Happy Birthday Linda and Starting To Get Ready

DeBary, Fl.

75 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. High 94F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.


Nothing real exciting going on around here. Jim and Linda have been getting things together to take along on our Illinois trip. They've made some lists so they could remember what they need to take and have already started packing some things into boxes and bags. 

Saturday, was Linda's birthday, so at noon, they met Laura, Lindsey and Anna over at the Longhorn Steakhouse for lunch. Then, in the evening, they headed to Laura's where they had Cupcakes and ice cream. Marv, Inez, Ashley, Chris, Anna and of course Laura and Lindsey were there and it sounds like everyone had a good time. ;-) 

Linda blowing out candles on cupcakes

Yesterday, Jim took Lily and went to Walgreen's to pick up a few prescriptions and to the local Winn Dixie store where he bought some groceries to use on or trip up North. Today he wants to get outside early and get a few things done out there before it gets too hot. We're right in the middle of the hottest time of the year down here now and almost every day, the temps are in the mid-ninety's with rain showers/storms in the afternoon, causing lots of humidity.  :-( 

Jim seems to be feeling pretty well. For now, most of the side effects from the Opdivo seem to be gone, but he is still taking medicine to counter those effects. Hopefully by the time that medicine is gone, so will be the side effects. 

It's still not completely decided on just when we'll be leaving DeBary. If they get everything ready, we may leave here as early as Sunday. I think Linda is worried about how Jim will be feeling after traveling for 4 or 5 hours a day, and said yesterday, that she thought that adding an extra "rest" day to the trip would be good. 

Well, that's about it for now. I'm going to make a real effort to post more often, especially while we're traveling.  


Did you know that on this date in 1966 - The Monkees recorded their first single? The song was "The Last Train to Clarksville" and was later included on their self-titled debut album. 

Woof!!!

Some Home Repairs and A Great Gesture

DeBary, FL.

55 deg. clear, NW wind @ 3 mph.

Forecast = Sun and clouds mixed. High around 80F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.


When Jim and Linda first came to the house when we returned to DeBary, one of the first things Jim did was to turn on all the electricity and then the water. When he turned on the water, (at the meter), he noticed that the meter kept showing usage even though he gave it time to fill pipes, toilets etc.  He quickly shut the water back off and came into the house to see where the water was going.

Well, what he found was that the toilet fill valve in the bathroom, off of the bedroom, was not shutting off and was causing the problem.  So, he shut off the valve under the toilet and went back out and re-opened the main valve.

Now, Jim and Linda have never liked that toilet. It had a low seat height, the seat was small and  uncomfortable and he had had trouble with the tank valves before. The toilet in the front bathroom wasn't too great either. It had a broken piece under the tank, (which didn't seem to hurt anything,) but it always worried Jim that it would break more and cause a severe leak.

So, a couple days later, Jim called Kevin, (the local handyman, who Jim and Linda have used before). He came over and looked at the toilets and a few other things that Jim and Linda need done here at the house, and suggested Jim head over to Lowe's or Home Depot and pick up a couple toilets and he'd get them installed right away.

Well, that's what Jim did. He found some nice Kohler toilets that were on sale at Lowe's and now we have 2 new toilets that are working perfectly and should last a good long time. :-)

It was an expense that Jim and Linda hadn't counted on, but it's better to replace them now than to wait until they leak or something and cause a whole lot of damage.

Other than that, everything else seems to be working well and except for doing some work in the kitchen and dinning area, (new floor surface), which they were planning to do when we returned, all is well.

Yesterday, Jim and Linda headed over to the Winn Dixie Grocery Store near here to buy a bunch of groceries. As they were checking out at the register, there was an elderly gentleman and his wife checking out in the next isle. The gentleman had a cap on, stating that he was a veteran, and as he was about to pay the cashier, the man in line behind him told him to "put away his card" as he was going to pay for the couple's groceries!!  The man told the elderly gentleman that he wanted to thank him for his service to the country and felt that buying his groceries was the least he could do.

What a great gesture!!!!

I hope all of you took a little time to remember all the veterans who gave so much to keep us free. Yeah, we've got some problems, but the good old USA is still the best county in the world!!! 

This next Tuesday, both Jim and Linda have appointments to see Dr. Saferali, their chemo doctor for a follow-up appointment. Neither of them expect anything wrong so they're not too worried about going to see her.


Did you know that the major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, when the Armistice with Germany went into effect? The United States previously observed Armistice Day. The U.S. holiday was renamed Veterans Day in 1954. 

Woof!!!

South Carolina To Florida.

Callahan, FL.

75 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Plentiful sunshine. Near record high temperatures. High 87F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.


We left the New Green Acres RV Park about  9:35, hopped on I-95 and took it all the way down to just South of Savannah, GA where we turned off on US 17. As usual 95 was very crowded, but the traffic moved smoothly and we made good time.

US 17 took us to GA 196, (a short-cut) which took us over to US 84.  84 then took us in a Southwesterly direction which brought us to Jesup, GA where we turned South on US 301. 301 then brought us all the way down to Florida and to Hilliard, FL., where we pulled into the Winn-Dixie Grocery Store parking lot, so that Jim could go in and purchase some bread, hamburger buns and paper plates. It didn't take Jim long and soon we were back on 301. In just a few miles, we pilled into Kelly's Countryside RV Park, which is just a few miles North of Callahan..

