Yesterday, we went over to De Soto Park here in Florida. It is very nice park, but we could tell from the web site that some of the sites were small and tight. Since we are less than an hour away, we loaded up the furballs and headed over to see it first hand. Ended up we found a site that would accommodate us so we made our reservation for Jan 4 thru 8.

Tomorrow is travel day for us......yeah, gonna be on the road a whole 30 minutes....if that long. We are heading over to my Uncle's marina. We will be there for the New Year's festivities. I'm sure hoping the weather cooperates.....

Yule Log

I sure hope everyone had a great Christmas! We sure did! There was about 22 of us over at my Aunt and Uncle's home for Christmas dinner. Bill and I provided scalloped potatoes, mac-n-cheese, cookies, and a yule log. I made two batches of the mac-n-cheese....one of which I added a little pepper jack to and it was a big hit. I guess you could say my family is a little on the 'hot-n-spicy' side..LOL!

After dinner the kids started opening their gifts. As adults, we don't as a general rule exchange gifts. So, imagine my surprise when I got not one but two presents. My Grandmother gave us one of those Febreze flame less candles. Those things are great, lots of fresh clean scent and it really fills the rv. It automatically shuts off after 4 hours and it looks really nice too! Thanks Grandma!

As many of you know, I painted my Aunt and Uncle's two German Shepperd's a couple of years ago. "Bear" has been gone for several years, but they just recently lost "Shadow".....just after Thanksgiving. So, sad. My second presents gift tag stated that it was to "Perfectlygoode" from Shadow and Bear from doggie heaven. Perfectlygoode was the name of my home dec and decorative painting business. I opened this little white box and what do you imagine I found........it was a beautiful gold and silver flamingo, accented with little diamonds. I just about fell off my chair.....and the emotions....well, I gave my Aunt and Uncle big hugs and thanks. They made me feel so very special. This has been such a grand December....our 30th wedding anniversary.....family and friends.....and so much love...it just doesn't get any better than this!

Here are some photos of our Anniversary Celebration. On the left is my Grandmother, then my Auntie and Uncle

Here is the rest of the crew, again from left to right, my Dad, Step Mom, Brother, Me, and Billy

And here is my Uncle again......"I'm ready for my close up, Mr DeMill!
We had a fabulous evening full of love and laughter! Our chef was great and entertaining....right down to the fake bottle of ketchup he pretended to dump into my lap. I almost had a heart attack!

From Celebrations to Toilet Repair......Yup! Bill and I had a day of toilet repair which is why the Anniversary post was a day late in getting up. We have both been noticing a little water on the floor around the toilet base. Not a lot and we are pretty sure it is fresh water not black water. At any rate, Bill got out the manual and then made a trip to Camping World to make sure we had any parts we might need for repair. Pulling the potty was not as big a deal as I thought it would be.....Billy did a great job. We both looked and really could not see any problems anywhere. Bill just tightened everything up, installed a new foam ring at the base and set the potty back in place. We ran some water through and still had water leaking. Upon closer inspection, (yeah! me and the flashlight on the floor looking deep into the potty's darkest recesses!) I found that the foam ring was not seated properly. Here we go again......but our second attempt was perfect and best of all no more leaks!! At least...so far so good!

Our chef from our Anniversary dinner asked us what our secret to 30 years of marriage is.....yesterday was a perfect example....it is all about 'teamwork' not I not me, but US working day by day together on all life's little challenges.....Merry Christmas everyone and may all of life's blessing come your way!

First of all, let me say "Thank you" to everyone that commented on the satellite set up and sent helpful information......we have not had a chance to re-try for our neighbors as of yet. They were gone most of the day yesterday and we have not had a chance to get back with them. Thanks for the comment on my flamingo painting.....I will have more on that in another post.

Today is a very special day for DH and I.......it is our 30th Wedding Anniversary! We made plans to celebrate with our family tonight at a nice restaurant. Bill is my very best friend and truly the love of my life. I just can't imagine what my life would have been like without him in it. The past 30 years have had there ups and downs, but they were always full of love and laughter. Now, we have embarked on this whole 'rving thing' and we LOVE IT! I know a lot of you out there, thinking of this lifestyle, wonder about the prospects of being together in a small space 24/7. Well, let me tell you.....we LOVE IT! We have such fun together, and if anything, it has brought us even closer together.....Although we love being with family and friends, we have also found that we are just as happy when it is just us two (plus a couple of furballs)!

So, Honey, let me say now and forever......"I love you!"......my heart still skips a beat when you walk into the room.......

Here it is.....the beginning of my flamingo painting. Not much to look at right now and you can click on it for a little larger photo. I have been finding it hard to find the time to get much painting in with all the 'satellite' set up problems we have been having......but we are up and running so now I can focus more on my painting.

As to the internet satellite....WOW! We had more problems finding a signal then we have ever had....and there is nothing that we could "see" that is causing interference. It took us the better part of two days to finally latch on to a signal...just barely strong enough to lock on too! We are wondering if there is some kind of interference we can't "see" that is causing some issues.

So far we have NOT been able to get our neighbor set up with his tv satellite. They are from Canada and have the 'Star Choice' for their television. It is their first time using this system....so....DH spent the better part of a day helping just to put the equipment together and in position. Unfortunately, we just could not seem to find a strong enough signal to 'latch' on too! To make matters worse for these first time rvers, the husband took a fall here at the rv park and fractured his right hand. We feel so bad for them. We have told them to please call upon us for any help they might need. I know the wife is worried about how they are going to travel with her DH's right hand in a cast. Things may go from bad to worse for these two......he is to see a specialist next week to determine if surgery might be needed on his fractured hand. I sure hope that is not the case!

Yesterday my brother arrived from Indiana and brought with him our missing satellite internet part. My Dad was kind enough to bring it by our fiver. It seems my brother has already headed down to Fort Myers for the weekend.

We headed over to a new Japanese steak house in Brandon. We are thinking of having our 30th wedding anniversary celebration there next week. We had a look at the menu and then decided to stay for lunch. The food was excellent and we made our reservations for next Tuesday.

Back at the fiver, DH and I began the set up procedure for the internet satellite. Unfortunately, it was late in the day and we were quickly running out of daylight. We did get the system set up, but we were unable to find a good signal. There was a front moving through the area so we are hoping that is the problem. Today we have fairly sunny skies, so hopefully we will be able to get it up and running. We have found that once we lock onto the satellite....the weather is not as critical. It takes a pretty bad storm to degrade our signal. While DH was out fiddling with the satellite our neighbors came by and inquired.......they are new to rving and are setting up their satellite television for the first time. They are having problems so I imagine that later today we will be giving them a hand and hopefully getting them up and running too!

I’m still working on my flamingo painting and I will post some photos. I’m just waiting till we have our satellite internet so as not to use up our gigs on the aircard.

Finally got my paints out today. It has been a long time since I sat down in front of my easel. What am I painting? Think about it a minute and I bet you can guess.......Flamingos of course! I ran across this copy write free image of two flamingos that are in somewhat of an embrace. That is my inspiration. When I get a little further along I will share a photo with you.

