My Best Friend Is Back Tonight

Sherri got to my office about 5:30...just as I was getting off. She and I road over to the Panda Chinese restaurant and had dinner and then went to the RV. We were both really tired by the time we got here. She had been up early and so had I. We are getting too old for this type of work schedule.

After Sherri got here she went and took a shower and got comfortable. We ate some ice cream and then I went to the computer for chat and she went to the computer for All My Children. I think chat was better but then who am I. She enjoys that and that is OK with me.

My day at the office was so hectic that I really can't even think now. I will be glad when this year end close out is behind me. I have no time to read blogs while at the office and that is about to drive me crazy. What kind of a deal is that? I will just have to make it happen tomorrow. Tonight in chat I was so lost not knowing what everyone posted today. You know you can not keep up with the conversations when you have not read all 45 blogs out there.

OK it is late and I refuse to bore my friends with non sense here. So if you will excuse me I will slip into my Captain America sleeping shorts and drift off Somewhere in Time.

Posting Tonight Not Enough Time In The Morning

I really am rushed in the mornings...trying to get ready and post in my journal has not worked for me this last week. I just have to go a head and do it tonight. I really have little to say tonight except I enjoyed getting on Chat. I spent some time on there meeting new folks and howdying with my old friends. We all have a good time on chat swapping stories and laughs about the days events. It is so cool having the ability to set here at my desk and talk to people all over the USA. I am amazed at Technology advances that allow people to do these type of things.

I remember when I was overseas the only form of communications we had was the telephone which was cost prohibitive and mail. I would write letters home almost everyday. You never new if that would be the last one you sent or not. Now days you can jump on a computer and talk to home with your picture on there and you can see everyone there!!! How cool is that???

Oh me am I rambling or what. I had to get me one more bowl of ice cream before I signed off here. I love this flavor I bought. It is chocolate with almonds pecans and fudge bits and it is oh so good. I know if I keep eating it I will be oh so big. Sherri will be home tomorrow and she will help me eat it so I will not get that big...LOL

Well I have to get up in the morning and take off to the office so early... I guess I better go and get some sleep so I will be able to pull myself out of the bed... I will let you get your second cup of coffee...you will be reading this in the morning and it will take you two strong cups to stomach this post...and I will flow out of here like a cool mountain stream at sunset Somewhere in Time.

Work Takes Up So Much Time

Yesterday was Sherri's day to leave for Ennis Texas. She will be gone until Thursday and I will be on my own until then. She was up around 4:30 and I could hear her getting ready...I laid in bed until about 5:30 and when I got up she was gone. She said she told me by but I must have been laying on my good ear and I never heard her leave. She left her computer, did not drink her coffee and had no breakfast! GEE I hope she can make it having to do this all the time.

I, myself got my shower got dressed and had my coffee which is the only thing that gets me going in the morning. Without my coffee I will only run at half speed all day....why is that...a mental thing you think?

The trip in was the usual....you know all the NASCAR drivers out there racing to get in first place. What is it with some people...they run right up on you and the first chance they come around and pull back in front and then slow down??? Gosh they are only ahead of me now and then if someone else pulls in front of them they do it again. I tell Sherri it is from watching too much NASCAR.

Anyway I made it to the parking lot without any yellow flags...I did not win the race but I did finish. I have been putting my sun shade up in the windshield everyday now for ever and was just thinking surely it will start cooling off here soon. I still read the journals of so many of my Dreamer friends that tell me how cool it is where they are and I long for the time I can stay in a comfortable climate year round. It has to do wonders for your health.

Well this is the last week of this physical year and I am hard at work closing out all the data for re-works and re-runs in the press room. There is so much to do and nothing stops around me to let me get this done. Everyone still needs me to look at stuff and get stuff done on top of me having to do this and it takes for ever to get it done. I just hate stopping and starting...don't you? I get going and then have to stop and do something else then go back and set there like a toad waiting on a fly...what was I doing?? Where did I leave off??? Over and over again. I just say to myself 6 more months 6 more months...

