the time Jim got into the hospital, Linda had registered and was waiting for him in the lobby. From there, another nice volunteer wheeled Linda up to the 2nd floor and to the section called, "Same Day Surgery", where Linda signed in at another desk.

After waiting in the waiting room for awhile, a nurse came out and took Linda back to the surgery area where she started the pre-op procedure.

After about an hour, Jim was finally led back to Linda's room by a very nice volunteer lady where he and Linda waited and waited and waited for Linda's turn in the operating room!!! :-(

It was so cold in the room that after while, Jim went to the nurses desk and asked for more blankets for Linda. One of the nurses brought her a couple blankets that she evidently got out of a blanket warmer because they were very warm when she put them over Linda. :-)

About 4:45, they finally came and got Linda out of the room and took her to surgery. The surgery only took about 20 minutes or so and in about 1/2 hour she was back in the room where Jim was still waiting.

As soon as she returned, they gave Linda some crackers and something to drink. Soon Dr. Anderson came into the room and gave Linda instructions on what to do, as far as putting drops into her eye etc. After that, the nurse got Linda up and dressed, got her into the wheel chair and told Jim to go get the car and they would bring Linda down to the patient pick-up area.

Big RED said that coming back down the ramps in the parking garage was even scarier than going up!!! He was on the inside of the turns and now he had to try to turn real sharp to miss cars that were going up the ramp, plus worry about hitting his roof on one of those beams!!!

He made it though and soon was parked in the patient pick-up area, waiting for Linda. :-) In just a few minutes, Linda arrived, (Wheeled there by another volunteer), and got into Big RED.

Whew!!!!

Being that Linda had not had anything to eat or drink, (except the crackers and drink up in the room after surgery), since about 10:00 the night before, she was very hungry and asked Jim if they could stop somewhere and get something to eat. So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  they headed over to the Urbana Gardens Restaurant where they both had very nice meals and relaxed a little. (Jim had to read the menu to Linda).   ;-)

After eating, Big RED brought Linda and Jim back here to the CG where they both relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Linda's eye seems to be doing fine. Everything was still blurry when she went to bed last night, but that's normal. I think she slept well and in fact is still sleeping, so, she must be comfortable.

Wednesday, she has an appointment at Dr. Anderson's office for a follow up check of her eye. Then, it will be decided for sure when she will have surgery on the other eye.

Did you know that today is "Wonderful Weirdoes Day"?

Woof!!!

Shopping, Weather and Cataract Surgery Today

Rantoul, IL.

55 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Sunny. Highs around 79°F. East wind to 7 MPH.

Haven't posted because there's not been much happening around here.

Friday morning, Big RED took Jim and Linda down to a Menards store in Champaign so that Jim could buy some hooks to put on the walls here in Nora. He also wasn't happy with the way the bottom of the sliding door on the bedroom was held in place when latched open in the travel position, so he bought some hardware to remedy that situation too.

After shopping at Menards, Jim and Linda had breakfast for lunch at a Denny's Restaurant. (because it was right there). The food was good, but it took a long time for the food to come, after it was ordered.

When they returned back here to the campground, Jim put up a couple hooks in the bedroom to hang clothes on and then put up 2 small hooks on the end of the kitchen cabinet, (next to the outside door), so he had someplace to hang his baseball type caps.

Friday evening, we had a storm come through the area. It got real windy for awhile and we ended up getting just over 1/2 inch of rain.

The sky really looked nasty for awhile. 

Saturday was a much cooler day. Jim went to the County Market Grocery Store in the morning and then he and Linda enjoyed the nice weather sitting outside under Nora's awning. Oh, and he did install the hardware that he purchased on the bedroom door. Now it'll stay in place better when we travel. 

Yesterday, Jim and Linda went over and talked to Paul and Louise for awhile. Again the weather was so nice that they sat outside to visit. 

Today, Linda is scheduled for Cataract Surgery on her left eye. She and Jim are supposed to be at Carl Hospital in Urbana at 12:45. I don't know just what time the surgery will be, but that's the time she needs to be there to register.  

Did you know that on this date in 1945 - In Washington, DC, a bus equipped with a two-way radio was put into service for the first time?

Woof!!!

Tests, Shopping, Things Change and A Very Nice Meal

Rantoul, IL.

70 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. High 92F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.

Tuesday, about 10:00, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed over to Gibson City to get Linda's tests done. Everything went really smooth and in about an hour, they were heading back towards Rantoul.

On the way back, they stopped in Fisher, IL and had lunch at the Blue Star Family Restaurant.