The easel I’m using is brand new.....I wanted something a little more light weight and portable then my old standby. I got it out of it’s carrying case and set it up for the first time yesterday. I was looking at the instructions on how to put it together and it seemed to me I was missing a part. I woefully explained this all to DH and handed him the instructions. It didn’t take long for him to discover that several instructions for different easels were listed......I was looking at the wrong one.....once set to the right path everything went easily together. DH response to all this, “Be sure and let your blog readers know that your ‘Bodacious Husband’ saved the day”! LOL! Of course, he had read my blog entry on the whole tv satellite set up.....including my reference to myself as the fabulous, ‘bodacious wife’!.....Can’t a girl have any fun! LOL!

We decided to put up our internet satellite from Hughsnet. We are currently using our Verizon aircard, but we are getting close to our 5 gig limit. We had put our Hughsnet system ‘on vacation’ while we were at the river site in Indiana because we had no place to set the dish where we could get a signal (too many trees)! So, it has been awhile since we have gone through the set up procedure. We had a few technical glitches, but I finally got through that and gave DH the numbers he needed to set the dish. DH pulled the tripod from the basement and was positioning it. I was getting the dish and the LMB out when I realized we were missing a very important part. I don’t know what to call it, but basically you attach the dish and the LMB to it and then to the tripod. I could not find it anywhere. DH and I searched the entire basement and no luck. We finally decided that we must have left it behind in Indiana. As I’m sure you all know, the longer you stay in one place....the more you s-p-r-e-a-d out! We were at the river for about 6 mons. There is a small cabin on the property and we tend to store some of our bulky items there. More than likely, that is where the missing satellite part is now residing. Luckily, my brother (who resides in Indiana) is coming to Florida next week for the holidays. We gave him a call and he is going to see if he can locate the missing part and bring it down to us. Till the missing part arrives, we will have to be a little careful with our internet usage.

The day was not a total loss.....my Aunt called and invited us over for a late lunch. We went and my Uncle even took us out on his boat. It was beautiful.....we even saw two cruise ships leaving port. The skies were bright blue with those big puffy clouds close to the horizon and the seas were calm. By the time we arrived back at the marina, the sun was melting away into the horizon.....another beautiful sight! DH and I stood arm and arm watching the sun disappear. It was the perfect ending to a not so perfect day........

I’m back....the Christmas party was a success. I’m guessing my Aunt and Uncle served over 500 people throughout the day and evening. The menu consisted of smoked BBQ ribs, chicken, potato salad, cole slaw, caesar salad, rolls, and assorted desserts. Everyone that attends is asked to donate a toy and it was great to see that toy pile grow and grow......my Aunt then takes them to a group that distributes them to children in need. DH and I were there throughout most of the party, we took a short 2 hour break in the afternoon to tend to our furballs. It was a very long day, but we sure had fun.
Here is the photo of the tv in the bedroom. As you can see, we do not have the shelf installed yet, but the shelf is now stained and ready to go so that will probably be today's project.

Back to the ‘rest of the story’ on the tv. DH called Direct TV to activate our new HD box. Amazingly enough, that actually went well. The box started running through it’s set up procedure and everything seemed fine. DH ends the call with Direct Tv and retires to the living room. BW (Bodacious Wife) remains in the bedroom, checking out the program guide and the channels. BUT.....something is missing here.....it seems I can’t locate any of the HD channels. All the digital channels are there...but no HD. I start trying to find the answer. I’m checking on the connections, checking the settings on both the tv and the cable box. I even re-set the cable box twice......nothing seemed to make a difference. Our tv in the living room is receiving all the HD channels.....so I’m starting to think we have a bad cable box. I inform DH that he is going to need to call Direct TV and explain the problem. BW has been working on this problem for the past hour and just can’t seem to find a solution! DH calls Direct tv and in a manner of a few minutes has the solution. Apparently, DH left off a very important part when connecting the cable from the box to the satellite. There is a filter of some sort which must be connected to the box. DH didn’t see this filter on our box in the living room so he just ASSUMED he didn’t need it on this box. Even though it clearly states in the set up instructions to install said filter. Now, I’m sure you all know exactly what BW is thinking at this point....after spending the better part of an hour trying to figure out this problem. BUT.....being the Bodacious Wife that I am.....I just smiled and patted DH on the head, “that’s ok honey, anyone could have made that mistake”.....well, certainly not BW.....LOL!......but alls well that ends well. The tv is up and running with all it’s channels on display and peace and tranquility have been restored to the Goode household. Well.....almost.....DH has run a second cable to the tv from our antenna so that we can tune in the local stations. We like being able to get the local news and weather in the morning with our coffee. To do this on our tv in the living room we just set the source or cable input to ‘tuner’. DH assumes it is a similar procedure on the new tv, but he only finds two choices on this tv.....one is the HDMI and the other says cable.....the HDMI brings in the Direct TV signal, but the cable selection proclaims no signal is available. BW.....I just love being bodacious, I think that is my new favorite word....HE...HE! Anyway; BW, being the technical wizard of the day, goes back through the set up on the tv and finds that you can select that particular cable connection to either accept a cable or antenna/air signal. Once that was set to the correct choice, BW ran the tuner and ‘bingo’ we now have local news and weather! Ahhhhh.....it is good to be QUEEN! LOL! Yeah, I’m pretty full of myself right now and DH is rolling his eyes and shaking his head, but hey....if ya got it, flaunt it.....and that my friends is the ‘rest of the story’.........

Oh, I hate to make you all wait for the "rest of the story"....BUT......I'm afraid that is the case. My Aunt and Uncle are hosting their annual HUGE Christmas party for their employees and customers today. We are helping with some last minute decorations and set ups this am. The festivities start at llam and go til 8pm officially, but it always runs well into the wee hours. I imagine we will be spending most of the day and evening at the party. So, hang in there, and I promise I'll get back to the 'tv story' tomorrow!

Here’s the story of a DH and his BW (bodacious wife) and two furballs, who decided to install a television in their bedroom. This may sound like a simple procedure, but..... alas, it was not to be......for Direct TV was in the house!

The first call to Direct Tv was simply to purchase a new HD cable box. DH was informed they could only sell him a new box if he also paid for professional installation. Professional installation? We already had one box in the living room, the cable was already run into the bedroom, the dish was up and pointed correctly (that only took 3 days)......what was there to do except plug in and screw on the cable feed. So, we made our purchase at Best Buy.