Don't look for me to report on any projects getting completed this week either. I will be getting home rather late each night and I have to fix my supper...etc etc. Then if I am lucky and I have time I might get to read a journal and maybe spend 30 minutes in chat. Just this week though and then next week things will slow down some.

Well I better close out here and wish you a good day. Stay safe out there so I can meet up with you Somewhere in Time.

Cleaning Day

Well this morning I got up and Sherri once again was up waiting on the coffee. She gets up earlier than I do...She says she is staying in training for the week days. I can associate with that. It is hard getting up during the week and heading out to work.

Sherri will be gone this week until Thursday. She will be in Ennis Texas working at the local Brookshire's there. They have a big set to do and being close to town will save them a lot of time each morning on the road. Last week she drove back and forth which is a 75 mile one way trip. That is just too much time on the road, especially if you have worked an 8 hour day!

I will be on my regular schedule this week. I am not sure if I have to work Friday or not so 40 hours should be it. This is the last week of the fiscal year and I have to close out all the books in my office. I do not look forward to all the compiling of Data but someone has to do it. The worst part about it is all my numbers have to jive with the accountants! GEEEE if they don't I have to go back and make them. Well maybe my week will be more than 40 hours....who knows.

I washed the awning today and got all the gunk off of it and there was a lot. We have had some rain here and when it rains all the tree gunk gets between the RV and the rolled up awning. I had to scrub it from the ground and then go up on the roof and scrub it. All the black gunk runs down the awning and then you have to go back down on the ground and clean that off. I don't know about all you Dreamers out there but going back down the ladder on the back of the RV is a trip!!!. You have to get in position and put your foot on the first rung and then back down...my goodness one slip and this fat butt of mine is on the ground in a New York Minute.

I have to go up there several more times too before this Fall is over and get that roof scrubbed down. Oh well if you don't here from ol Speedy it might be I am in the hospital.

I cleaned the truck out today too. Now that is a little cleaner and safer job than the awning. My butt is closer to the ground in all phases of that operation. Sherri did the wash all day and she cleaned up the RV and made lunch.... which my dear was fantastic. It was a Chinese dish with rice and broccoli...my my...maybe I can have leftovers tonight.

The hot water heater is still needing an element but here again I just hate to get started in this heat. I know what you are thinking...Speedy is just putting it off...well maybe so but when it gets in the 70's I will tackle that project post haste!

Ok nuff said I have worn out my welcome....I see your head nodding as your eyes cross so I know that you have grown tired of this exciting entry. I will slowly leave you now and let those eyes rest... and fade away Somewhere in Time.

One Down 3 To Go

Well this morning we were up about 7:00, or should I say I was up at 7:00. Sherri was already up and waiting on the coffee to brew. She was in the recliner wrapped up in her throw. I slept pretty good...we are sleeping in the bed now....I like the recliner better but we decided not to wear them out sleeping in them. We would both love to have leather recliners and a leather couch but as luck would have it we must have diesel money first then furniture.

Actually we did go and look at the Cameo Full Length Slide today and they made us a very tempting offer on it. I was ready to buy but the boss said no lets hold off. She knows best... I like the Cameo by Carriage. This one is like the MAX 1 that we both fell in love with sometime back. Oh the decisions we have to make....retire in February or buy the new RV??? What say ye old faithful followers. Tell me what to do.

Sherri has said the we cannot go over so much no matter what we do so we would have to find the deal that she is comfortable with. I would not mind working longer if we could get that RV

Am I saying that....Speedy....Has he lost his mind??? Stay tuned to see what the Dynamic Duo decide to do. No matter what we would be in Kerrville in March so don't worry about us missing out on that party.

OK one down and 3 to go....what is he talking about....My projects. The skylight was caulked today and low and behold it rained as soon as I got er done. No sign of a leak but I will go back up on top tomorrow morning and put more sealant up there. You never can be too careful. I really need to clean the roof too.

It is looking real nasty. We have some trees and they do deposit a lot of gunk on the roof that makes a mess. I put some gutter extenders on also today so maybe that will help on the black streaks?? We will see. I have some picture of the skylight with the shroud off and also included a picture of the before shot of the steps into the bath area. These I will change out with wood.