It was 1:30 when we pulled up to the office, so it took us right at 3 hours and 55 minutes to travel the 199 mile down here and buy those few groceries.

We've stayed at Kelly's many times before, and in fact spent a whole month here one year while we were full-timing. It's a nice friendly CG, well maintained, but it has become very popular with monthly RVers  so that now it's almost always full and you need to call ahead to make sure they have a site available.

We're staying here for 2 nights and so tomorrow, we'll travel the final leg of our summer travels. :-(  It's about 3 hours from here to the DeBary area so we won't have to start too early in the morning to get there at a reasonable time.


Did you know that in Georgia, the Okefenokee Swamp encompasses over 400,000 acres of canals; moss draped cypress trees, and lily pad prairies providing sanctuaries for hundreds of species of birds and wildlife including several endangered species?

Woof!!!

Catching Up Again

Rantoul, IL.

70 deg. fog, no wind.

Forecast = Foggy this morning, then partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High around 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.


It's been awhile since I've posted so I thought I'd try to catch up a little.

Monday, the 8th of August, (the day after we returned here from the reunion), both Linda and Jim had appointments with Dr. Anderson, their eye doctor. She's the Dr. who did Linda's cataracts a few years ago and also has been treating Jim's glaucoma.  Over the last few years, Linda had developed a "film" over her cataract implants that has gradually been getting worse and was starting to impair her vision. The right eye was the worst, so Dr. Anderson removed the film with a laser treatment right in her office.

Jim just needed an annual check-up to make sure his glaucoma was under control.

Linda's procedure went off without a hitch and Jim's check-up did also. An appointment was made for Linda to come back in a week, to make sure the eye was healing properly and for Jim to have a field of vision test and a complete eye exam, since he hadn't had one for a couple years.

So, yesterday, they went back, Linda's eye is doing well and Jim's eye exam showed no problems with the retinas or any other part of his eyes  :-)

In between appointments, Jim and Linda have gone out to eat a few times, gone grocery shopping at the Meijer's Store  down in Champaign, picked up a few items at the local Ace Hardware, went to Walgreen's to pick up a few prescriptions, and shopped for a few items at Rural King where Jim picked up a couple short sleeved shirts that they were closing out for the summer.

Other than that, it's just been day-to-day living here in Rantoul.

There's still a few more doctor appointments coming up and there's a planned visit to see Denny and Bev, (part of the "Illinois Bunch"), in about a week and, more plans for Dave and Dee Dee to come here to the CG early in September, Don't worry though, I'll be sure to keep you informed as those things happen. ;-)

Did you know that today is "Black Cat Appreciation Day"?

Woof!!!

KABAM!!!!!! and Utica, IL To Baraboo, WI.

Baraboo, WI.

68 deg. Partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Areas of fog early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds light and variable.

Because the check-in time at our next stop was at 2:00 we didn't leave the Hickory Hollow Campground near Utica until about 10:50. After getting back on I-39, we continued heading north towards Rockford, IL. About 25 miles before we got to Rockford, Jim felt a kind of "bump" as we were traveling along. Looking in the passenger side rear-view mirror, showed pieces of tire flying off of one of Nora's wheels!!!! ;-O

Jim immediately slowed Big RED down and we pulled off onto the shoulder of the road and stopped.
Jim got out to check, and sure enough, the rear tire on Nora's right side had exploded and there was only a small part of the tire still on the rim!!!! Looking back down the road, Jim could see the rest of the tire laying out on I-39!!!  :-(

Now, what to do??????

Because they have roadside assistance with their insurance, they called their insurance agent, Gina Shaver at Epic Insurance  who gave them names of towing services near the Rockford area. After calling a few towing services, they finally found Maggio's Towing who came to our rescue and changed the tire, putting on the spare.

Since the type of tires that came on Noa are know to have problems, we then followed the service truck back to the Maggio Service Center just South of Rockford, where Jim and Linda had the the blown out tire and the other tires of the same brand replaced!!!

It was about 3:30 by the time we left Maggio's and returned to I-39.

We followed I-39/US20 around Rockford, paid our Toll for traveling a few miles on the last end of the road in Illinois and crossed into Wisconsin. Just North of Janesville, we turned West on US 14 and followed it West and then North up to Madison. In Madison, we picked up US 12 and followed it up here to Baraboo and the Fox Hill RV Park & Campground .

Fox Hill is also a Passport America Campground, so the fees for Monday through Thursday are 1/2 price and Friday is full price. Even with paying full price for one night of our 5 night stay here the average daily cost of our time here comes to just a little less than $30 per night.

Not bad for a water and electric site in a very touristy area.

Oh, and in case your wondering, it was 5:50 by the time we arrived here at Fox Hill so it took us 7 hours to travel the 193 miles up here, wait on the shoulder of I-39 to get the spare installed and get new tires installed on Nora.

Yes, it was a scary time, sitting along side of the road with all those semi's roaring by, and it was boring sitting at the service center waiting to get the new tires installed, but all in all, we came through the whole ordeal without anything really bad happening.  When the tire exploded, it did do a little damage to the side of Nora, but Jim has already secured the wheel well trim back on and there is only minor damage to the very bottom edge of Nora, which Jim is quite sure he can repair.

So, we got over another of those little "bumps in the road" and we're good to go again. :-)

Yesterday morning, Jim and Linda bought some groceries to take to the family reunion and then in the afternoon, they headed to the reunion. Because we had arrived in the area a day ahead of time, for dinner, Linda and Jim cooked Barbecues and green beans while everyone else was unpacking cars and getting settled in at the lodge.

