The time grows near.....

I just LOVE HALLOWEEN!!  So far this weekend has been one big scary movie marathon here at the Goode household....much to my hubby's dismay.  Now, I'm not into all the gore and stuff.  I prefer the old black and whites or movies where mystery and anticipation are the theme.  Not some guy hacking his way through a group of scantily clad sorority girls....UGH!
Give me Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney any day!  Throw in a little Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein...and I'm one happy Halloween Groupie! Maybe it is because I was born in the month of October....its in my BLOOD!  I think one of the best Halloweens ever was when I was a tour guide for a huge haunted mansion here in Lafayette.  I had grown men hanging on to me and begging to be released from the Mansion's ghoulish grasp.  Talk about good times.  As the bewitching hour grows near....I wish all you ghouls and ghosties...the spookiest Halloween ever.....May the "spirit" be with you....BOO!

Special Day

Today is one very special day......Happy Birthday Daddy!  I hope you have a great one! 

We did manage to get our shower back together.  Unfortunately, there is no way to totally prevent water from finding its way back in.  Poor design....it happens where the pole goes into the holder that attaches it to the shower wall.  There is no way to seal it.  We did use a stainless steel screw this time and the JB Weld will offer some protection against rust as well.  Just one of those things we will have to watch till we decide to replace it completely.
Only 4 days to go till blast off.....still have a few projects to get done like bathing the furballs and organizing the basement.  Nothing too taxing...LOL!  The weather turned a bit chilly, but tolerable.  The fall colors are still beautiful and our drive down into Kentucky should be spectacular!

One week to go.....

Last few days have been full.  Sunday we laid my Uncle Ray to rest.  It was a day of sadness, but also one of laughter and smiles as we remembered the man we had all come to know and love.  As we said our final goodbyes to him, two fighter jets flew overhead.  The jets were for the homecoming football game about to start at Purdue University.....but somehow I felt... that was my Uncle saying his goodbye to us.  He always did everything...BIG....how like him that would have been....LOL!  My Aunt still wants us to come down on our way south and visit.  She wants to show us the place my Uncle loved and built.  So we will be leaving Indiana Nov 1st.
This will be a busy week as we have a few last minute projects we want to complete.  The first being some work in our shower.  It has one of those shower heads that slides up and down on a bar.  We had been noticing some rust dripping occasionally from where it mounts to the shower wall.  It was on our list to take it a part and check....yesterday Billy actually managed to pull it off the wall when he was wiping down the shower.  Found that the silicone seal had failed allowing water to get to the inside and rust out the mounting system.  We did some looking yesterday and can't find a replacement part.  Billy is using JB Weld to try and repair the mounting bracket so we can put it all back together.  The mounting system is all hidden by a decorative cap....so the repair doesn't have to look "pretty".  We will find out today if that works.
Another thing we have been doing.....is taking a hard look at what we really need to "carry" down the road with us.  The basement is full....after much discussion we will be leaving a few things behind in storage this coming year.  One is my clothes drying rack (new washer/dryer :-) took care of that), another is a sander and sanding pads, our large air nail gun and a few "foo, foo" items from inside the house that I no longer have an attachment too.  We are also going to travel without our big outdoor burner.  Ya know the kind you hook up to your propane and can do big stuff like fry turkeys or shrimp boils.....we found we seldom use it.  I don't think we will miss any of it and it sure makes the basement storage easier to deal with.  Guess that's about it for now....keep your fingers crossed for us on the shower repair.......

A word of Thanks.....

I want to Thank everyone for all their kind comments and support.....very much appreciated.  We have, of course, postponed our travel plans.  Waiting to hear the when and where for the funeral. 
Yesterday was a busy day of taking the furballs to the vet for their annual checkups.  My little Belle has been having elevated liver enzymes for awhile now.  Apparently they are high enough now that the vet wants us to consider running a few more test.  She is healthy in all other aspects and from what I have read it is not unusual for older dogs to have elevated liver enzymes for a variety of reasons.  Our vet said there was no rush...just something to think about and watch.  We decided to wait and see......give it 6 mons have her retested and go from there...unless of course she develops other symptoms.  Both dogs have lost weight.....it was something the vet encouraged last year.  So I made some changes to their diet and looks like it paid off.  Now if I could only do that for myself....LOL!
The weather here has turned a bit to the nasty side.....colder temps, wind and rain, but supposed to warm back up a bit next week before the bottom drops and we head into the 30's.  I hope we are on our way south by then.