OK Jenny this is for you....Herman says Hi Mom...Speedy keeps me here on this shelf so I can watch him chat. I think the teeth belong to him and Mrs Speedsgirl. Mrs Speedsgirl's uppers are broken I think she dropped them.

Well that is about it for this day. I will have an update tomorrow on what I got accomplished

Somewhere in Time.

I Got Some Pictures Of Our New Baby!

I have not had the time to check my email this last week...at least the one here at the 5ver. This morning I noticed that my son had sent me some pictures of our new addition. We are so excited about getting to go up there and see those boys. If we are lucky we get to go about two times a year up to Kansas. Next year after we retire we will be going about the same except we will get to stay longer...If the kids will let us...LOL

Sherri and I once again have a full day of getting all the things done for next week. Banking...oil changes...taking back some items we did not need from the week before. Yes the weekends are spent running errands....I'll be glad when we can stretch out all this stuff over a full week and not have to burn a day running around....well maybe site seeing.

I found a leak in the sky light over the shower. It is a small leak but it is something that I need to fix before it becomes a big problem. I need to check out the entire roof...and I will do so when I go up to fix this leak. One little bitty drip of water over time can destroy your RV if you are not constantly vigilant in watching for them. Really it is no different than in a stix and brix. You have to be on the lookout for these things so you can catch them early on before the damage is too extensive for your repair. I have pulled the shroud down and located the leak so it should be easy enough the repair now. I inspected the surrounding area and it is dry so I must have caught it early on. Thank heavens. I will be up on the roof today and hopefully this will be resolved.

Next fix is to replace the HWH element which I have been putting off due to the hot weather! It has been so hot outside that I just hate to start a project...GEEE. It should be getting cooler here in a few weeks and I will tackle that. It will really be nice when I can pull my 5ver out to Wills Point where my barn is and all my tools. It is so much easier to work on projects when you have all the tools to do it with at your disposal.

Project number 3 is mounting the new TV on the cabinet by the desk. Our RV has the big space for the giant TVs of old. Our new flat screen Sharp Aquos will be raised up and mounted below the components shelf and this will open up some area beneath it for my printer and some other desk top items. The desk area we have now is cramped due to too much S T U F F.

Project number 4 will be installing the new Oak steps between the bath and kitchen area. This is something that Sherri has wanted for some time. She likes hardwood rather than carpet. I think it will look really good when all is done.

Final project for this segment will be getting some residential carpet installed in the living dinning and bedroom areas. If anyone out there has done this to their 5ver please let me know. We had carpet replaced in our last RV and it turned out real well. It was a warranty item, however, and not an upgrade like we want to do.

OK now that I have laid out the plan for the next 6 months before we take off for Kerrville...I must get ready to head out and run those errands. I will catch up with you later

Somewhere in Time

Too Much Work Time... Not Enough Play Time

You know too much work and not enough play makes Speedy old. You can tell by my picture here that I have aged some what. I use to do my journal entry from my office but

the weather here has been so nice that I set outside to do it now.

Sherri and I have been so busy that we just pass in the night. She comes in and goes to bed right after she eats and I, basically do the same thing. We just have to pace ourselves here over the next 6 months so we will have the energy to hitch up and move out.

I have missed out on chat so much due to the hours that we are keeping and I really hate to but there is just not enough time to do everything you would like to do when you are still w*rking.

Hey things could be worse...I will try to get on chat tonight if I can.

I miss all you great chatters when I am away... So I will post a picture of some so I can look at you. Looking at this picture reminds me I have not seen Karon on the chat for some time. Karon are you having so much fun you forgot about us??? Better check in once in a while and let us know what you have been up to.

I have to keep in mind... when traveling to have WIFI so I can communicate with all you chatters. It is so great that we can all keep track of each other and meet up on the road every once in a while. No matter where you might head to, a dreamer should be within shouting distance at all times...LOL.