Tonight, someone else will prepare a dinner and others will prepare future dinners.

Both Jim and Linda said that it was really nice seeing everyone again and are looking forward to more visiting the next 3 1/2 days. :-)

Did you know that the first Ringling Brothers Circus was staged in Baraboo, WI in 1884?


Woof!!!

A New Chair, A Nice Ride, Shopping and CG Filling Up For The 4th

Rantoul, IL.

58 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Cloudy this morning. A few showers developing during the afternoon. High 73F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.


Not a whole lot happening around here since my last post about a week ago. Saturday, I think it was, Jim went over to visit with Ron and Marilyn, (friends who come to the Prairie Pines CG here in Rantoul just about every year). Ron had purchased a couple new lawn chairs and Jim remarked how comfortable they were when he sat in one while visiting, so, Sunday morning Jim took Big RED and headed over to Rural King where Ron had bought his chairs.

Did I mention that they were on sale?

Anyway, Jim ended up buying one of the new chairs, cause that's all they had left. It's a rocker lawn chair and Jim has been using it every day since.

He says that it's more comfortable than the other chairs we have and is really enjoying it.

Monday, Jim and Linda hopped into Big RED and took a ride over to the Fourwinds RV Dealer in Maroa, IL. It's quite a way over there, but they had a nice ride through the countryside and both Jim and Linda were glad to get away from here for awhile. While they were there, Jim bought a some replacement light bulbs for Nora's ceiling lights, to replace a couple that had burned out. On the way back from Maroa, they stopped at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant in Urbana for lunch before returning here to the CG.

Wednesday, they again took Big RED and headed down to Champaign, IL to buy some groceries and a few other items at the huge Meijer's store. Meijer's is kind of like Wally World and has just about anything you could want to buy. They went mostly to buy groceries, but ended up buying a new blanket for the bed and and a few other items in the "health and beauty" section of the store too.

Needless to say, by the time they returned and got everything put away, they were both pretty well "wiped out"!!!

Not much else happened this week except the CG has been filling up for the 4th of July weekend. They started coming in Thursday already, and as of this morning, the CG is about 80% full. I'm sure the rest of the sites will be filled by this evening.

The weather forecast isn't too good for this weekend. The weather guessers are forecasting a 30% chance of rain today, a 100% chance of rain for tomorrow and a 50% chance of rain on the 4th. :-(

Rantoul's fireworks display is supposed to be tomorrow night, but the forecast looks better for Monday night, so they may have to reschedule.


Did you know that  an estimated 150 million hot dogs will be consumed on July 4th?

Woof!!!

Catching Up and Jim's Last Chemo Treatment

DeBary, FL.

76 deg. clear, S. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast for Sunday =  Partly cloudy. High around 80F. Winds ENE at 10 to 20 mph.


Well, most of Jim's hair is gone. Linda did cut it last Saturday and now it's only about 1/2 inch long. Jim said that he hadn't had hair this short since his military days back in the early 60's!! ;-)

Sunday, not much happened around here, but Monday, Linda and Jim decided to go grocery shopping. They went to the  Publix Grocery store in Orange City and they both grabbed one of those electric shopping carts to ride around on in the store. Everything went fine, but by the time they had carried the groceries into the house, Jim was completely wiped out and Linda was dragging her feet too. (These stronger Chemo treatments are really taking a toll on Jim's energy level).

For dinner, they had a Pizza delivered here to the house so no work was involved.

Wednesday was a "recoup day" but by Thursday evening, it was decided to use one of the gift cards that they had received for Christmas and head over to the 5 Guys hamburger place in Orange City. The burgers were good, but neither Jim nor Linda thought they were worth the price and were glad they had the Gift card to pay for them.

Yesterday morning, Lila took Jim and Linda up to Deland for Jim's Last Chemo Treatment. It was another one of the stronger treatments and by the time they stopped at Gram's Kitchen for a bite to eat and got back here, Jim was really tired and starting to have a lot of bone and muscle pain. Some medications that Jim had received from the doctor, helped that a quite a bit though.

If you remember, the last time Jim had received one of these stronger treatments, his white blood cell count had dropped to a level where he could have easily caught some type of an infection. Well, this time after the treatment, they put this "On Body Injector" on Jim and as of about 7 PM this evening, it will inject a drug call "Neulasta" into his body.  "Neulasta" stimulates the bone marrow which raises the white blood cell count. It also causes bone pain, so I'm sure Jim will have to take more medications tonight. :-(

This is the little device that Jim has stuck to his body. There's a little green light that flashes about every 4 or 5 seconds and tonight, it's supposed to "beep" 2 minutes before it starts injecting the drug and then it will take about 45 minutes to inject the drug. Then, after it "beeps" again, Jim can remove the device.

What won't they think of next??? Oh!! I guess I'd better explain that this Neulasta drug has to be administered no less than 24 hours after the chemo treatment. It was about 4:00 yesterday when the chemo treatment was finished. so 7 PM tonight will be 27 hours. 

This last treatment has really sapped Jim's strength and endurance. Hopefully this side effect won't last too long and he'll be able to do some things without getting tired right away. 

Did you know that on this date in 1833 - Peterborough, NH, opened the first municipally supported public library in the United States? 