BW had decided that the new tv was to be placed on the dresser in the bedroom, but wanted the HD box to be place in the cabinet where the tv would have gone. That was going to require a shelf to be installed and a few holes to be drilled so the cable could be run inside the walls of the cabinetry.....so as not to be unsightly or untidy! The first hole’s placement was agreed upon and drilled with a 3/4 hole saw. All was well, except it was a “hole” to no where. The top cabinet’s wall, (where we were drilling) actually extends past the bottom cabinet a couple of inches.....so, the second hole was more precisely placed, on the floor of the top cabinet....to align with the bottom cabinet. As most of you probably have discovered, some of your rv cabinetry has double walls and floors. This ‘dead space’ is where wires and support beams are typically run. We were attempting to run our cable down through this space and out to the tv sitting on the dresser. The third hole was drilled on the outside of the cabinet next to the tv. The next discovery---something was still blocking our way between the two holes. We found we needed to drill yet another hole a little further down inside the top cabinet’s floor (remember the ‘double wall’ construction) in order to get through to the bottom cabinet. Finally, 4 holes later, SUCCESS! Now, we needed to “fish” the cable lines through. That proved to be no easy task, but between the two of us we managed to get it done.

Ok, we are set.....right? Everything is ‘hooked up’ and we are ready to go. We turn on the tv and........nothing......no signal. DH checks and re checks all his connections and continues to scratch his head...with a puzzled look upon his face. BW realizes that the tv may need to be set on the proper source......I pick up the tv remote, push the source button and SUCCESS. The tv needed to be set on HDMI to receive the signal. You see, it pays to be ‘bodacious’...LOL!

All that is left now is to call Direct TV and activate the cable box........and that will be the ‘rest of the story’ for tomorrow’s blog........yes, there is more.....and some photos too!

We certainly have seen enough rain here in Riverview. The skies finally stopped their assault of rain drops late yesterday afternoon. I think we are all a little stir crazy. I spent most of the day going through paper. I'm in the process of scanning all those 'important' documents one needs to keep track of......trying to eliminate some of those 'papers' with digital imagery. They are certainly easier to file and keep track of once they are on my computer. We probably purged 10lbs of paper yesterday. My next task for the New Year is to build some spreadsheets to track our expenses.

I did manage to get out with the furballs for a short walk around the rv park. They clearly loved being out and about....especially when I finally gave in and let them wade through all the puddles! LOL!

Later in the evening, we went over to a friend's house to see the Christmas boat parade. Although it was a little chilly, the boats all decked in their Christmas splendor made braving the chill worthwhile. Seeing all those lights shimmer and reflect in the water was beautiful. We all stood on the pier and cheered them on as they floated by....tis the season, here in the sunshine state!

Up with the chickens here......the rooster was a crowing when I was out with the furballs just a little past six. My coffee is brewing and my tummy seems to be back to normal.

One of the 'joys' of full time rving is mail delivery. Upon check in, we always ask the park how they handle mail for their shorter term residences. We will be here for about 6 weeks. They gave us a card with the park address and told us to be sure and add our name and lot number. US mail would be held at the office for us, but UPS or FEDX would deliver to our door. DH and I both had a few items we were ordering so both UPS and FEDX would be coming to our door....or so we thought. The first thing we had to do was put up a sign on the fiver with our lot number. All the lots here are marked at the back and hard to see from the street. Unfortunately.....it was not that simple. It seems the office folks at the park had given us the wrong address. There is road construction going on in front of the park and once completed the new address will be correct. For now; however, everyone is to continue to use the old address. We were clueless to all this and completely baffled when UPS was calling telling us the address didn't exist.....of course, we kept insisting it did! Finally, DH had another conversation with the office and we found out about the old address/new address mess. Luckily, both UPS and FEDX did manage to find us....even with the "new" address. I decided not to take any chances, when the FEDX guy showed up yesterday, I gave him some home made choc chip cookies fresh from the oven......that smile on his face told me he won't be forgetting where I live anytime soon....LOL!
Oh, but that is not the end of this intriguing tale. DH order us a small tv for our bedroom; of course, it had the wrong address. UPS tried to deliver it to someone else here in the park. Thank goodness, that person was home and refused the tv. UPS then took it to the office, who called DH. Good news, we got the tv.....but we were also given a 3rd address. Now, the office has decided if you want something from either UPS or FEDX you must use your actual street address here in the park. The bottom line here is that I don't know where I'm living these days and with the exception of my choc chip cookie loving FEDX man, neither does anyone else! LOL! Thank goodness for my neon pink flamingo......it is the only way I can find my way home these days. I wonder if the mail service recognizes pink flamingos as an address....he! he!

Here is our herb pot......and, surprise! We actually have some sprouts in one of the pots! I was so excited to see those little green plants this afternoon.

We spent pretty much the entire day shopping yesterday. I was looking for some sew on velcro and drapery lining to complete an old project. Those of you that follow my blog know I made my window treatments.....well, part of the window treatments. I was going to do some hand painted valances, but they are going to take some time to complete. So, in the meantime, I decided to sew some fabric valances to finish the windows. I have my fabric, but I needed lining. I was so spoiled when I was in the decorating business, cause all I would have needed to do was place a phone call and my lining would have been delivered to me in a matter of days.....wholesale to boot! Now, I have to 'shop' to find what I need and I'm really picky about the quality and price. I finally found a shop that had decent lining at $3.00 a yard......that is a really good deal. Next, I was on the hunt for velcro. Finally found it, but Jo Ann's Fabric wanted $3.99 a yard. I need about 10 yards......decided to try and find it online. SUCCESS!! I found a place in Jacksonville Florida (we are in Riverview...close to Tampa). They had what I needed at 80 cents per yard....imagine that! I did have to order 25 yds, but I had no problem with that as I can always use velcro in sewing projects. Even with $8.00 for shipping I still saved myself money. YIPPEE!

Last night we had a squall line come through our area. It was really pretty mild, but it still managed to keep me and the dogs from having a restful night's sleep. Around 2am, the storm had passed, and I took the furballs out for a potty break. Came back in and they settled right down into peaceful slumber.....not so lucky for me. I slept some, but my tummy was keeping me awake at this point. It was not typical indigestion. It was more like a queasy feeling and a soreness to my tummy. Anyway, it is still with me this afternoon. I hope what ever it is makes it's exit soon.....:-{

No, I did not get trampled by the crowd at Wally World last Saturday.....I'm alive and well. Just been a little lazy the past few days.

DH and I have taken on a new project. Last year we saw a fellow rv'er growing some herbs....in what I think is called a strawberry or herb pot. I promise I'll get some photos for next time, but basically it is 4 small pots connected all together. There are 3 on the bottom and 1 on top. I have been looking for this configuration ever since we saw it last year. Yesterday we found it at Lowe's. We bought some dirt and planted from seed.....Rosemary, sweet basil, tarragon, and sage. Now, neither of us has a very green thumb.....but how hard can this be......time will tell. Nothing like sitting around watching your herbs grow.....

I'm also on the look out for some pink Christmas lights to go with my pink flamingo.....yeah, that's right pink! I like pink and I plan on using them year round. By time I'm done with my 'outdoor decor' we should be pretty easy to find, no matter where we are parked.....LOL! So, next time your out, if you see a large pink flamingo with pink Christmas lights all round......then you know you have stumbled across the "Goode Life". Pull up a chair and stay awhile........

