Big News!!! More Big News!!! and Yet More Big News!!!

Rantoul, IL.

63 deg.overcast, E. wind @ 5 mph.
Forecast = Mostly cloudy with isolated showers. Highs around 79°F. East wind to 11 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 20%.

Big News!!!!!

While Jim and Linda were waiting for the doctor, yesterday, at Jim's eye doctor appointment, the phone rang and it was Joe, calling from Virginia Beach. Linda took the call and Joe told her that he and the 2 girls, (Sami and Amber), were leaving in an hour or so and heading to Illinois. He said that with all of them taking turns driving, he expected to be here early in the morning for a short visit!! :-) You see, they're actually coming to Illinois to go to the Gladiolus Festival  in the town where he was raised, has lots of friends and his father still lives.

Well, early in the morning was an understatement!!! About 4:30 AM the phone rang and it was Joe saying that they were only about 15 miles South of here!! Jim gave him detailed instructions about how to find us in the CG and soon they were pulling up and parking next to Big RED.

Jim went out to meet them and after lots of hugs, everyone came inside where there were more hugs with Linda. ;-)

Nancy was able to get off of work, so it was a pleasant surprise to see her too!!

It was just a little after 5:00 AM when Jim took these photos so they aren't real great!!

Nancy and Joe

Sami (As you can see, she's a freshman at Virginia Tech) 

Amber (She's a senior in high school in VA Beach)

Jim flipped the coffee pot on when he got up, so Joe and Nancy had a cup and the girls found some grapes in the fridge that they seemed to like.

Everyone was very tired after traveling all night, so after visiting for about an hour, they were on their way to Joe's father's house. Once there, they'll get some much needed sleep.

It sure was great to see them. It was only a short visit, but it had been a long time since Linda and Jim had seen Nancy, Sami and Amber. And, it did wonders for Linda's spirits. ;-) .

Now, more Big News!!!!

Jim's eye doctor appointment went very well and Dr. Anderson told him to keep on using the drops to control the glaucoma. She said that his eyes looked fine but she wants him to get scan of both eyes and also another test that I can't remember what it's called. She doesn't expect any problems though.

That, brings us to yet more Big News!!!!

I don't know if any of you are aware of it, but 2 years ago, Linda's Retinalogist, Dr. Gandhi, told her that she was starting to get cataracts in both of her eyes. Well, her vision is getting worse, so while Jim and Linda were discussing Jim's eyes with  Dr. Anderson, Linda asked her if she could do the surgery and remove her cataracts while we're here in Illinois. (Dr. Anderson specializes in cataract surgery).  She said that she didn't see why not and sent in the receptionist to make appointments for a pre-op check and the fist eye surgery which should be right after Linda sees Dr. Gandhi on the 22 of this month, to make sure she doesn't have any additional retina damage.

Whew!!!!!!!!

So,  ,  ,  , when Linda goes to Dr. Gandhi on the 22nd, Jim will get the scan of his eyes done at Dr. Gandhi's office. And, when she goes in for the pre-op soon after that, Jim will get the other test done at Dr. Anderson's. Then, if all goes well, soon after Labor Day, Linda will have surgery on one eye and surgery on the other one a weeks or 2 later.

After returning from the Doctor's, Jim took a little nap to rest his eyes. For dinner, Linda heated up some left-over pizza. After eating, they watched TV and read until bedtime.

Did you know that today is "Particularly Preposterous Packaging Day"?

Woof!!!

 

Nora

Thomasville, GA. (City of Roses RV PK.

70 deg. partly cloudy, no wind, humidity 86%.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Highs around 91°F. North northwest wind to 7 MPH, gusting to 13 MPH.

As you've probably guessed by now, Jim and Linda decided to stay another day here in Thomasville. No special reason, just decided to stay and kick-back a little.