Nothing much happened during the afternoon, but after grabbing a sandwich around 5;30, they again took Big RED and headed over to Wally World where Jim purchased a new coffee maker and a couple other small items. The coffee maker that Jim had was old, wasn't working too well anymore, and was all cruddy down inside of the water reservoir.  :-(  Besides that, he uses one of those little 5 cup coffee makers, so they don't cost a whole lot to replace.

You know, that brings up another subject I've been thinking about.

Years ago, Jim would have tried to salvage that old pot and use it a little longer. He would have been scrubbing the inside of the reservoir with a brush or something, pouring vinegar thought the maker to remove any lime that might have accumulated and maybe even gone shopping for a replacement pot if needed.

But, things / times have changed! Somewhere along the way, he has changed his attitude about things like that, and has decided that he doesn't want to, or it's too much trouble to go though all that work. It's the same way with repairs on the RV or other vehicles that we've had lately. He used to do all the maintenance and repairs on them, but now, except for some small repairs, he has someone else do the work.

Yeah, part of it is technology. He sometimes doesn't have the tools or the testers to do the work. but for the most part, he just doesn't feel like crawling around under a vehicle or inside of a cabinet or storage bay to do the work, anymore. And to be honest, he doesn't feel too safe when he's up on the roof of an RV, (and Linda doesn't like it when he goes up there), so, unless it's an emergency, he doesn't go up there anymore either.

I don't know, it might be age. Jim says that it much harder to get under a vehicle or do something inside of a cabinet or storage area than it used to be and if he does manage do the work himself, he's sore for quite a few days afterwords.

I know I can't run and jump around like a puppy anymore. I used to run and run and run, but the old joints just won't let me do that now. :-(  

Getting older is not easy, but when you think of the alternative, it guess there's not much choice.

OK, enough of that!!!!!!

After going to Wally World, Big RED took Jim and Linda over to the Dairy Queen for a treat. They hadn't been there at all this year and really enjoyed it. ;-)

When Jim was over talking to Louise the other day, she gave him a couple of filet mignon steaks that she had gotten from Paul's son, who has a farm up near Galena, IL. So, yesterday evening, being that the weather was nice, Jim decided that he'd try to cook them on his grill.

Well, I'm here to tell you that they sure smelled good, and both Jim and Linda thought they they turned out really well! :-) They had them along with some potato salad, some sliced tomatoes, (out of Louise's garden), and bakery bread.

A very nice meal, indeed!!!! ;-)  Thank you very much, Louise!!!!!

No plans so far for today. I'ts supposed to be quite hot and humid, so Jim and Linda will probably be staying inside a lot. It's supposed to really cool off for the weekend though.

Did you know that September is "National Prime Beef Month"?

Woof!!!

They're All Gone, Yet Another Dinner With Mike And Terri and Going For Tests

Rantoul, IL.

69 deg. cloudy, SW wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast = Isolated thunderstorms this morning. Skies will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High 84F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

They're all gone!!!! Yep, yesterday, the CG just about emptied out!!!! Early yesterday morning, some of the RVers started packing up and by mid-afternoon, they had all left. From now on, this park will be mostly empty and the only campers here will be a few like us who are staying for longer periods of time or the occasional travelers who stops by, some of them heading South for the winter.

Louise says that she has a couple "clubs" coming in this next weekend, but I don't think that they're very big clubs.

Mike and Terri came over yesterday evening and everyone ordered sandwiches from Monical's Pizza. Jim and Linda both had the Italian Beef, Mike had the meatball sub and I think Terri had the turkey sub. Anyway, they all said that their sandwiches were very good and really seemed to enjoy them. :-)

After eating, talking awhile and h and h, (hugs and handshakes), Mike and Terri left and headed to their RV. They'll be leaving here this morning to start heading to Virginia, where they used to live. It's sure been good to have them here and I know that Jim and Linda have really enjoyed visiting and sharing some meals with them.

Safe Travels, Mike and Terri!!!! Maybe we'll see you down in Florida this winter!!! :-)

Jim and Linda won't see them again this morning because Linda needs to go and have those test for her cataract surgery. (You know, the EKG and the urinalysis test that I told you about the other day.)  She and Jim decided to go to the Gibson City Hospital to get the test done rather than try to find their way around in the very large Carl Hospital down in Urbana.

Carl is closer and it's where Linda will have her cataract surgery, but Gibson City is smaller and Linda has had test done there before and knows where to go once they get there.  

Did you know that until the 1960s, men with long hair were not allowed to enter Disneyland?

Woof!!!