Woof!!!

Update and A Celebration In The Neighborhood

DeBary, FL.

69 deg.  mostly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 88F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.


Not a whole lot to report.  Jim has been doing OK, but the fatigue has been pretty severe. It really bothers him that he can't even seem to get the smallest chores/jobs done without having to sit down and rest after just a few minutes of any kind of activity. Then, on top of that, he's been sleeping longer in the mornings and then taking long naps almost every day too.

Because of his low energy level, he and Linda have not gone out to eat or do any shopping, in fact, Linda went to Public's by herself the other day and bought a whole bunch of groceries. Jim was able to help carry the groceries into the house however, so that helped Linda a lot.

Tomorrow, Jim will have one of the 2 last chemo treatments that he'll be getting. Both of these last 2 treatments will be a larger dose than what he's been getting in the past. They'll also be spaced 3 weeks apart so that he'll have some recovery time between treatments. Needless to say, Jim's pretty worried about what the larger dosage side effects will be. :-(

Hopefully they won't be too severe.

There is a couple living across the street from our house here in DeBary, and they had a wedding anniversary this past Tuesday. There names are Bill and Margarete  (SP)?, and they are both really nice people. In fact, Bill insists on looking after our house when we're not around and will call Jim if anything out of the ordinary happens. He even cleans the junk mail out of the mailbox while we're gone for the summer and saves it for Jim and Linda's return.

Margarete fell and severely injured her leg about a year ago and has spent a lot of this last year in rehab, so she hasn't been too active, but Bill takes care of her and does all yard maintenance, the shopping and running around that needs to be done. In fact, Bill worked as a "porter" at a car dealership until just a few years ago.

Now, you might be wondering why I'm telling you all of this, but you see, both Bill and Margarete are in their 90's and Tuesday, they celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary!!!!!

That's right!!! 69 years!!!!!  

They are a great couple and we're so lucky to have them as our very good neighbors.

Happy Anniversary!!!!


Did you know that the St. Patrick’s Day custom came to America in 1737?  It was first celebrated publicly in, the U.S. in Boston.

Long Time Since Last Post

DeBary, FL.

52 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Saturday, Sun and clouds mixed. High 76F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.


It's been a long time since I've up-dated this blog, so I thought I'd better try and do it this morning. There's really nothing earthshaking to report, all of us are doing well.  Big RED is bored out of his mind!! :-(  He's really getting tired of just sitting under the carport and plugged into the battery tender that Jim bought to keep his batteries charged up. He says that he'd rather be out on the road charging his batteries himself!!!

Nora seems to be doing fine out at the CG. Last I heard, she was also getting pretty tired of just sitting there, although she says that she's enjoying watching the people walk by.

Linda and I continue to just do daily things. 5 or 6 days ago, Linda took Lila and headed over to Winn Dixie and bought a bunch of groceries.  (About wore herself out), and then a few days ago, made a run to Walgreen's to buy some much needed items. I continue to guard the house while Jim and Linda are gone to Jim's medical treatments and watch the people walk by on the street.

Jim continues to do pretty well, but some of the side-effects of his treatments continue to take their toll.  Fatigue continues to be a big side-effect. Both the chemo and radiation contribute to fatigue and the accumulative effect keeps getting worse. He only has 5 more radiation treatments though, so maybe that will help a little.

This last Monday, Jim was scheduled for his normal Chemo treatment, but his bowels were giving him all sorts of problems, (another side-effect of Chemo), so he called and told them he couldn't make it. That was fine, but the next available time when he could receive a treatment was yesterday. That wasn't a problem but now all the appointments for the rest of the treatments that he'll be getting are switched to Thursday or Friday, as they like to keep the treatments as close as possible to 7 days apart.  

I guess it really won't matter, but you do get used to doing a certain thing on a certain day.

For awhile, Jim's appetite wasn't too good and he wasn't eating well. (Yet another side effect of chemo)  He was starting to lose weight which didn't sit well with either of his doctors. That's one of the reasons that Linda went to the grocery store as she and Jim sat down and talked about what he thought sounded good to him. They came up with a list of foods and now since Linda has been preparing those items, he has started to put a little weight back on. ;-)

So, life goes on. Like I said, Jim only has 5 more radiation treatments left, so by next Friday, he should be finished with them. He actually only has 3 more chemo treatments left, but the last 2 will be stronger and will be spaced out at 21 day intervals, so it will be sometime around the 22nd of April before he's finished with the treatments, follow-up blood tests and doctor's appointments.

Oh, and of course, there will be another PET Scan sometime before then to make sure the treatments have  been successful.

A Quote to Ponder : “Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.”
Joshua J. Marine

Woof!!!

Did You Miss Me?

Moncure, NC.

47 deg. light rain, W. wind @ 4 MPH.

Forecast = Cloudy with periods of rain. High 53F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall may reach one inch.


Yeah, I know it's been a long time since I posted!!! Not a whole lot to report though.

The weather hasn't been too co-operative with rain off and on most of the week causing outdoor plans to be put by the wayside. Take for instance the first Saturday that we were here.

Mike and Dillon came out here to Goodwin's RV park to have a cook-out. Well, Jim cooked the hamburgers out on the grill, staying under the awning, cause it was raining quite hard, but they all came inside to eat as the picnic table was getting wet by the time the burgers were cooked. :-{

Most evenings, Big RED has taken Jim and Linda over to Mike and Gina's where they enjoyed nice meals and great visiting with the family. Brenna. Savanna and Dillon are into a lot of things, so many evenings, Gina took one or more of them to their different activities.

