Happy New Year!

Billy and I are into our 4th year of fulltiming.....and I guess we were a little naive in thinking we would never see "cold" weather again.   That has always been our goal, but for the second winter in a row we seemed to be stuck right in the middle of a constant flow of Arctic air.  Yesterday there was snow on the mountain tops surrounding us and today.....well, I had to put on my long johns, sweat pants, ear muffs, socks, dig out my shoes, and 3 yes, 3 sweat shirts just to take the furballs out for their morning walk!  On the upside, the wind had died down and I no longer have to weight myself down with cement blocks to keep both feet on the ground!  According to the weatherman, this cold spell with below normal temps will be sticking around for quite some time....lucky us!   Could be worse, our park host heard from 3 rver's yesterday.  All of them were supposed to be checking in this week and all of them said they would be delayed.....due to snow and ice and road closures.  This morning I was on the computer looking at the rates for the Florida Keys (wishful thinking) and I ran across a park with a live camera feed.  Man, folks are running around in t-shirts and shorts at 9am.  I am so in the wrong place!  Ok, I'll stop whining or maybe not.
A package arrived for me yesterday.....it was the inks epson was shipping me.  Pop those babies in, and Yahoo......nothing.....nothing......nothing!  Called Epson and they are sending me another printer.  Wonder if it will work. 
Oh, I do have some happy news.....My mama's birthday was yesterday.  She turned 70 this year and I'm proud to say she is still one "hot mama"!  
I have also been spending more time at the painting table.....here is an update on the old truck

It is a slow process, but I'm enjoying it!

Here is hoping that you all have a Happy and Warm New Year!!

New Printer or Not So New?

Hey everyone, thanks again for all the great comments and suggestions on my deer painting....and the winner is....."So Deer" by Froggie!

I am wanting to make prints and cards available for purchase.  So, my Christmas present to myself this year is a refurbished Epson 1400 printer.  It had great reviews....except for one flaw.  Some folks had trouble with their new printer not recognizing the Epson inks.  I decided, in all my infinite wisdom, that I could prevent this from happening to me by buying a refurbished unit.  According to Epson, these machines have been repaired and thoroughly tested before being offered for sale at a reduced price.  They still have a full one year warranty with one exception.  If the unit needs to be replaced, you will be sent another refurbished unit.  I was Ok with that...no problem.  Well, guess what!  I forgot to remember one important fact....this is the Goode household we are talking about.....sure enough....when I installed the Epson inks (that came with the ding dong thing) the printer refused to accept them.  It keeps telling me to replace them.  I called Epson and they are sending me a new set of inks.  Sooo disappointing!  I'm on the fence about the end result.  It would be nice if the new inks work, but will I continue to worry each and every time I purchase inks that they will be rejected.  Maybe it is better to just receive a new refurbished unit and hope it works right outta the box..... or is that asking too much!
On a happier note....back to my painting table.  I started working on this scene of the old truck and jack rabbit before Christmas and am finally getting back to it.  I am really enjoying all the textures and colors on this old truck......

I'll let you know how it all turns out.......

Back at my Painting table

Took down my Christmas tree today and got out my paints.  Thought I would share my latest work.....she is done on a 5x7 canvas card and I think she is just about finished....hope everyone is enjoying the Holiday Season......

Guess I need to come up with a title.....any suggestions?

Merry Christmas

I have a few Christmas photos to share.......

The Yule Log I made for our Pot Luck here at the RV Park

And then the furballs decided they would like to wish you a Merry Christmas in all their holiday splendor.........

Little Belle and Cosmo wishing you a very Happy Holiday Season.  Aren't they just too cute!  They did very well and I think they actually like their jingle bell collars....that is until Mom got a little......bit......carried away....and snapped this pose

Ok, so Mes and Cosmos are not happy about this at all.....but what are yous a gonna dos....sometimes ours humans dos silly things! 

So Far, So Goode

Well, we have manage to tick off yet another year of marital bliss!  Today, Dec 22, is our 31st wedding anniversary.  I love you, Billy!  You are still the man of my dreams and my very bestest friend.  I'm very proud to have those 31 years together.....and I remember being asked on more than one occasion...."What's your secret".  My secret is simple.....I love him and he loves me.  Love conquers all!  Love communicates, Love Listens, Love compromises, Love puts the other first.....and the list goes on, but I'm sure you get the picture!  And for those of you just starting out on your journey of marital bliss.....and wondering if the excitement and the romance will wear thin after a few years.  After 31 years....we still hold hands, we still cuddle close, and yes......My darling husband can still curl my toes!

"Can't hold it's water"

Not to much going on around here.  We have been resting up from the whole toilet repair incident.  Unfortunately, it looks like we might be re-visiting that repair in the very near future.  The waste ball is leaking water....you have heard of folks who can't "hold their liquor"...our toilet can't "hold it's water" LOL!  We think it is a minor adjust, but we will let you know how it goes.
The weather here has been great.  As you can see from the photo below, I took the opportunity to give the furballs a hair cut and bath.  That's Cosmo getting a trim...looks like I need a bit of a trim myself...

He is such a good boy and isn't he pretty, er handsome!

That was a beautiful day...wish I could say the same for today.  Some big rain system has decided to camp out here for the next few days.  It's not too bad....certainly better than snow.  I just wish it would move on.....

I hope all of you out there in blog land are doing well and are all ready for the upcoming Holidays.... Travel safe.