Since we were staying an extra day, Jim decided to unhook Big Red from the  trailer and head over to the local Lowe's store to purchase a new battery for his DeWALT 1/2 inch electric drill that he uses to raise and lower the stabilizer jacks on the trailer. He's had the drill for years and it still had the original battery, which wouldn't take much of a charge any more.

So, just before noon, he and Big RED headed out. On the way they stopped at a gas station where Jim filled Big RED's tank with #2 diesel fuel and then continued on to Lowe's, which is only about a mile from the park.  After purchasing a new battery, they went to a Publix  grocery store to pick up a few items before coming back here to the park.

The afternoon was spent taking naps and just taking it easy.

While on the way to Lowe's, Jim had spotted a KFC so for dinner he and Big RED went over there and brought back some chicken, mashed potatoes and slaw. After dinner, Jim dumped the black and gray water tanks on the trailer and put the sewer hoses away.

Oh!! You're probably wondering about the title of this post. Well, Linda has decided that "Nora" would be a good name for the travel trailer. She's always liked the name.  Nora is usually and abbreviation of Eleanora which means "light".

I like the name and I think it fits her well. Now I won't have to refer to her as "the trailer" any more. :-)

Welcome, Nora!!!!! :-)

Did you know that  Canadian Nobel Prize recipient Dr. Frederick Banting, discoverer of insulin, sold the rights to the University of Toronto for $1 so that it was available to everyone?

Woof!!!

We're Camping!!!!!

DeBary, FL.
Highbanks Marina and Camp Resort

66 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Sunny skies this morning. Scattered showers and thunderstorms developing during the afternoon. High 86F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.

Tuesday morning, Jim and Linda started gathering more things to take over to the trailer at Highbanks. I figured that they were serious about staying for awhile in the trailer when Linda gathered up all her medicine, Jim took the pillows off of the bed, they packed up changes of clothes and they started packing up food, like bread and lunch meat that they need every day.

By early afternoon, they were locking up the house and we were all packed up and on our way. ;-)

Once they had everything put away, Jim opened the awning, got out the lawn chairs and grabbed his camera.

From the vacant site next to us.

He took this photo from the rear. I don't know if you can tell or not, but the slide-out room is quite deep on this RV. it extends about 32". The slides on Bobbie T were only 18" deep and on Emrys 24"

We must be staying awhile, Jim put out his flags. :-)

While he had the camera out, he snapped this photo of Big RED too.

Yesterday, was spent just relaxing and re-organizing some of the "stuff" that they brought to the trailer. Laura stopped by for awhile in the morning to visit. Jim took a nap in the afternoon and then cooked burgers on the grill while Linda put salads together inside.

Today, Linda has an appointment at 1:00 to see to see the chemo doctor, (Dr. Saferali ). At that time she'll find out when she'll start treatments again. :-(  After the doctor's visit, they want to stop by the house to pick up the mail and a few items, and then stop by the store to buy milk and a few other things.

I don't know how long we'll be staying here at Highbanks. The site rent is paid until the 14th of May, so the trailer can stay here until then, but we won't be staying out here in it the whole time.

Oh Wow!!!! I just looked outside and it's getting very foggy here by the river. I wonder of it's foggy all over this area?

Haven't heard anything on TV about fog.

Did you know that the "Hamburger hall of fame" is located in Seymour, Wisconsin?

Woof!!!

Dinner With Laura And Lindsey and A Surprise

DeBary, FL.

68 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecasts = Partly cloudy. High of 93F. Winds from the SSE at 5 to 10 mph.

Not much happened during the day yesterday. Jim's been fine tuning the temperatures in the new refrigerator, getting both the fridge and the freezer set the way he wants them. Linda did a load of laundry and they both took naps in the afternoon.

Then, about 4:40 Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over to the Texas Roadhouse Restaurant for dinner, getting there a couple minutes before 5:00. About 15 minutes later, Laura and Lindsey arrived. Friday night probably wasn't the best night to go there because even though it was fairly early, the place was packed and very noisy!!!

