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.....