Sadness

My last post I mentioned our travel plans to Kentucky Lake.  Going to go visit my Aunt and Uncle in a few days....last night....I learned my Uncle was killed in an auto accident.  It was a one car accident and I don't know how it happened...my Uncle was a diabetic so that could certainly be a contributing factor.  I think we are all in shock now.  Just last month I saw my Aunt and Uncle....gave them both hugs and told them I loved them...so thankful for that moment.  My uncle was a big man with a big heart.  He was always happy to see me...always happy to help with anything.  If he had it and you needed it...it was yours.  He wasn't perfect...he certainly had made some mistakes in his life....but who hasn't.  I was so looking forward to our visit.  My Uncle loved Kentucky Lake...it would have been our first time seeing their place.  I would have loved to have seen it through his eyes...he was so proud of it.  Such sadness...such a loss...I will miss him.  Don't miss an opportunity to tell those you love...that you love them....you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Trip to the County Clerk

Our time here in Indiana is growing short.  We plan on leaving sometime the week of the 24th and heading down to Kentucky to visit my Aunt and Uncle for a few days.  Then we will continue our journey south....that's about all we have planned at this point.  We have been busy trying to get all those "little" things done before we go.  One of those was to obtain a certified marriage certificate.  As many of you know, we need to get our South Dakota driver's license renewed next year.  You now need two IDs to prove your identity and if you are a married woman, one of those may need to be a "certified" marriage certificate.  For that, we had to go down to our Tippecanoe county courthouse.  Upon our arrival to the courthouse...once through the "strip search"....LOL....security check point!  We headed to the county clerk's office and were directed to this dark and dingy little room.  A nice woman sat behind the desk and ask our year of marriage....while I stammered trying to remember...Billy...to my surprise quickly responded with 1979.  Well, ain't that special...a guy who actually remembers the year he was married!  While the clerk was busily entering the info, my eyes were scanning around the depressing little room the poor lady is trapped in.....when, to my surprise, I spy a familiar poster up on the wall.  It is a poster of "painted pigs"....a fundraiser some 8 or 10 years ago I participated in.  Giant fiberglass pigs were given to area artist and other groups to paint and then those pigs were eventually put up at auction.  I walked over to the poster for a closer look and sure enough there was "Petunia" and right under her photo was my name.  I, of course, pointed out this little find to the clerk....informing her she has a "celebrity" sitting in the room.....LOL!  Thought you guys might want a look at my "claim to fame".....

Wish I had better photos, but I did the best I could with my little camera at the time.  Seeing the poster brought back some happy memories of "Petunia", she did very well at auction....made her "mama" proud!

Another Zoo trip

Our electric project has been put on hold.  We were ready to go and did a "test" light up on our LED strip and found that the strip had a short.  Only part of the thing lit up.  Just our luck!  If there is a defective "anything" on the shelf, they send it to us....at least it sure seems that way sometimes.  Sent back the faulty strip and got a refund.  I think we are "outta of the mood" for now.
Yesterday, Mom and I took a trip to the Indianapolis Zoo.  Have not been there in years.  I'm sorry to say it was a bit of a disappointment.  I have been to several Zoos and this ranks very low on my list.  It is not that the Zoo is so bad, but the value.  It is a very small Zoo and they charge the same as the larger zoos.  I think the reason is their Dolphin Show is included in the price.....a fifteen minute show....big deal.  Other zoos I have went to separate the show fees from general admission.  I like that....gives me a choice and allows me to just "do the zoo" at a far more reasonable price.  Ok, so that is my "gripe" for the day!  Here are some photos of some of my favorite animals.....