Eventually they were seated and I was told that everyone enjoyed very good dinners. :-)

After dinner, they all came back here to the house, since plans had been made for Laura and Lindsey to stop by and visit for awhile. Well, when Jim walked into the house, one of the first things he saw was a birthday cake sitting on the kitchen table!!!

You see, just after Jim and Linda left to go to the restaurant, Laura and Lindsey stopped by and dropped off the cake and some ice cream. Of course I was in on the plan because Linda didn't want me raising a fuss when Laura and Lindsey came in. ;-)

Laura took this photo of Jim and Linda with Jim's camera.

After getting off work, Ashley also stopped by to join the party. This photo is of Ashley, Laura and Lindsey after everyone had their cake and ice cream.

So, as far as I could tell, the whole evening was a great success. Everyone had a nice dinner and Jim was pleasantly surprised when they returned here to the house.

Don't know of any plans for today. Probably just normal day to day stuff.

Did you know that more people celebrate their birthdays in August than in any other month? The two other months in which birthday rates are high is July and September.

Woof!!!

We Have TV and Waiting For The Results

DeBary, FL.

71 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with thunderstorms and rain showers in the afternoon. High of 93F. Breezy. Winds from the ENE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20%.

Thursday morning, before Linda went to the doctor, "The Antenna Guys" came and talked to Jim about the installation. Ray, one of the "Antenna Guys" had an antenna with him and a small TV to  check the signal quality. He determined that a different antenna was needed, but being that he didn't have the needed antenna in his truck, he came back Friday and completed the installation.

We now have TV and are able to receive all the major channels. In fact we receive a total of 48 channels!!

So, for the price of about 2 or 3 months of basic cable or satellite, we have an antenna which receives free over-the-air TV without further costs. For someone who can be satisfied with just the major networks like ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, PBS and some others like CW and ION, this is the way to go.

Of course you have to be near enough to a metropolitan area to be able to receive the signals.

About all that happened Saturday was that CLT took Jim and Linda over to Bed Bath & Beyond to purchase a few items for the house. They didn't get everything that they wanted, (the prices were too high on some items), but they did get some of the things they wanted.

For dinner Saturday, Linda ordered a pizza from a local pizza place, "Gentili's Pizza" and then Jim took CLT and went and picked it up.

Sunday was a day to just kick back and take it easy. You know, football on TV, naps, that kind of thing.

Yesterday, (Monday), was grocery shopping day. Jim and Linda took CLT and went to Winn Dixie and just about bought the store out. There were a lot of sales this week on items that they use regularly, so they stocked up. Then, in the evening, Laura and Lindsey stopped by for a little while just to visit and bring some mail that had come to their house.

Don't know what's going to happen today. The test results from Linda's doctor visit are supposed to be back either today or tomorrow, so both Linda and Jim are waiting for them.

Not much else happening worth posting about. I'll be sure to let you know when those results come in.

Did you know that on this date in 1913 - The Lincoln Highway opened? It was the first paved coast-to-coast highway in the U.S.

Woof!!!

More Stuff To Put Away and Ashley's Birthday Party

DeBary, FL.

71 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of rain in the afternoon. High of 97F. Winds from the SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30%.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Jim was up early, drinking coffee and playing around with the computer. I think he's enjoying the large space to move around in and the Barcalounger recliner that he bought before we left here in April.  :-)

One thing on his "to do" list for yesterday was to go to the Post Office and let them know we were back here again, so he took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over there around 9:00.  Then, on the way back, he stopped at an auto parts store and picked up some of that "Stable" gas treatment stuff to put in Bobbie T's tank so the gasoline won't gum everything up while she's sitting over there in the storage lot.

Just before lunch, Jim and Linda went over to the storage lot and got some more stuff out of Bobbie T. It was really getting hot by that time, so by the time they returned, they were pretty beat. :-(

Neither Jim or Linda had much ambition after that, so they just worked on organizing some of the things that were brought in from Bobbie T. on Friday. They've still got a lot to do, but they're making some progress.