All in all, it's been a good visit though. There's been a lot of time to catch up on what's been happening during the summer and to see how much all of the kids have grown or matured since we were here in the spring.

During the days, Jim and Linda have spent most of the time out here at the CG. One day they went to the Kroger's store in Pittsboro to get groceries and another day to Walgreen's. but other than that, not much else. On days where Mike and Gina were busy, they just hung around here, with Jim cooking out a couple of times.

We were scheduled to leave here today, but all the weather guessers were predicting lots of rain for both here and our next stop in S. Carolina for today, so that yesterday, Jim decided that it would be best if we just stayed here one more day.

So,  ,  ,  , ,  the plan is to leave here tomorrow and head down into SC. Then, down to Georgia and Florida during the next few days, getting down to DeBary Friday or Saturday.

Oh, here's a few photos of the CG that Jim took one sunny morning.

Our site.

The entrance road into the CG

Another view of our site. You can just see the tops of other RVs on the lower level behind Nora.

A Quote to Ponder:

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.”

Abraham Lincoln

Woof!!!

Time To Head South

Rantoul, IL.

48 deg. clear, S. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Sunny. High around 80F. Winds SSW at 10 to 20 mph.


As you can see in the photos below, fall is definitely arriving here in Rantoul.

The crops are being harvested out of the fields and the nights are getting downright chilly. The grass is starting to turn brown and all of the songbirds have long ago headed to warmer climates.

All clues to indicate that we should also head to warmer areas of the country. ;-)

So, the last few days have been spent getting ready to do just that. There have been trips to Walgreen's, the grocery store, as well as a lot of reorganizing of "stuff" in the basement and other storage areas of Nora. Of course, Big RED wasn't left out either, Jim also went through much of the "stuff" in his bed as well as any other storage areas inside the cab.

Meanwhile, Linda has been repacking cabinets and storage areas inside of Nora as well as making sure the freezer and refrigerator are ready for travel.

Tomorrow morning, (Monday), we'll be leaving Rantoul and heading over to Indianapolis to see Linda's cousin, Mike and his wife, Sandy. Then, from there, we'll head farther East, going first to Virginia Beach, VA and then to Apex, NC before heading down to Florida for the winter, with the expected time of arrival in Fl. about the 15th of November.

We've had a great summer here in Rantoul, and will miss Paul and Louise and all the folks who regularly stay here or stop by.  But, if everything goes well, we'll be back again next year. :-)

A Quote to Ponder : “To those who can dream there is no such place as faraway. "  author unknown.

Woof!!!

It's Been Awhile, Planning A Visit and Keeping An Eye On The East Coast Weather

Rantoul, IL.

49 deg. cloudy, light rain, NE wind @ 14 mph.

Forecast = Generally cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. High around 60F. Winds NE at 15 to 25 mph.


Again, it's been quite awhile since I've posted on this blog. Hasn't been too much happening, in fact, I guess the weather has been the the main item of conversation around here lately. You see, we went from really nice weather with light winds, highs in the mid-70's to very windy weather, (15 to 25 mph with up to 30 mph gusts), with highs in the low 60's and lows at night getting down to the mid 40's.

As many of you long time readers may remember, Jim is not a big fan of wind. In fact, if he can help it, he won't go out at all when it starts blowing over about 20 mph.

But wait!!!! The weather guesser are saying that there's a change coming and the wind will die down somewhat tomorrow and by Monday, they're guessing that the winds will only be in the 5 to 10 mph range!!! ;-)

Not much else happening. Jim and Linda went out to eat at the Blue Star Restaurant over in Fisher, IL Monday evening, went grocery shopping at the big Meijer's store down in Champaign on Thursday and then went to Arby's for a sandwich last night.  It's been pretty quiet here in the CG. Some RVs came in yesterday, but I think they may be part of a "group" that's having a gathering here.

Monday, Big RED is going to take Jim and Linda up to Manteno, IL. (Just a little North of Kankakee), to see Jim's cousin, Adeline. She's had some major medical problems lately, so the plan is to stay for only a couple hours, so she doesn't get too tired.

We're keeping a close eye on the weather along the East Coast, since that's where we'll be heading when we leave here in just over a week. It looks like the storm is going to stay well out to sea, but those things are very unpredictable, so we'll keep watching. Hopefully, for everyone along the coast, it'll stay out there.

A Quote to ponder :

“A happy person is not a person in a certain set of circumstances, but rather a person with a certain set of attitudes.”

Hugh Downs

Woof!!!
 

It Was A Very Good Day, Mike's Visit and Some Shopping

Rantoul, IL.

67 deg. clear, S. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Partly cloudy early followed by scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. A few storms may be severe. High 88F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.


Wednesday was indeed a very good day, both for Linda and Jim.

It actually started Tuesday when Linda's cousin, Rick, called to wish her a Happy Birthday. Rick always calls the day before her birthday now because one time, he got the dates mixed up on his calendar, and called a couple days late. Now he always calls a day early, just to make sure he isn't late again. :-)

All through the day, Linda got calls from family and friends. Then in the afternoon, Mike, arrived and was able to stay until about 8:00 in the evening.

If you remember, Mike is Jim's son and he flew in from North Carolina to visit Linda and Jim and other family members and friends. (This photo of him was taken when we were in NC this spring.)