Did absolutely nothing today. I don't do black Friday. My goal that day is too stay home, lay low, and today I didn't even get out of my jamies! DH actually dared to go out and get a haircut.......and it went well for him. Lucky him.

Tomorrow I will need to venture out, but only to the grocery. Heck of a time to get low on milk, but hopefully no one is hanging out at the grocery looking for bargains. DH did mention something about Wal Mart. We shall see how that goes......

One thing I did manage to do was catch the last hour of one of my favorite movies...'The Long, Long, Long Trailer' with Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez. One of my favorite scenes is where Lucy is driving and Desi is in the passenger seat or as he calls it the 'suicide seat'. He's got that 'deer in the headlights' look on his face as Lucy navigates through a small town pulling their 3 ton trailer behind them. I imagine that I have that same look on my face at times when DH is behind the wheel. Don't get me wrong, DH does a great job of driving. It's just that sometimes, we don't always see eye to eye on the speed at which he chooses to travel down the road....

Remember I mentioned something about shopping? This is the result. My flamingo before she is plugged in......isn't she a beauty?
And now......WOW! Isn't she way cool? And her wings and neck actually move.....Ha! I'm so excited!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone........I'm so thankful for all my family and friends and of course my beautiful pink flamingo!!

It seems my blog on my recent 'bad hair' day has spiked quite a lot of interest. Apparently, I'm not the only gal out there living with a bad haircut. Thanks for the support.....always nice to know you are not alone. I keep thinking I will eventually get used to seeing myself with this extra short hair, but every time I look in the mirror.....I just look goofy.....like some cartoon character.......ok, enough of that and on to better things.

Cosmo seems to be back to normal....on both ends.....LOL! So, I think today it is safe to leave the fiver and do a little shopping. One of my neighbors, here at Rice Creek, has a lighted flamingo on her site that I just fell in love with. I found it online, but I'm betting I can find it here locally. If I do, I'll be sure and share a photo.

Finally success! We did manage to get our direct tv satellite up and running. Only one problem, DH did not get the paperwork sent in for the network channels. So, we still have to rely on our antenna for those for now.

We are still getting comfortable here in Florida.....I'll say one thing it sure is 'wet' here. I'm not talking rain, I'm talking humidity and heavy dew....none of which are my favorites. We are currently running the AC and we would much prefer to have windows open, but it is just too humid. The weather report says it will get better after Thanksgiving.....I guess I should not complain.....it beats the heck out of snow!!

Yesterday we stayed pretty close to the fiver for most of the day. Cosmo was still having some problems. We did venture out to the beauty shop so I could get a hair cut. That turned out to be a mistake. One of the things about full time rving that I don't like.....you just never know who is going to be cutting your hair. I guess I have been lucky so far, but yesterday my luck ran out. I went to the shop I had went to last time we were here, but had a different stylist. She was very nice, but very young....not a lot of experience I'm betting. Any rate, I ended up with the shortest hair cut I think I have ever had in my life. Oh, I know it will grow. I just feel a little self conscious about it right now. Kinda like having a big red bump on the end of my nose........I think everyone is looking at it and wondering what it is..... To make matters worse, when we got back to the fiver Cosmo had had another incident. I had been smart enough to protect the carpet before we left. I had placed a big vinyl table cloth over it so although the mess was an easy clean up it was still an unpleasant mess to come home too.

This AM Cosmo seems to be feeling better and we made it through the night without anymore "incidents". Hopefully the illness or whatever it was has run it's course. Wish I could say the same about my hairdo!

Planning on staying close to the fiver again today. I want to make sure Cosmo is completely recovered and I feel the need to clean everything and get some laundry done. I guess I just want to 'disinfect' everything after Cosmo's illness.

Lastly.......we have been unable to get our satellite tv dish up and running. It is our first time setting it up and we are certainly struggling. Not sure what we are doing wrong at this point, but I imagine we will be working on that today as well.

As you can tell, things are not exactly.....going our way.....these days. But this too shall pass, I'm sure the 'goode' times are right around the corner.

Yesterday proved to be a very interesting and eventful day. We started out with a sick doggie. Poor Cosmo seems to have a bit of an upset tummy. He did finally eat a little scrambled egg, but some of it came back up. He is able to keep water down, so we will just keep a close eye on him for now and hope he improves.

We did make it to the new Ikea store in Tampa. WOW! What a place. The second floor is all set up with 'room displays' and then the ground floor is where you actually can purchase what you saw upstairs. The folks that put this place together are really very good at marketing. Once you enter, you will see arrows on the floor, you are supposed to follow these arrows through the store. I didn't even notice the stupid arrows until DH pointed out to me that I was going in the wrong direction. Excuse me....are the "arrow police" going to arrest me....but, to keep the peace I dutifully followed the path. The other thing I notice was the lack of windows and the only other doors (other than the main entrance and exit) were labeled emergency exits only.....an alarm will sound. That is what I mean about the 'marketing' this place takes away all other distractions. They want to keep your focus on the merchandise. The pathway meanders and winds back and forth......so you feel compelled to continue your journey through the entire store. Once you are in.....it is not easy to get out! As to the merchandise......we did like what we saw. For the most, part......reasonable prices and reasonable quality.....the style definitely lends itself to the more modern and urban lifestyle. We did; however, find a convection oven and a cook top that we loved and we think are sized right for our fiver. We have some research to do, but if we could make them work they would be a big improvement over the standard drop-in oven we currently have......we'll see.

Now, on to the next big event......we were trying to get a hold of my Aunt and Uncle. Neither of them were answering their cell phones......which is very odd. We stopped by my Uncle's Electrical Shop and neither of them were there and no one seemed to know where they could be......so......we headed to Elmer's. Elmer's is our family's favorite bar/lunch stop. When we arrived......no Auntie and no Uncle.....but we stayed and had a great lunch and then headed to the Ikea store. Finally, a phone call from my Aunt. It seems some friends of the family had decided to 'tie the knot' that day down at the court house. The happy couple wanted to keep it a secret until after the deed was done. Long story short.....we all met up at Elmer's and celebrated the event with the bride and groom.......Champagne all round.....good thing DH is my designated driver. I was feeling a little goofy by the time we left, but it sure was fun......and that is what I like about being down here......we never know what is going to happen, but we always seemed to have FUN!!

Just a quick post to let everyone know we made it to Tampa. The park we are in is not the greatest, but it is close to family and that is what we wanted. Lots of errands today and we will attempt to set up our tv satellite for the first time....that should prove interesting......

(You can click on the photos to make them larger)

As promised....here is our site at the Albany RV Resort in .....you guessed it Albany, GA. As you can see it is a very nice park. Our site was large and almost totally level. Most of the sites have concrete pads and believe it or not all the lots have trees. You actually feel that you are tucked away in the woods. Yet, there is plenty of room for slides and maneuvering. The only criticism I have......is the road noise. You are fairly close to US 19 and that is one busy highway. But, for a quick overnight or two.....this place is great.
This is a photo looking back into the rv park. Our site was located at the very front of the park. If you were further back, the road noise may not be as big of an issue.