For dinner, they decided to go to Burger King to grab a sandwich. After eating they went across the street and bought a few items at the CVS store before coming back here to the house. Then, around 10:00 they headed to bed.


Sunday, September 1, 2013

Yesterday morning, Jim and Linda did some rearranging of cabinets and put away some more of the things they had brought in from Bobbie T. Then, around  11:30 they got ready and headed over to Marv and Inez's house,  (Lindsey's parents), in Deland for a birthday dinner for Ashley. (Laura and Lindsey's oldest daughter). Ashley's birthday is actually today, but Sunday worked out better for everyone to come.

 Anna, (Laura and Lindsey's youngest daughter), drove down for the weekend from Jacksonville, and 2 of Lindsey's brothers and one of the brother's family were there too.

Inez made delicious tacos and Laura brought a birthday cake. From what I can tell, everyone had a great time. ;-)

About 3:00 CLT brought Jim and Linda back here to the house and then they both took naps. After their naps, they continued to put things away and reorganizing until Laura and Anna stopped by later in the evening. Then they all sat around and talked until about 9:00.

Around 10:00 Jim and Linda started getting tired, so they headed off to bed.

Today the plan is to go to a few stores in the area and see about buying a microwave and a TV for the house.

Did you know that on this date in 1956 - Elvis Presley shared his success with his family by purchasing his mother a pink Cadillac?

Happy Birthday, Ashley!!!!!!! ;-)

Woof!!!

Buying Groceries At Jack's and This And That

Thompson, MI.

43 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Clear in the morning, then partly cloudy. High of 72F. Winds from the NW at 5 to 10 mph shifting to the SW in the afternoon.

Brrrrrrr!!!!! Did you see that temperature that I posted above????? I think summer might be over!!!!!!!!!

Jim caught this interesting shot last night. Although we're one day past full moon, you really can't tell.

Then, this morning, we had another pretty sunrise. :-)

Yesterday was grocery day. I think it was about 11:00 when Jim and Linda took CLT and headed to Jack's Fresh Market. CLT says that it's a new store on the East side of town and from the outside looks quite large.

Well, I'm sure glad that it's large, because if it wasn't, all the groceries that Jim and Linda bought would have depleted the stock on the shelves!!!! :-O  I still don't know where they put everything. Once again, they had many more groceries than I thought could possibly fit inside of Bobbie T!!!!

After returning, getting all the groceries put away and having some lunch, both Jim and Linda took naps again.

This is getting to be a habit!!! ;-)

For dinner, Linda cooked a large smoked pork chop and some asparagus. That along with some bakery bread, made for a fine dinner. Then for desert, they had some strawberry/rhubarb pie that Jim found in the bakery section at the store.

Yummmmm!!!

Being that it was quite cool and windy outside, the rest of the day was spent inside, reading and fooling around with the computer.

Today, I think the plan is to do some laundry. They have 2 washers and 2 dryers in the laundry room here at the park, so they may just go over there.

Did you know that on this date in 1965 - The Beach Boys' "California Girls" was released?

Shopping In Shipshewana and An Excellent Meal

Shipshewana, IN.

59 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 79F. Winds from the NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

One of the reasons that they originally wanted to come to Northern Indiana, was to do some shopping at a few Amish stores here in Shipshewana or Middlebury, so, yesterday was "Tourist Day" for Jim and Linda. Being that we had been in this area a few times before, (the last time in 2006), they had some idea which stores and shops that they wanted to go to.

Their first stop yesterday morning was at the Davis Mercantile where there's a little shop that sells lace items. There, Linda bought some round doilies and some lace curtains for one of the kitchen windows in the house down in Florida.

Their next stop was the Yoder Department Store. There, they bought some shirts and a new leather belt for Jim, some Minnetonka shoes for Linda and some embroidery projects to be used as gifts.