Next weekend I need to head back to Wills Point and dig the hole for my power pole. I have to get it set and a pad poured for my trailer to set on. Water has to be run to the pad and a patio has to be put in so I can set out on it and write my memoirs. Sherri wants plants and hanging baskets...Oh we have so much to do and only 6 months to get it done in. Six months sounds like a long time but it goes fast! I guess for old folks like us time goes fast no matter what.

Oh well I know that we will get it all done Somewhere in Time.

Oh I Missed A Day

Geeee, where did the time go? Yesterday just flew past me. Sherri and I were up early and off to work before the sun came up and then home when it went down. I watched two shows on TV ate my dinner and went to bed!!! How exciting is that. Missed chat altogether I was tired, I guess from the weekend away from home.

We enjoyed our weekend with the kids but it does wear us out. The trip there and then up late every night. Our kids stay up late, with Frank being a peace officer, he keeps late hours and so do all the kids. Friday night we did not get to bed until 3:00 am. OK that should tell you why we were so tired yesterday. I hope to get back on track this week. I missed not chatting with all my friends.

OK it is Tuesday morning, Sherri just left for work and I need to get ready. I will see you all on chat tonight and you can fill me in on what is going on Somewhere in Time.

Saturday With The Kids

OK my family and friends will be asking the question... why is Speedy putting all these pictures on his journal. I'll tell you why...the

g-kids ask me to. Now do I have to go any further? If your g-kids ask you to do something would you tell them no? I hope not.

This is the one that runs the house now. Her name is Frankie and she demands attention and gets it.















This is Frankie and her sister Sarah...who came up with the idea of wearing the elephant hat.















Sarah also fixed shaving cream on Maw's nose while she slept. Poor Maw















Poppa had to wear the hat...Hey I look pretty good...















Kris's turn with the hat and he looks good too.

OK so we are a little touched. We all have fun and the kids enjoy having us around. Hey kids we will be back in two weeks...I know Mom and Dad can't wait for us to come back. They really count the days for our return...Somewhere in Time.

We Made It Back

The trip to Wills Point went off without a hitch. We met the kinds at Brookshires and put together a menu for the two days we would be there. We stated out with a taco salad for Friday night and pancakes and bacon for Saturday morning breakfast. For Saturday lunch we went for hot dogs and chili...not canned chili...Frank made some of his special chili, which by the way, I will be getting the receipt.

All the food turned out great and we did buy ice cream and brownie mix. My little buddy helped his Maw make the brownies. He might turn into a great chef...which would be nice...he can fix me some good stuff when I get too old to fix it for myself. LOL

We always have so much fun with the kids and the g-kids. There is never a dull moment around their house. We do silly stuff and they enjoy Maw and Poppa being young at heart. I have some pictures of some of the shenanigans we pulled while there.

Jenny is studying for her police academy exam. I can't believe how much law they have to cram into 8 months at the academy. They have to know as much as some lawyers do in a much shorter period of time. She seems to be enjoying it. She does have a leg up on most of the other cadets there because she helped Frank get through when he was attending. She helped him study and she learned a lot while doing so. She has a long row to hoe but I know she will come out on top.

I wanted to be a law officer when I got out of college. Several of my friends went into that field and I was wanting to join them, however I was drafted soon after I got out of college and that put a hold on my idea. Well after I was injured overseas I was unable to join the police force and I fell back on my Graphic arts for a living... Anyway my daughter is fulfilling my dream...not that I pushed her at all. Frank being in that field got her started and her helping him study sparked her interest even more. Well I will feel safe living out there with them....they'll both be packing law officers LOL.

I guess I better wrap this up for now...Sherri and I are heading out to get some supplies for this week that we will spend Somewhere in Time.

Some toe painting was going on as usual with all these girls

Jennifer and her Penal Code....she has to learn all this ???

She has her utility belt as I call it...oh Dad it's not a utility belt. She is now packing!

My little buddy and his Maw are fixing the brownies....Does she like him???

Getting Ready To Leave

We were up early this morning so we could get on the road to the kids house in Wills Point Texas. We have to get this site ready for our home base. After next February we will be staying out there some so we need the necessary hook ups installed. Our barn is located there also and we have all our S T U F F there and some of the things that we will be selling in the upcoming barn sale. If any one needs more S T U F F feel free to come by and take a look see at all the things we have to get rid of.