 "Hey pretty boy!"  I have found that some birds are very curious about the sound my camera makes...this guy sure was

 I just love this big guy.....I'm definitely going to do a painting of this guy....can't resist all those great colors and textures!

This guy was a real hoot, "I'm ready for my closeup, Mr De Mill."  LOL!

A Bedtime Story....maybe not....

Once upon a time.....Billy and Debbie decided to replace their faulty under counter light rope with a 12 volt LED light strip.  While at the repair shop last month, they had the tech pull a 12 volt power source from the furnace and run it through the existing hole from the now defunct light rope.  

See the photo.....white for ground and yellow for power...... they think.......Billy bought a nifty little switch to wire the light strip to so it could be turned on and off.  Unfortunately, he realized too late that this switch was actually an on/on switch.  This meant that there were more places to attach wires then wires.  Undaunted, Billy gets out his little "tester" gizmo so he can see which is power....which is ground and in the process manages to blow the circuit.  So now, Billy and Debbie have no hot water and no heat.  This turn of events makes Debbie very unhappy with Billy.  Many questions are asked about this rather disturbing turn of events.  Billy determines a fuse has been blown, but which fuse and where is it?  They check the fuse box and all seems fine there.  Billy starts pulling drawers from the lower kitchen cabinets trying to trace the power source to see if another fuse is hidden somewhere.  In the process, Billy trips over one of the drawer slides and breaks it.  Again, Debbie is not happy with Billy and Billy is now unhappy with Debbie.  All is not well at the Goode household.  Debbie decides to make a hasty retreat to the living room recliner.....arms crossed and lips pouty!  That leaves Billy mumbling under his breath continuing to try and find the faulty fuse.  In the end, the fuse is located....in the fuse box....where they had both looked in the first place and somehow overlooked! The fuse is replaced and the furnace and hot water heater now work.  Debbie is smiling, Billy is smiling.....the Goode household is once again harmonious.  They wisely decide to put all their tools away and order a new ON/OFF switch.  In the mean time, Debbie buys a new drawer slide....and replaces the broken slide....all by herself.  Debbie is very proud of her project.  Billy, not to be outdone by Debbie, has ordered his new and proper on/off switch.  Billy has learned from his mistakes and will once again don his toolbelt and is positive he will in the end be victorious.  Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter...."Billy Lights Up"!

Back In Lafayette

Yesterday was a travel day....a bit longer this time.  We left Madison around 10am and arrived here in Lafayette around 2pm.  We decided not to take the interstate.....the 65 corridor between St Louis and Lafayette has heavy traffic....usually construction....and that ends up leading to a lot of accidents.  So, we stuck to the highways....and that worked well for us.  A nice relaxing drive through small towns and countrysides.  The only traffic we hit was around Bloomington.  There was a bit of construction going on there and it took awhile to weave through it and the traffic lights, but not too bad. 
Here we sit, once again, at the AOK campground.  They even had our same site waiting for us with a note on the office door.....Goode, Site 4!  We will probably be here around 3 weeks and then start our journey south.  I have to say...even with the repair work...I really enjoyed our little tour of Cincinnati and southern and northern Indiana.  I really enjoy "small town" America.  The relaxed pace, quaint downtowns, and the "Welcoming" feeling that prevails!  It is difficult sometimes to get a 40 foot fifthwheel down those twisty country roads, but it is so very worth it!! 

Downtown Madison Indiana

What an enjoyable day I had yesterday.  I took myself and my camera to downtown Madison.....look what I found.....

 Beautiful Homes

 Chocolate Shop....good thing it was closed...he,he!

 Lovely Old Fountain

 Places of Relaxation....sooth the body and the soul

 My Favorite Flowers

 Secret Gardens

 Another Quaint Shop...this one sells handmade soaps

 I spent most of my afternoon roaming the streets of downtown.  Stopped in at the local coffee shop and had my first taste of fall.....hot apple cider...mmmmmm good!  I love Fall...all it sights and sounds, and smells...my favorite time of year.