By the time they were finished there, both Jim and Linda were getting tired, so they headed back here to the CG to grab some lunch and to rest. (Jim took a nap). ;-)

For dinner, they decided to go to the Blue Gate Restaurant and Bakery. So, to beat the crowds, (and it does get very crowded for dinner), they headed over there about 4:30. At this restaurant, you can either order from a menu, or you can get what they call a "family style" dinner. Jim and Linda chose the family style with broasted chicken for the meat.

The meal came with a drink, a small loaf of bread, a big plate of chicken, a bowl of dressing, a bowl of mashed potatoes, a bowl of  noodles, a boat of gravy and a bowl of green beans. All of this is "all you can eat", so if you run out of anything, they'll bring more. Then, after you're completely stuffed with all of that very good food, you have your choice of about 20 different home made desserts!!!!

For dessert, Jim and Linda both got pie and brought it back here to have later. ;-)

Dinners at the Blue Gate are kind of pricy, but the food is excellent and so is the service. If you come to this area, be sure to try one of the great Amish restaurants. If you like good home cooked food, you won't be disappointed.

After eating they headed for the bakery and purchased some homemade bread and some goodies before heading back here to the park. Once back here, they both "crashed" for the evening.

Today, since a cold front when through here yesterday afternoon, it should be cooler and not so humid. That's good because Jim and Linda want to do a little more shopping and go a few more places before we head up to White Pigeon, MI tomorrow to get the leveling jacks installed on Bobbie T.

We need to be up there by 7:00 AM, so I probably won't have time to do a blog, but I'll post one just as soon as I can to let you know how the installation went.

Did you know that it is estimated that about 249,000 Amish live in North America?

Woof!!!

Light Connector, Prescriptions and Sami's Pre-Graduation, Graduation Party

Virginia Beach, VA.

63 deg. overcast, SW wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast = Today: Mostly sunny with isolated showers. Highs around 55°F. Windy, with a north wind 10 to 20 MPH, gusting to 25 MPH. Chance of precipitation near 25%.
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 48°F. East wind 2 to 9 MPH.

About 9:00 yesterday morning, Jim went out and proceeded to remove that damaged light connector on the back of Bobbie T. Once he had the old one off, he installed the new mounting bracket in a different location, where hopefully it won't get damaged as easily. Then, after re-attaching all of the wires, it was time for a test, so he pulled CLT up to the back of Bobbie T and hooked up the cable.

Guess what? CLT's brake lights wouldn't work properly!!!!

Jim checked the wiring that he had done at the connector, It was OK, then checked the cord's plug on the front if CLT. It was also OK. Then, he moved to the rear of CLT and finally found a bad connection way back there!!! Jim says that the wiring on the back of CLT is a mess and will have to be completely gone though. : (  That, is not a project that he is looking forward to, but he feels that there will be more problems if it's left as is. 

Right now, it's working and hopefully it'll be OK until we get up to Rantoul, where Jim will have more time to dig into it.

Right after lunch, Linda called Walgreen's and inquired about her prescriptions. They said that everything was in, so Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over there to pick them up. After returning, they both took naps. : )

I think it was about 5:30 when Jim and Linda went into the house. Once inside, a couple pizza's were ordered and soon the delivery guy was at the door delivering them.

Then after eating, it was time for Sami to open her pre-graduation, graduation gift.

I think she was really surprised. You see, way back when she was born, Jim and Linda bought U.S. Savings Bonds for her and have been saving them all these years. It is quite a sizable amount of money, (which she desperately needs for college this fall), so they were very much appreciated. : ) 

After visiting and watching some TV, it was time to say good-night.

Today, Jim and Linda are planning on meeting up with another full-timing couple, Randy and Pam Warner, at a restaurant in the North part of Virginia Beach, (near the Chesapeake Bay), for lunch. It should be fun and Jim and Linda are both looking forward to seeing them. : )

Then, after they return, they'll need to start getting Bobbie T ready to leave tomorrow.