We had our coffee this morning and Sherri went right to work on catching up on her bill paying on line...."But Speedy you said that you paid everything off".... Yes but we still have insurance and Toll Tags that mount up when you move around this town. Everywhere you go you have to pay a toll. Isn't that something...we pay taxes for roads and then you pay tolls on top of that. That is what our "Government for the people by the people" has come to. I wonder sometimes are we just sheep being lead to slaughter? If you think about it our children and grandchildren will pay for all the problems we have allowed this bunch of idiots in Washington to create. We have set back and watched them do this without a word of protest!...Yes I am as guilty as anyone...I cannot say a word about it. I want to just take a minute to say that we are so worried about who will be our next President that we overlook who is tearing this nation apart. Our so called Representatives go up to Washington set on their big overpaid butts and do nothing for us. They certainly do not represent me and my needs...Social Security...for one. They make all these big promises and then do absolutely nothing to fix anything! Now they want to run the Health Care System.... My God we really will have mess. Can you imagine owning a company and having a CEO in charge that has the same work ethics as these bozos...and keeping him on board time after time. Then when he retires you are going to pay him his full salary for the rest of his life and all his health benefits plus an office to work out of as a competitor in the same business???

Ok that is all I am going to say.

I have to go and get dressed so I can get on the road. I get to see all the g-kids today too and I will get my fix for a while. I will have pictures. OK until Monday I will fade into the mist...
Somewhere in Time.

She's Back

Well I have to start this entry off with an explanation...On my last entry I said that I shaved and got dresses...OK that was not a funny....I know I have been known to wear a dress at times but this was not to miss lead you into thinking that Dr Speedmire was putting on a dress to go to work. Take a look at the key board on your computer and notice that the "s" is next to the "d"...so you can see that it was a typo. Hey come on!! LOL

Yes, Sherri made it home tonight and I was real glad to see her. She has been gone almost a week and it was getting pretty lonely around here without her. She was so tired when she got in that she went straight to the shower and changed into her comfy clothes. I fixed us some dinner...we had grilled chicken with grilled mushrooms and onions, potatoes and green beans with a tossed salad. It was pretty good if I do say so myself. After dinner I did the dishes and put them away and Sherri fell asleep in the recliner. I will not bother her while I make this entry.

Tomorrow we will head to East Texas to see the kids and clean up around our barn. I need to see about setting a power pole next to the barn so we can have some power there when we get our drive and patio set up for the RV. We plan on staying out there during the cooler spring months
and fall months. The other part of the year Winter and Summer will be spent in a warmer and cooler climate. As I stated earlier on in my journal this will be our re coop stop. Here we will hang out for 6 to 8 months to refuel our finances so we can take off and travel the other 4 to 6 months.

Sherri said on the way home from Arkansas she saw trailers and MH going and coming on the highway. She was really getting anxious to get started on our adventure. I don't want to wish my life away but that time cannot get here fast enough. We read all our friends journal and we so wish that we were there with them. I know..I know it will come in time...that is what my Mom use to tell me...and she was correct my life has sped by me and the time is just around the corner. Not only the time to get to retire but the time when it will all come to an end. I relate this all to waiting for our vacation time to get here...we would be so excited about getting to go and then before you know it the vacation was over and we had to go back to work. Well I know that the retirement will be like the vacation and it too will come to an end. I will have to hang up the keys one day and have the tires taken off the truck and the trailer so I can't sneak off..LOL I hope the good Lord puts that off for a while...we have a lot to see and do....
Somewhere in Time.

One More Day To Go

This morning came fast as usual. You know you close your eyes and then you open them and it is time to go to work once more. GEEE...if the days went as fast as the nights and the nights went as slow as the days I would be soooo rested. I put the coffee in the pot before I went to bed so when I got up all I had to do was flip the switch....well I forgot...What an Aggie....So after my shower I went to pour that first cup and low and behold..no coffee. Gosh I am so glad I thought to do that ...HE HE Sooo a little late with the coffee but I did get it going and then started shaving and getting dresses.