We stayed here Monday, Nov 16. That day turned out to be a very long travel day, around 350 miles, not our typical day. We started out early and were still feeling good after lunch and we pushed ourselves just a little too far. By the time we found this park, it was dark. The highway we were traveling was very busy and there was construction. We saw the sign, but the garmin had us looking for a road that didn't exist. We passed the park, but finally found a 'cross over' and were able to get turned back around and this time we found the drive way to the park. The office was closed. I got the flashlight out and was in the process of reading the "after hours check in procedure", when one of the 'permanent' park residence happened by and offered his help. Thank goodness.....the park is not very well lighted and so it was great to have someone ahead of us leading the way. Once in our site, we found we didn't even need to unhitch. It didn't take us long to find our recliners and start relaxing.....winding down from the day.

In the morning, we wanted to continue our journey on US 19 south. Even though our garmin (we have another name for her....which I can't say here...LOL) let us down last night, we decided to give her another chance this am. You see, we had no idea we came in on US 19, she was calling it something else. It was dark, we were tired, and totally turned around last night. Well, the garmin sent us back out and in the wrong direction. She was trying to put us on interstate which we did not want to do. I didn't catch her mistake until we had gone about 15 miles out of our way. So, we get turned around and finally on US 19 heading south. Imagine our surprise and laughter as we passed by the rv park. Up until that point, we still didn't realize we had been on US 19 the night before........boy, did we feel silly...

Yesterday we ended up in Crystal River, Florida. A much shorter travel day and we found the park and were all set up by 4:30. The park is Elite Resorts. Again another very nice park.....it is even gated. After we were situated and the furballs had been walked, we headed out for dinner. The 'check in' gal had recommended a good seafood restaurant for us. DH is not a big fish eater, but he knows I love it so off we went. It was a little bit of a drive to find the place, but the food was excellent. I had snow crab and DH had grouper which he really enjoyed. Then it was back to the fiver for a relaxing evening. Today.....Tampa here we come

We are driving down US 19 South on our way to Yankeetown, Florida. We had a really long day yesterday and I’ll post more on that and the park we stayed at in Albany, Georgia......

I have to say being on the internet while driving down the road is way---cool, except for the slight case of motion sickness it gives me...LOL!

Anyway, DAD......warm up my bar stool at Elmer’s......We are almost there.......

Thought I might share some photos today. This is the rose my sweet little Grandson Triston gave to me while we were visiting him in Corydon.

The view...

Lane which leads to our camp site

Our Campsite

Yesterday, we awoke to a strange noise. It was early......5 or 6 in the morning. We thought it was a train whistle at first, but neither of us had seen a train or tracks anywhere close by. Over and over again it sounded.....finally the furballs and I went out for their morning 'constitutional' and then I knew.......It was a fog horn sounding in the mist. The fog was thick on the water and hanging above me in the trees. It was really quite beautiful. That was a first for me.....being awakened by a fog horn!

We have not been doing anything to0 strenuous these days. Just kicking back enjoying the fall scenery and the warm and sunny days. We will be back on the road again tomorrow. Heading down to Tampa to spend the holidays with family and friends.

What a wonderful day. Once again we awoke to bright sunshine and blue skies. We had our breakfast and showers and then the furballs and I went on a short walk. By late morning, we decided to head into the little town of Rogersville and pick up a few groceries. When we came out of the grocery, I noticed a little BBQ Shop across the street. It is called Wick’s BBQ and DH and I decided to check it out for lunch. It is carry out only, but they did have some picnic tables set up outside. We ordered their lunch box specials.....pork sandwich, potato salad, baked beans and a medium drink for $5.95 plus tax. We thought that was an excellent deal. I won’t say it was the best BBQ I have every had, but it was dang close! In fact, we ended up taking a pound of the pork BBQ home with us.

Back at the fiver, we decided to take one of the trails around the lake. It was a nice little hike. We saw several deer along the way and the furballs even managed to do a little wading in the lake. I’d say we hiked along for about 2 hours or so and now we are back in our easy chairs settling in for the night. We can watch the sunset over the water from our recliners.......what a life!

Our first morning here in Joe Wheeler state Park. We were up by 6am. Yeah, that is a little early for us, especially DH. The furballs and I went out and it is a beautiful morning here amongst the tall pines. The fragrance of the pine needles is wondrous....feels like Christmas. I’m a peace, completely and totally. God has to be smiling today....at least in my little corner of the world.

I broke out the griddle for breakfast.....bacon and pancakes. After breakfast, the furballs and I took a walk around the campsites. It is pretty quiet now, but I have a feeling this weekend will be a busy one. This morning we ran across a small dog who was unleashed. The owner seemed to be in the process of cleaning out her car. As we walked by, the dog approached and started growling. This caused the owner to look up and she shouted out to me that the dog wouldn’t harm us. Me and mine.....we just keep walking....her dog starts after us. Next thing I hear, is the owner shouting (!@#***!) at the dog as she falls out of the car with the loud clammer of what I can only describe as pots and pans. Me and mine......keep walking.....I don’t even look back. She is still giving the dog ‘heck’ when I hear her (I assume) DH stick his head out the door, “Honey, did you call me?” Me and mine......we just keep walking......as my Daddy says. “Troubles bout to start.” He! He!

No troubles here......the skies above are blue, there is a gentle breeze blowing through the trees, and yeah....life is ‘Goode’........I think we will stay awhile.....

One last note, those of you that leave comments, you will notice I have started moderating my comments. I got spammed the other day, so I felt I had no choice. Sorry for the inconvenience, but better safe than sorry.

We left O'bannon Woods somewhere between 10:30 and 11:00am. We decided to take 135 S which turns into 79 to cross the Ohio River. That worked out very well.....much less traffic.....just a few small towns to go through before jumping on 65 S. We stopped around 12:30 at a rest stop for lunch. Hot dogs all around.....yeah, even the furballs. Of course, their hot dogs are low fat...LOL! Back on the road and our next stop was the Bluegrass Music RV Park. This used to be a KOA. It is a pleasant enough overnight stop, but I would not want to spend a lot of time here. You are very close to the interstate and a truck stop is practically next door. We had full hook ups and a nice level pull through. They also honor Camp Club so we paid $23.27 that included tax. I certainly would not want to pay the full rate of $38.00 plus tax. The park looks to be under renovation and the new owners are very nice and helpful. I also used the laundry while we were here and it was acceptable. I'm guessing the higher rates reflect the close proximity to attractions in both Kentucky and Nashville.

We headed down to Bowling Green for dinner. We were both hungry for Mexican and the RV Park recommended "Peppers". It was about a 20 minute drive, but the food and the service were excellent.

Back at the fiver, we settled in our easy chairs and watched a little tv before bed.