After Mike arrived, they visited for a short while and then Jim mentioned something about the airport here and the fact that they're going to close down the Aviation Museum over there. Mike said that he'd really like to see it, so he and Jim drove over there and spent about an hour going through it. (They could have spent more time, but by the time they got over there, the museum was only open for another hour before closing for the day).   Mike really enjoyed it because he works in the aircraft industry, and is very interested in learning about the older aircraft.

After they returned, Jim, Linda and Mike took Big RED and headed over to Fisher, IL, where they went to the Blue Star Restaurant, where they had nice meals and more conversation. Then, they came back here and visited some more.

All too soon, it was time for Mike to leave, but it was sure good to see him again. Linda was especially pleased that he was able to come on her birthday.

It made the day very special. :-)

After Mike left, Laura (Linda's daughter), called, from Florida to wish her a Happy Birthday, and that just topped the day off perfectly.

Thursday, Jim and Linda decided that they needed a few groceries, so instead of going here in town, they headed down to a Meijer Grocery store in Champaign. Normally, they would have gone to the local grocery store here in Rantoul, but lately, they've been out of or have stopped carrying some of the items that they want to purchase. They've noticed that they're many times out of sale items shortly after the sale begins and don't seem to restock those items until the sale is over.

So, even though Jim likes to buy as much as possible locally to help the local economy and the small store owners, they headed to Meijer's and found everything they wanted, and at a good price too.

After dinner, there was a knock on the door and it was Paul and Louise, (The CG hosts). Louise had a small Birthday cake and a card for Linda!!! That was really nice of them. They've really become good friends through the years. :-)

Thank you, Paul and Louise, Linda was thrilled with the cake and the card!!!

Yesterday morning, Jim took Big RED and headed over to Rural King to look for a few items. He found what he wanted then headed over to the Post Office to pick up a general delivery letter that had been sent there. Then to Walgreen's to pick up a prescription for Linda.

The afternoon was spent reading and fooling around with the computer. That is, until dinnertime when Jim fired up the grill and cooked a nice juicy steak that he and Linda had purchased at Meijer's.

It sure smelled good and by all accounts, it tasted really good too, but I wouldn't know, because I didn't get any!!! :-(

Did you know that the concept of a self-service grocery store was developed by entrepreneur Clarence Saunders and his Piggly Wiggly stores? His first store opened in 1916. Saunders was awarded a number of patents for the ideas he incorporated into his stores.

Woof!!!

Catching Up and Getting Ready For The 4th

Rantoul, IL.

62 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds for this afternoon. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 79F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.

We've dried out some since my last post. We've still had some rain from time to time, but it's been smaller amounts and the ground has pretty much soaked it up without getting too soggy. There seems to still be a few areas here in the CG but hopefully we won't get too much more rain so that those spots dry out for the "sold out" 4th of July holiday weekend.

Not a whole lot has happened since I've last posted. Jim and Linda went out to eat one evening at the Blue Star Restaurant over in Fisher. They've done laundry, gone grocery shopping and went to Thomasboro to pick up their mail, but other than than, just normal everyday stuff.

Oh, and Jim has been "dumpster diving" again. ;-)  This time he retrieved a nice looking water hose that had lost one of it's fittings. So, he went to ACE, bought a new fitting for $3.79 and now he has a nice 25' hose to use either while camping or back at the double-wide in Florida. It's a blue colored hose that has a white lining inside that was made for drinking water, but he'll probably just use it for general hose use, unless he decides to run some bleach through it, and then it will be safe for drinking water.  

Friday morning, Linda has an appointment with her retinaologist. She's already starting to worry about what he will find. She really doesn't like getting those injections and is hoping that they won't be necessary this time.

Then, Friday evening, Rantoul is having their 4th of July fireworks display. It's over at the airport area, so we should be able to see most of it from right here in the park.  No plans for the rest of the weekend, but there'll be lots of folks and probably quite a few kids to "people watch" here in the CG. :-)

Did you know that Illinois set new rainfall records for June this year?

The old record for June was 8.27 inches set in 1902.
The current 9.37 inches beats the old record by 1.10 inches.
The current 9.37 inches is 5.17 inches above the June average of 4.20 inches.
The current 9.37 inches make this the second wettest month in Illinois history.
Only September 1926 was a wetter month at 9.62 inches.

Woof!!!

Campground Photos and Shopping And Eating In "Amish Country"

Winesburg, OH

71 deg. clear, SW wind @ 6 mph.

Forecast = A mix of clouds and sun. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 90F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.


The  other day, Jim took a few photos of the Amish Country Campsites CG here near Winesburg. It's not a large CG and some of the sites are pretty close to each other, but we really like it here.

As you pull into the entrance of the park the drive is lined with flowers, (most of which are not really blooming yet.

Behind the house there's a large parking area where you park to register. We're in site #1 right at the end of the parking area.

The office

Looking from the office out into the park.

The reason that Jim chose site#1 is that we've got a great view of the road where a lot of Amish buggies pass by pulled by their beautiful horses. Even if you're not looking, you can hear the clip-clop, clip clop of the horses as they pass by.:-)

Every day since we've arrived, (except Sunday, Everything is closes in "Amish Country" on Sundays), Jim and Linda have gone somewhere to shop, eat, or just enjoy the countryside. Linda's found a lot of neat items to give or make for Christmas presents, They've also found some great places to eat out and more places to buy food that is now filling Nora's cabinets, refrigerator and freezer. Many of the things you can buy in this area are hand made by the local people or home grown on the many farms in the area.