Toilet Repairs

Never a dull moment round here....yesterday our toilet decided it had enough and stopped working.  The waste ball valve would not open when I stepped on the flush petal.  That is not good.  We got out the manual, did a little trouble shooting, and decided it was either the waste ball or the drive arm connected to it that was bad.  Now, to find replacement parts.  Billy found an rv parts store in the area and headed over.....unfortunately he came home empty handed.   Did a little more research and found two more rv parts/service centers close to us.  This time I went with him.  The first place could only provide us with a new flange seal.  The second place.....had the rest of what we needed....I said a prayer of "Thanks" to the toilet gods on that one!
Now, comes the really fun part....the actual repair.  One thing I found out....there are parts of a toilet one should never have to see and most certainly should never have to touch!  BUT WE DID!  I'll spare you the "gross" photos........

This is where it all begins.....after we shut off and drain water lines of course.  Billy is removing the toilet.

 Ok, we are ready to take it apart.......one last photo.......

 This is what it looks like before and we are hoping that it is what it looks like when we finish....
Now, what happened next.  I read off the instructions step by step while Billy was the man with the tools.  We had to disconnect almost everything at the back so that we could then remove the bowl from the base.  That gave us access to the waste ball.  This is where it got nasty....they don't call it a waste ball for nothing.  We hung in and removed all the old and scrubbed up everything as best we could.  Yes, I was scrubbing  and yes, we wished we had those gloves that the horse vets use....ya know, the ones that go up to your armpits!  We found it was the waste ball that was broken.  The tab key had broken off into the key way on the drive arm.  Yes, I learned all the technical terms and mumbo jumbo.  

Here is a shot of the completed install....new waste ball and seals.  We managed to get the toilet back together....only had a couple of head scratching moments.  I was glad I had taken those before photos.  We made sure everything was working before we reseated the toilet.  It did!  Again, thankful to the toilet gods!  Put the toilet back into position...turned on the water, and SWISH....we are back in business.  We learned a lot, we both were very proud, and we both hope we NEVER have to do it again.......

Life at El Rio

Life here in the land of El Rio Waterfront park has been pretty laid back and uneventful the past few days.  I have been working on some paintings and designing things for my Zazzel shop.  Thanks to some Rv Dreamers....I have actually sold a few of my Christmas ornaments.  I so appreciate all of you who have passed along my links and supported my efforts to promote and sell some of my art.  
We really enjoy the laid back atmosphere here at the park, but some find it a little boring.  We met our next door neighbors the other day.  Nice couple from Illinois.  They like to go, go, go!  They have been a little bored here at the park.....not enough folks here to socialize with I guess.  The park is a little empty right now, but come January it is supposed to fill up.  We kinda like having the place to ourselves.  Anyway, they are up and out from early morning to evening.....seeing the sights and I think they like visiting the casinos around here too!  Ah well, to each his own.  We do have a couple of places we will be checking out....but we are in no hurry and will probably lay low until the Christmas season has passed.
I was out walking the furballs the other day and another neighbor made a comment about them that I have not heard before.  She said they were cute (well, we hear that a lot cause they are just cute as can be...lol) but then she added that they look like little sheep.  Never thought of that before, but they kinda do look like sheep and come haircut day they get sheared like sheep....so what does that make me......a little Bo Peep?

Pretty In Pink

Living in a fifthwheel, I thought my days of putting up a Christmas tree were probably over.  Not to mention the fact, that I once owned a small gift shop and every Christmas I put up about 4 to 6 trees.....so, I figured I was just over it......well.....guess what......

We were out doing some shopping yesterday and I just couldn't resist this little pink tree.....it just called out to me.  You all know I just love pink.  I wish it were a 2 foot or a 3 foot tree, but it is 4 feet tall...at least it is "skinny".  I don't have any ornaments at this point, but I think she is pretty just the way she is......simply PINK!  I guess she is my Christmas present to me this year and she goes very nicely with my pink flamingo!
Our second purchase is a drinking fountain for our furballs.  We had one of those big 2 gallon water stations and Billy almost always scrubbed it out before refilling, but it still was starting to have an odor.  We saw this at pet's mart and although I figured we could probably get it cheaper on line, I decided to buy it.  Much easier to return a store bought item.  Got it home, read the instructions, and it was up and running in no time.  At first, the furballs were a little skeptical, but eventually they were both lapping away....slurping down that fresh, cold water.

Here it is.  It runs off a 12 volt plug and it is very quiet.  I'm really sensitive to sounds...especially any type of constant hum and I hardly hear this at all.  Now, we do have it on carpet so that might make a difference.  I do hear the "tinkle" of the water running once in a while, but that I don't mind at all.  There is about a 1 1/2 gallon reservoir at the back and a small pump that recirculates the water.  This will have to be cleaned regularly as well, but it all comes easily apart for that purpose.  There is also a charcoal filter that is supposed to be replace every two to four weeks, but I'm not too worried about that.  We filter all the water as it comes into the trailer.....so we will probably just pitched the filter rather than replace it when the time comes.  I did find this available on Amazon for about $10 cheaper.  If you click on my Amazon link at the side of the post, it will take you to the product page.  There you will find all the specifications and several reviews.  So far....we and the furballs like it and I am glad we made the purchase.  I just feel that the water is "cleaner" now and of course......it is all about the furbabies in this household!  We are in the process of looking into some "boots" for them to wear.  Don't laugh!!  More on that subject....later.
As to the weather here in Bullhead City.....things are finally improving.  The cold front and all that wind have moved on it seems.  Yesterday was beautiful and the temps are starting to climb back up into the 70's.  Look out, DAD.....I think that Cold front is headed east and will be dipping it's cold icy fingers into Florida sometime in the next few days.  Better start warming up those toddies....LOL!  And a bit of good news.....actually great news.....We heard back from Goodyear on our tire blow claim.  The are covering it 100%, to the tune of about $3000.00.....Life is indeed GOODE!