Today is another travel day as we are heading to Joe Wheeler State Park in Alabama. We stayed there on our way back from Florida the year before and really enjoyed the park. We plan on spending a few days there before continuing our journey south. I have no idea if our verizon air card will work there........but we are close enough to town that I should still be able to get a blog post or two in while we are there. Till then.....safe journeys

Here we are at our campsite #B95 in O'bannon Woods. I don't recommend this one. As you can see it runs down hill and it is on the busiest camp road. Traffic runs in and out all the time. We made the mistake of relying on the entrance park ranger to locate us. We were unfamiliar with this park and with our 40 foot trailer we did not want to spend the evening trying to find a spot we would fit in. As you can see this is a pull through.....all I can say is it sounded good on paper...LOL! The park was not that crowded, but they have a horse camp area and they were full. For most of the weekend, we had trucks and horse trailers running up and down the road. Then there was the shower incident. Since we only have electric here we opted to shower in the bath house. In I go on my girlie side and there are 3 shower stalls. Nicely done with an area for dressing and drying and then you pass into the shower area. All individual and private. So, I take the first stall. Get undressed and situate my towel and toiletries. Enter the shower and '?!@#!' no handle to turn on the water....no way at all to turn on the water. Ok, I'm the only one in here so I slide my toiletries under to the next stall. Grab my clothes and towel and slip over to the next shower area. Hang everything up AGAIN and enter the shower. Well, '?!@#!!!!!!', there is a shower knob, but no matter which way I turn it.......no water. Did I mention I'm naked here! Finally upon entering the 3rd shower....I was rewarded with a working knob and somewhat warm water.......ahhh....clean at last!

This is the road the horse trailers like to 'race' on, but as you can see the place is pretty empty. Once the traffic settled it was very peaceful and we had great weather.

Here is Triston's mom and Grandpa relaxing at the campsite.

Triston and Grandpa with his (Triston's) favorite Batman Helicopter.
All in all it was a pleasant enough stay. We have been here since Friday evening and will leave tomorrow (Tuesday 10th). Last evening we had dinner at a Japanese Steak House. Ya know the kind where they cook the food at your table....lots of razzel dazzel complete with a burning onion volcano. My Grandson loved that one!

By the way, is anyone else being overrun with Ladybugs. They are everywhere here and we can't keep them out of the fiver. We keep sucking them up with our vacumn, but they just keep coming. Ok, well best get a going on dinner......tomorrow we travel....so, see ya down the road.

As promised, here are some photos of the Terre Haute KOA

The donkeys are very friendly and you can by food to feed them

Cute little covered bridge leads to play ground and dog play area

And of course, this is where the donkeys....hang their tails!

Today we are in O'bannon Woods . I will have some photos to share tomorrow. Overall a very nice park. They only have electric sites, but water is widely available throughout the park. Lots of trees so forget your satellite dishes. Our antenna pulled in some Louisville stations and our Verizon air card is working well. We have ATT cell phones and have a decent signal on them as well. I'll give some more details in the next post after we have some time today to take a closer look at everything. Right now it is time to kick back and enjoy this beautiful day. Our five year old grandson is coming to visit today......so I'm sure Grandpa and I will be plum tuckered out this evening....LOL, but that is a "Goode" thing.......

After a grueling 2 1/2 hour drive......we made it to Terre Haute.....yeah, we are still in Indiana. We didn't leave the river till almost 3pm, but the important thing is we are finally on our way. We spent the night at a KOA and I'll post more on that later with some photos.

Poor little Belle had to have 3 teeth pulled at the vet. She was very unhappy with us when we picked her up after her surgery. She wouldn't eat or wag her tail......basically she just went straight to her bed. The next morning she was feeling better and is now back to her old self.

DH just went out the door.....it is time to hitch-er up and get on down the road. Next stop.....Obannon Woods in Corydon Indiana. We will be spending a few days visiting our grandson and his Mom. It is so good to be 'back on the road', even the furballs seem to have an added 'pep' in their steps.

I’m spending today and tomorrow here at the river getting things ready to travel. Our internet connection comes and goes here.....but hopefully I can get this posted today.

A few of you have asked ‘where in the south’ we are headed? Well, right now our plans are to head to Florida. We will be staying in a park in Riverview, which is very close to the Tampa area. We will be there through December. Come January, we are heading toward Texas. DH would like to spend some time in the Rio Grande Valley. So, let us know if any of you will be nearby.....we would love to see you.

Now, the temps here have taken a nose dive into the 30’s at night and 40’s to low 50’s during the day. A while back I mentioned the troubles we were having at times with our furnace. We thought we might need a new thermostat, but we received a comment that it might be due to ‘flame out’ protection with the furnace. He suggested the next time it happened we simply try turning the furnace off than on. If that works, than it is more likely the furnace that has the problem and not the thermostat. Well, we tried it and sure enough when we turned the furnace back on it fired right up. So......mister anonymous......if you are reading this.....where do we go from here?

Thought you all might enjoy some fall photos. Here we are on the river lot covered in leaves. It is amazing how different this places feels once the leaves start to fall. Also all the sounds of summer BBQ's and the like are gone now and so the river is eerily quiet.......spooky.......Happy Halloween!

This is the view up the lane from the back window of the fiver.....more leaves

And this is the deck overlooking the Tippecanoe river. You can see it very well now, but spring and summer it is hidden from view by all the foliage.

My dental appointment was on Weds and yes, I did survive......I was a nervous mess, but I made it through and hopefully won't have to go back til next spring.....or maybe the spring after that or.......

Took the furballs to the vet Thursday and both are healthy except for one thing. Poor little Belle has a bad tooth and it is going to need to be pulled before we can leave. So, we now have a 'delay of game'. Belle's surgery is set for Tuesday. We had plans to be outta here by Sunday but now are hoping to be able to leave Weds. We will have to see what the vet says. Our vet also told us we might want to get the furbabies vaccinated for the doggie flu. Apparently, Florida is a "hot spot" for furball flu. Our vet didn't have any of the vaccine on hand so we will have to see a vet down there. I figure the Florida vet could check our her dental surgery at that point as well.

Here we still are cold, wet, and so ready to head south......

Last couple of mornings I have heard more scratching around....this time on the roof. DH thinks it is a squirrel trying to bury nuts. Gee, it is not going to be happy when we hitch up and take our fiver and his nuts down the road....He! He! DH did go up on the roof and check for damages, but could find nothing......sure hope nothing turns up later. Speaking of DH.....he has not been having the best of luck when it comes to maceraters. Ya know our old one broke and he had to order a new one. Well, it came yesterday. DH went out to give it a whirl. He came back in and stated he had had an accident. "What had happened was......." What had happened was he broke it while trying to connect it to the fiver. Don't ask, I don't completely understand it myself. Fortunately he was able to repair it with a part off the old macerater. By the by, did I tell you the washing machine in the stick house bit the dust. No big deal. We were just gonna let it go with the house, but this is the third appliance we have lost in the stick house this spring. First it was the dishwasher, then the frig, and now the washer. Sure glad we don't have to replace any of this junk! That will be up to the new owners....who ever they are.