Some of the prices are kind of high, but the quality of the products are high too.  Of course you have to beware, as some of the merchandise is imported from, (you know where), and the quality is not as good, but a little careful shopping will pay off.

If you come to this area, be sure to pick up one of the "Visitor Information Guides" that are available almost anywhere in the area. There's a ton of info in the guides to help you find just what you're looking for.

Oh, and just a couple more things. Many of the Amish people do not want you to take their photos, (especially of their faces), so pleas honor their wishes. Also be careful of the Amish buggies that share the road. They're moving at a slow pace and you come up on them very fast.

Did you know that over 165,000 Old Order Amish live in the United States and another 1,500 live in Canada?

Woof!!!

Final Visit With Mike And His Family and Moncure To Forest City

Forest City, NC.

65 deg. fog, no wind.
Forecast = Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. A stray afternoon thunderstorm is possible. High 86F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

After heading up to Pittsboro to get groceries in the afternoon, Jim and Linda had a nice visit with Mike and his family Friday evening. Saturday nothing much happened except that Jim and Linda did start getting some things put away in preparation for out departure Monday morning. Sunday, a little before 11:00 they headed over to Mike and Gina's house for their last visit with them.

After eating a light lunch, Jim got out his camera and was able to get everyone together to get this shot of Mike and his family.

From left to right, there's Savanna, Mike, Dillon, Gina and Brenna.

About 2:30, after lots of h and k, (hugs and kisses), Jim and Linda left Mike and Gina's and headed back to the CG. On the way, they stopped and bought Big RED a nice drink of that good old #2 diesel fuel. Once back at the CG they continued getting ready for our Monday morning departure,

Yesterday morning, (Monday), we left Goodwin's CG about 5 minutes before 10:00 and headed for Forest City. We took the Moncure - Pittsboro Road up to Pittsboro where we turned West on US 64. 64 took us through Asheboro and then up to the little town of Holly Grove where we turned SW on I-85. 85 then brought us down through Charlotte and Gastonia and to Kings Mountain, where we turned off of I-85 and onto westbound US 74, 74 Then brought us through Shelby and finally to Forest City and Roland and Louise's house which is just a little NW of the city.

It was about 20 minutes before 2:00 when we arrived, so it took us about 3 hours and 45 minutes to travel the 210 miles over here. Not too shabby considering that part of the roads over here were 2 lane and we had to go through quite a few small towns and cities.

For the most part, all the roads were good. There was a short section of I-85 through Charlotte that was kind of rough, but not too bad. There were a couple of construction zones, but none that delayed us for any length of time.

After getting Nora positioned, set up and plugged in so that the A/C could be turned on, Jim and Linda spent most of the afternoon inside of the house visiting with Roland and Louise.

For dinner, Louise made some great "Southern Style" BBQ pulled pork for sandwiches  and then there was more visiting until around 9:30 when Jim and Linda came out here for the night.

Don't really know what the plans are for today. I do know that Roland has a dentist appointment this afternoon to have a tooth looked at that is giving him a lot of grief. :-(  We're all hoping that the dentist can get it fixed without too much trouble or discomfort for Roland.

Did you know that Forest City was originally incorporated in 1877 as Burnt Chimney? The name changed to Forest City in 1887.

Woof!!!

Final Plans Made To See Roland And Louise Before Rally

Moncure, NC

deg.
Forecast =

As most of you know, we're heading to an RV-Dreams Reunion Rally in Marion, NC. But, before we go there, we've been planning on stopping  by Roland and Louise's place in Forest City, NC. Well, yesterday Jim called Roland and final plans were made to head there on Monday and stay until Friday morning, when we'll head up to the Rally, which is just a little North of Roland and Louise's house.

Jim and Linda are excited about seeing Roland and Louise again. They only got to see them a little this past winter, down in Florida, so are looking forward to spending some quality time with them now.

The past days have been spent just doing normal things during the days and then going to Mike and Gina's in the evenings. There have been a few evenings when they've had other things to do, and it sounds like Saturday is all tied up for them, but we're hoping that Sunday, they can either come out here again or we can spend some time with them at their house.

Yesterday, Jim and Linda took Big RED and went to a Target Store and purchased some items for an embroidery project that Linda has planned. Today, they need to head up to Pittsboro to go to a Walgreen's to get a couple prescriptions refilled and then to a grocery store to buy a few items that they're out of. Then, this evening they'll go to Mike's for dinner and more visiting.

Did you know that today is "National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day?"

Yum!! Yum!!

Woof!!!

Grown-ups In A Candy Store and A Visit With Very Good Friends

DeBary, FL.

45 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = High temp. 72 deg. mostly sunny, NE wind at 10 to 15 mph.


As planned, Jim and Linda took Big RED and headed over to Wildwood yesterday morning. They left about 10:15 and by 11:35 they were pulling up in front of the Russell Stover Candies Store on the West side of town.

They spent about 1/2 hour wandering around in the store, buying sugar free candy for Linda, before heading further West to look for a place to eat, out by I-75.  Most of the restaurants were very crowded and they finally settled on the Waffle House where there just happened to a few parking places near the entrance.

After a tasty meal, they headed over to Donna and Monte's house, arriving there a little after 1:00.