A Point To Ponder :  Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"?

Woof!!!

Bob's Been Busy, The 4 Poster Bed and Getting Ready

DeBary, FL.

deg.
Forecast =


Tuesday, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the house to do some laundry and to start getting all boxes of food out of the cabinets. It has been suggested by a few different people that any boxes with food in them be removed from the house for the summer because mice and bugs are attracted to them. : (  And, Jim and Linda definitely don't want  to come back this fall to find out that the house is infested.

I think I told you Tuesday that Bob, (the man that Jim and Linda hired to do yard work), has been working on the yard already. Well, this is some of what he's done so far.

This is a pink grapefruit tree in the back yard. As you can see, he's done some major trimming on it. Before he started, there was branch right up against the roof of the house on the right, and the rest of the branches were almost touching the ground. You almost couldn't get under the tree, much less mow the grass under there.

Right next to the grapefruit tree, (on the left in this photo), was another citrus tree. It was a scrawny thing with fruit that was so sour that you couldn't eat it. So, Jim had Bob cut it down. You can see the stump in this photo just to the left of the telephone pole.

Oh, and Jim snapped this photo of Linda's "4 poster bed". The photo isn't very good and the colors are off because of the light coming in through the curtains, but you can get the idea of what it looks like. Jim says that if the posts would have been 3" taller, they would have had to cut holes into the ceiling!!! ; )

Yesterday, Jim got busy early, rearranging some stuff inside of Bobbie T. You see, sitting in one place is one thing, but when you're traveling, things have to be packed much more carefully so that they don't move around or worse yet, come crashing out of the cabinets while driving down the road!!!

After it got light outside and it warmed up a little, Jim went outside and did the same in a few of the outside compartments. After that, he got out his green garden hose, washed the awning, and then, after it dried, rolled it up.

There were 3 reasons that he rolled up the awning yesterday morning. First, they were forecasting possible t-storms with gusty winds, and second, we only have a few days left before we leave, (with 2 of them forecasted to be cloudy with rain), and third, it's one more thing to  check off of Jim's pre-departure checklist. : )

It was early afternoon, when it started raining, and it rained off and on for the rest of the day. So, after helping Linda with a few things inside, it was time for a nap!!! ; )

After dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over to the house. Jim had set the recycle bin out by the street Tuesday and wanted to get that off of the curb, Linda had some papers that needed to go to the house, and Jim wanted to get the printer and bring it back here to Bobbie T.

Originally, Jim and Linda didn't think that there would be room in Bobbie T for the printer, but after repacking items, there was room under one of the dinette seats that would work. It won't be handy, but if Jim and Linda need to print a document or something, it will be possible to get it out from under the seat and set it up somewhere.

Oh, one more thing that Jim did outside, just before it started raining yesterday afternoon, was to install the license plates that were removed from Emrys onto Bobbie T. You see, yesterday morning, he received an e-mail from Karen at Alternative Resources saying that all the paperwork for registration and title had been taken care of and it was now legal to transfer the plates.

He'll get the paperwork in the next mail they receive.

Throughout the years, Alternative Resources has been just great when it come to mail and helping to register vehicles. If there is a problem of any kind, they'll take care of it or contact you and inform you what needs to be done. If you deal directly with SD. and there's a problem, they'll kick the paperwork back to you and you'll have to start all over with the process, possibly taking a very long time. (Which is not convenient when your traveling and need tags on your new vehicle).

It costs a little to have Karen take care of it, but both Jim and Linda think it's worth it.

Don't know what's happening today. It's supposed to rain most of the day, so not much outside will be done.  Maybe Jim and Linda will go over to the house and work on getting it ready for summer hibernation.

Did you know that April is "National Kite Month"?

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?

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!!

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!!!! ; )