Tis a busy time here.....getting ready to hitch and head down the road by the weekend. Can't wait to be 'on the road again' and sure hope we see some of our fellow rv bloggers along the way.

Ah, the Birthday is over.....but it was a great day. DH took me out for a wonderful dinner and yes.....there was cake, and a candle, and a wish! The very best part of my day was when my 5 year old grandson called and sang me Happy Birthday.....now it just doesn’t get any better than that.......thank you Triston and Grandma loves you very much!

Thanks also go out to all my family and friends who sent me B-day wishes....so nice to be remembered on my special day.....

We have tentatively set our travel day as October 30th. I have my (hopefully) final visit at the dentist on the 28th and the furballs see the vet for their annual checkup on the 29th.

We have had some nibbles on the house, but no firm offers.....but that is OK. We know that when we come back in the spring all we have to do is put the for sale sign back in the yard. Although we will have to remain close by for most of the summer hoping for a sale, at least we will be able to enjoy the river property. This past spring and summer all we did was work on the house and that was no fun at all. The house does look fabulous though and DH and I feel a big sense of satisfaction on a job well done!

It could be a little warmer and a little dryer here on the river, but it sure is beautiful. The leaves have all turned into the brilliant reds and golds and of course there is a ton of them covering the ground, and our truck, and our fiver.......but life is ‘Goode’.......raking is OPTIONAL!

Had an interesting morning this am. I was having my morning coffee and watching the news with my Cosmo furball in my lap.....when we both heard an unusual noise. At first I just ignored it, but the noise continued and then I realized.......it might be a mouse! Tis the season, ya know. I jumped up outta my easy chair and ran for the flashlight so I could check out all the nooks and crannys of the fiver. Cosmo follows me into the kitchen, but doesn't follow me back to the living room. He can tell by my demeanor that this could possibly be something more than even he could handle.......so, what does he do......he stands his ground in the kitchen and barks.......yeah, that's helping a lot.......scared the crap outta me and I drop the flashlight and jump up onto the chair. Once recovered from that fright, I retrieved the flashlight and while maintaining my perch on the chair had a look around......nothing, nada, zip! The 'noise' was also gone. At this point, I'm guessing the sound may have been a squirrel or a mouse chasing an acorn outside the fiver and all the commotion on the inside of the trailer sent 'it' and the acorn onto quieter pastures. Where was DH through all this commotion.....snug as a bug in bed.....that's where.....LOL!

Things are getting a little difficult, now that the weather is nearing the freeze zone. DH has to make sure the water hoses are drained at night....just in case....and the long run of pvc pipe he put together to reach our sewer drop also has to be flushed and drained. My early morning trek outside with the furballs, now requires two sweatshirts and socks and shoes. My beloved flip flops are no longer viable.

As you know we have had some issues with our black tank and just when we think we are back to normal......our macerater quit. DH took it apart and found one of the blades to be bent. Apparently, a small rock had somehow entered into the thing and that was that! Poor DH had to get out the dreaded ‘Blue Boy’ last night to empty our black tank. He did order a replacement and we hope it comes sooner rather than later.

Our second issue seems to be a faulty thermostat. We have had a couple of very chilly mornings inside the fiver because the thermostat didn’t cycle the furnace. I would have to put the thermostat down to about 50 and then push it back up to 68 to get the furnace to come on. It has not happened very often, but it always seems to happen at night when we are sleeping and unaware.......until the cold finally wakes me. I guess we will be replacing that soon.....looking into a digital with a remote. I want to be able to turn the furnace on from my bed. I know they make programable ones, but I don’t always get up at the same time everyday. Of course, DH says we don’t need a remote.....why.....because DW is almost always up first.....so guess who is ‘his’ remote.......He always has been able to “push my buttons” LOL!

It’s rainy and cold and thank goodness.....it will soon be time to go! LOL! Looking forward to starting our journey the end of the month. DH goes back to the dentist to get his permanent crowns on the 21st and I go back on the 28th. Hopefully, all will go well and we can hit the road soon after. The weather forecast is promising some warmer temps next week. I hope so, we have sat here a long time and we need to re-pack the basement and DH has all that tire checking and stuff to do.

The other evening I awoke to some strange and yet familiar sounds. It was the sounds of someone walking on our roof......I sat up and noticed DH was not in bed....looked at the clock and it was about 5:00 am and raining. Now, what on earth would cause DH to climb up onto our roof top at this hour of the day? I debated whether or not to get up and go out and check, but decided my bed was just to warm and cozy to get out of......instead I said a prayer, “Please don’t let DH fall off the roof”, and I rolled back over and went back to sleep. At a more respectable hour and after my morning cup o’coffee, I inquired of DH the reason for his early morning climb. Apparently, while having a touch of insomnia he remembered he left the vent cap off the pipe vent for the toilet. He had removed the vent cap to inspect the pipe when we were having our ‘clogged black tank’ issue. He said he was afraid water might penetrate the roof.....so.....up he went. Poor Baby! Don’t worry I take ‘goode’ care of my man. I made him some sugar free banana pudding and banana muffins yesterday....in my nice warm, dry kitchen....HE! HE!

Yesterday was a very interesting day. When DH awoke, he quickly determined that it was time to empty the black tank......well.....it would not empty. It seems we had a clog somewhere. This is not a “Goode” thing. You see, here at the river, we are actually down hill and a fair distance from the sewer drop. We use a macerater to pump the black tank contents to the sewer drop. DH tried everything he knew to do to get the clog to budge.....including using a hose run down into the toilet....you can imagine what came up into the toilet bowl during this process......“Icky doodle!” Finally he decided he needed to go into town and get one of those goobers that plumbers use to unclog things....a snake.....meanwhile......I’m stuck using the ‘outhouse’ , but I’m not complaining.....it beats the heck out of a ‘tree in the woods’.

DH returns with a longer hose and the plumber’s snake and once again begins the process of trying to unclog our toilet. Just when we think it is never going to break loose......swish.....down it goes. DH immediately goes outside and turns on the pump and away all the nasty stuff goes......thank the “potty” gods for that one!

I did have some excitement while DH was away.......two beautiful “Boxers” (doggies) came running down our lane. They both stopped and looked surprised when they saw our fifth wheel. It was obvious to me that these two were lost. I went out and was greeted by wagging tails and kisses. I noticed they had tags and that the owner’s name, address, and phone was listed. It took some doing, but I finally convince the pups to go into our X-pen. Once they were secured, I went inside to call the owner. Now, by this time, I’m out of breath....so I’m breathing pretty hard.....the owner answers....“Hello” and I say, “Is this Josh” and he says, “YEs” and I say, “I have your boxers”........Now, what do you think he is thinking.......“You have my what?”, he says.....I quickly add, “your dogs”. I don’t think he believed me....he was at work and told me he would check with his girlfriend (who was at home) and call me back. Sure enough, girlfriend was out looking for the dogs......at this point he is very grateful that I have his “boxers”.....HE, HE. He sends girlfriend to collect the boxers and we all had a good laugh.......and the boxers are now safe, at home where they belong........Just another day in paradise......LOL!