They have a very nice double-wind located on a small lake.

This is the view from their back yard.  Nice!!!

After H and H, (Hugs and Handshakes), they all sat at the kitchen table and talked and talked, catching up on what has been happening in their lives since they last saw one another.

Both Jim and Linda said that it was sure good to see Donna and Monte again and visit with them. In fact it was about 4:30 before they left and traveled the hour and a half back here to DeBary, arriving back home about 6:00 pm.

Both Jim and Linda were tired by the time they returned, but it was a very good day, visiting with very good friends.

Did you know that in 1923 Clara and Russell Stover began making candy in the kitchen of their Denver bungalow home? The company, initially employing seven employees was first known as Mrs. Stover's Bungalow Candies.

Woof!!!

Working On Plan "G"

DeBary, FL.

59 deg. cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with isolated showers. Highs around 70°F. North wind 4 to 12 MPH. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.


By 9:00 yesterday, Jim was out of the door and he and Big RED were on their way to Winn Dixie to buy some much needed groceries. The store wasn't very crowded at that time in the morning so the shopping went well and by a little after 10:00 Big RED was backing back into the carport.

About 1:00 Jeff called from Portland OR., Jim explained about Linda's eye problem and asked him if he thought that he and Heather could find time to come here for a visit in November or December?

To Jim's surprise, Jeff was very open to the idea and explained to Jim that this summer was turning out to be a very busy summer for he and Heather and in fact they were both wondering how they were going to be able to get everything done!!! He told Jim that some of Heather's family was coming for a visit, Heather needed to make a business trip and there were 2 or 3 other things that they wanted/needed to do during the summer.

So,  ,  ,  ,  , Jeff didn't know if Heather would be able to find time to fly down here, but he would like to come for a visit. In fact, he thought that maybe he could include going to see Mike, (his brother) up in North Carolina at the same time. Jim said that maybe, Jeff could fly to Mike's and we could swing by there on our way back to FL., pick him and Heather up and bring them down here to FL. He could then fly back to OR. from here.

Of course no real plans were made, but there are many options. Jeff will talk to Heather and they'll try to figure out when it would be best for them to come.

So, we will not be going to Oregon this summer. Instead, we'll go, (as previously planned), to Joe's in Virginia Beach, Mike's in Apex, NC., Roland and Louise's in Forest City, NC and then to the RV Dreams Reunion Rally in Marion, NC. Then, instead of heading out to Oregon, we'll take our time and work our way up to Rantoul, IL, where we'll spend most of the summer with a possible trip up to Wisconsin to see Linda's brother, (Glenn), and his family.

Of course while we're in Illinois, Linda will be able to go to see Dr. Gandhi whenever needed to get her eyes checked.

Sounds like a plan to me!!!! ;-)

All of this means that Jim is working on yet another plan for the summer. I think he's up to "Plan G" right now, but who knows, there may be more changes before summer gets here.

I'm sure glad that he's got the big eraser!!!   ;-)

A Point to Ponder: Why is a carrot more orange than an orange?

Woof!!!

Another Week Has Gone By

DeBary, FL.

54 deg. mostly cloudy, N. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Showers early, then cloudy in the afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.


Well, another week has gone by since I've posted. :-(  I guess it's because we're in the house this winter and not in an RV that I'm having trouble finding things to write about.. cause other years, it's been sometimes days between post, not a week or more.

Last Wednesday, Jim and Linda took Big RED and went to Gram's Kitchen for dinner. Thursday was grocery shopping day at Winn Dixie, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, absolutely nothing happened except Sunday morning, Jim and Linda went over to Laura and Lindsey's for coffee and doughnuts and to see Ashley, (who was down here from Jacksonville for the day). Other than that, it's been just normal day-to-day living. Then, last night they again took Big RED and headed to dinner, this time at Bob Evans, where they had breakfast for dinner.

Wow!!! Really exciting. Huh????

Of course, now this weekend, there's a conflict about things to do. You see, Sunday, Dave, (one of the Illinois bunch), who is wintering over in Thonotosassa, FL called to invite Jim and Linda over to the annual Fish Fry that they will be having this Sunday. Jim and Linda would have surely gone except Sunday is the day Linda's brother, Glenn and his wife Jeanette are arriving here from Wisconsin.  they actually arrived in Florida yesterday, but landed in Miami and will be heading to Key Largo and other parts of Southern FL. before driving up here to DeBary,

So, Jim and Linda had to tell Dave that they couldn't make it this year. :-(  Isn't that always the way? Nothing happens for a week or more and then two things happen on the same day!!! :-(

It'll be really good to see Glenn and Jeanette though. With Linda's health problems, it's been over a year since we've seen them. It sounds like they'll be getting here sometime during the afternoon, having dinner here with Linda, Jim, Laura and Lindsey and then staying in a hotel in the area before heading to Orlando to catch a flight back to Wisconsin.

Linda already has Sunday's meal planned and all the groceries have been purchased. She's going to try to keep it fairly simple so that she doesn't have to spend time in the kitchen cooking while Glenn and Jeanette are here.

I think she's planning on making a Pot Roast in the slow cooker. :-)

Did you know that In 1951, Diners Club issued the first credit card to 200 customers who could use it at 27 restaurants in New York? But it was only until the establishment of standards for the magnetic strip in 1970 that the credit card became part of the information age.

Woof!!!