Day of the Dentist.....here is how my sedation went....I was sent home with 3 prescriptions. I was to take the first pill the night before my appointment. It was supposed to help me get a good night’s sleep. NOT! I tossed and turned all night. We arrived at the dental office at 8 am sharp. They took me back and put me in.....’The Chair’. It was a very comfortable chair with a big, thick memory foam cushion. The lights were turned down low and soft music played in the background. Sounds nice...right? Next came the remainder of my medication. The technician ground the pills and added some type of a syrup to the mix. This mixture was then placed under my tongue to dissolve. The first sensation I had was one of being cold....my teeth actually started to chatter. The Tech told me that was normal and covered me with a blanket. It seemed to take forever, but I finally drifted off to sleep. Ok, this is all good. I’m thinking, ‘Beam me up Scotty’ and wake me when it is over. HA! Next thing I know a masked man (aka my dentist) is tapping me on the shoulder telling me they are ready to begin. He then proceeded to numb my mouth with about 6 or 7 shots of Novocain. Man, that hurt....to the point that tears ran down my face. Then the drilling began.....and although it didn’t hurt......it went on forever. Just when I though it was over, the dentist merely switched sides and started drilling all over again. This time it did hurt.....the Novocain had apparently worn off on that side of my mouth. So once again, out came the Novocain and that same old burning pain. Finally the hygienist came in to do her thing.....she and the tech had a discussion as to why she was not allowed to do her thing first.....I’m thinking, jeez who cares, just do your thing so I can go home. These two try to drown me, I had to sit up twice and cough up the rinse water. They keep telling me to breath through my nose. Yeah, I get that....easier said then done. Finally it is over and they load me up into a wheel chair and take me to DH. DH takes me home and takes very good care of me. Then the numbness starts to wear off....my teeth and gums are very sore and tender. In fact, although much improved, they are still sore today. I just can’t wait to go back and have my permanent crowns installed....LOL!

My opinion on sedation dentistry.....it sucks! Yeah, I was relaxed......I guess.....But I still had pain and discomfort during the procedure and I was aware of everything. The tech told me I wouldn’t remember anything the next day......wrong! It is 3 days later and I still remember every painful moment. Quite frankly, I think drinking a six pack before the dentist would be a better solution and a whole lot cheaper!

The bottom line is I’m just gonna have to ‘put on my big girl panties’ and suck it up! After all, I have survived stitches, broken bones, surgeries, and childbirth...... I can do this......well.....maybe.....

Gotta make this short.....DH is cooking up biscuits and sausage gravy this am.....mmmm! Just wanted to let you all know I survived the dentist....I'll tell you all about in the next post.....Sedation Dentistry.....I was not impressed!

It seems the monsoon season is upon us once again. The weather man is forecasting rain, rain, and more rain for the upcoming week.....along with cooler temps. I don’t mind the cool fall air, but I could do without all the wet! I was awakened early this AM by the sound of yet another branch hitting our roof. Thankfully most of the ‘falling branches’ are small, but they sound hugh from inside the fiver. Sometimes I think the squirrels are up there sawing them off......(when their not throwing acorns at us).....we have quite a playful and energetic group of the little critters here along the river. We are also seeing the deer almost everyday now.....such beautiful, sweet and gentle creatures.......God did good!

Just sitting here, in my easy chair, sipping coffee, and thinking about the day ahead. The ‘stick house’ awaits......but DH and I now see a rather large bright light at the end of the tunnel. The other day I actually ran into the daughter of an old friend who was interested in seeing our house. She came by and took the tour yesterday. We think she liked it.......wether she buys or not, it made it ‘official’ the house is ‘For Sale’! Yeah, we still are doing a few little projects.....but overall the house is looking great and ready for the buyers......oh, I’m expecting many buyers.....multiple offers......maybe even a bidding war.......nothing wrong with dreaming big ya know.......ask my DH, I have always been a bit of a dreamer..... My favorite line is “I’ve been think-in” and DH’s response, after he rolls his eyes and moans, “Here we go again”.......He just loves me! (and according to him, he just has too!)

Well, you know what they say.....“the best laid plans of mice and men”.....looks like I will be having some of my dental work done sooner rather than later. I picked up DH from the dentist yesterday and all had went well. The receptionist then managed to convince me that I needed to have at least some of my dental work done. So, long story short, I’m going under the drill October 7. It is not at all what I had planned, but it is also somewhat of a relief to have the appointment made. Are we paying too much for all this dental work? Yes, I’m pretty sure we could find someone else that would do the job for a little less. Several of you suggested we have the work done in Algadones, but neither one of us feel very comfortable with that idea.....fear of the unknown I guess.

Ok, so enough of the dental saga, today is a cool and crisp fall day. The leaves are starting to change into those beautiful brilliant reds, yellows, and orange. I just love this time of year. October is my absolute favorite month of the year....my favorite holiday is Halloween. Once upon a time, I used to actually lead tours through a ‘haunted mansion’. I had a blast! Grown men and women would cling to my robe, begging me to save them from the goblins and spooks that prowled those halls. I think the ‘mansion’ was actually haunted. Strange things always happened there. It was formally a nursing home and it was hugh.....it even had it’s own on site morgue down in the basement. It was quite an undertaking every year for all the rooms to be decorated and ‘spooked’. One of my favorite areas was in the basement. We actually made a swap done there. It was complete with water and a long wooden bridge and of course lots of spooky, creepy, crawlies. I loved that place and I sure do miss it. It has been retired due to a problem with---bats--yeah, the bats took over the attic and the droppings carry disease. It was going to cost to much to clean it up so the haunted mansion’s doors are closed forever.....more.....

Thanks to you all for your comments and concerns over our dental bill. One thing I didn’t add is that I am absolutely phobic when it comes to going to the dentist. I need to be sedated........no, I’m not kidding. My mom took me to what she thought was a very good children’s dentist. Unfortunately, he was an absolute menace. I still hear ‘horror’ stories from other kids, who like me, sat in his chair of terror! I was actually one of the lucky ones, as he never actually struck me. He always raised his hand to strike and yelled constantly, but he never hit me. I finally graduated from his dental chair to my mom’s ‘grown up ‘ dentist. He was not much better. He convinced my mom that he could handle the braces I needed on my upper teeth. I didn’t know then, but he had no clue what he was doing. He practically sat in my lap when he was installing them and then he always overtighted them. I was in so much pain after every visit.......and in the end he removed them to soon and my teeth moved back into the same position that had always been in. All that torture for nothing! Lastly, I’m difficult to numb. The Novocain always seems to wear off half way through the procedure. I’m just a mess! Bottom line is, DH is moving forward and having his work done....today.....right now as I type. Me, I’m waiting.......need to recover from his bill and then I’m going to talk to at least one more dentist before I go under the drill....LOL......thanks again for your comments and advice.....I’ll keep you updated on the dental saga as it continues to unfold........