Hey I want to thank all of you for the kind words about our grandson. Especially your comment Jesse of http://kram-a-lotinn.blogspot.com///...you are such a kind person...LOL Jesse always jabs me a little all in fun...but then Jesse there is some truth to what you said. We can't wait to see our little man. This makes the third grandson in our family and that was after 6 girls...I was getting worried. Sherri and I had two boys and two girls...when the boys left that left me at home with two girls and a wife...out numbered doesn't even describe the horror I went through. Then we had 6 grand daughters Oh my was I surrounded or what. Well now we are starting to see the males coming back into the family and I feel vindicated.

Well I have to tell you all that we are getting some feed back in on campgrounds and things to do that are free and also one of my readers Darrell Patterson of www.wanderingamerica.com gave me the journal address of a couple that are doing just what we are trying to put together and that is travel cheap. Thanks Darrell I hope they wont mind me plugging their site. Slowly we are gathering information on places to go and have fun that don't cost lots of $$$.

I am starting to see that many of the small towns that we all travel through have so much history packed into them. You can spend time in each one and see all the interesting sites that are full of history. It is like a big time machine....travel back in time and see how things changed. I can't wait to get out on the road and start our adventure. I hope by that time we will have gathered a ton of information on this free stuff and then we can report back to you on how it works out and maybe add more to that list of free things to do.

Keeping rents low...staying in one place for the cheaper monthly rate...learning about all the sights in that area that are free. Spending time hiking and exploring towns and parks...using more foot power and less diesel. These are the kinds of things that will keep us on the road longer
Somewhere in Time.

We Got Some Rain And a New Grandson

Hello, my name is Brant Allen. I am Speedy's and Speedgirl's newest Grandson. I live in Kansas and it is far away from my Maw and my Poppa. I know that they will come and see me in a few weeks when they get enough money for diesel and presents for me. I love them even though I have never laid eyes on them. They are my Dad's Mom and Dad so they should be special people cause he is. I hope some day when I get to travel with Maw and Poppa I will have the chance to meet all of you. You must be special people because I see my Poppa writes to you every day. I will see you all... Somewhere in Time.


I woke up last night and I thought I could hear rain on the roof...you know the sound rain makes on an RV roof...Oh how peaceful the sound. Sure nuff it was raining and again a little later in the morning. So it was a cooler here this morning and I was OK with that.


I got up made the coffee showered slipped on my working duds made my lunch checked my emails and then I was off to work. Got to work and found out that one of the books that we had printed last week had some problems and immediately had to go to work researching what happened. Writing up reports on what happened and why and my thoughts on how to keep it from happening again. Well that was most of the morning and then I had to start work on the year ending numbers and analyze those. I will have to report on those numbers to all the upper management folks. I have to make them sound good in a bad way. Rework numbers are never good but yet you want them to sound favorable so the Board wont take your life. You know I am just the statistic analysts not the creator of the problems. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have been asked why does all this happen. Heck I don't know ask the folks that create them maybe they can tell you. I never say that for fear of being jobless at the end of the day.

OK so I may say that in about 6 months....no I don't burn bridges. You never know what you might need in the way of a reference down the road. I guess there is not much call for a Press room rework Coordinator in the RVing world. Campground Statistics Analysts or Computer to Press Supervisor??? Oh well it all sounds good but that and a $1.00 will buy you a cup of coffee.


This night has just flown by. Here it is almost 10:00PM and I have to go to bed so I can do it all over again tomorrow. Well I hope that I have entertained you for some small period in your life. Come back when you can stay longer and I will keep you company Somewhere in Time.

Doing My Thing At Home

Well I don't know what happen to my pictures
they seem to have a mind of there own tonight? When I got home I fixed myself some good ol tuna fish and put all my special ingredients in it and it was really good. I do real well with the simple things to fix and not so well if there is a long receipt involved

I will have to tell you that it is raining here as I type out this post. I am so excited I can hardly believe that after all the heat we have been through that it is finally raining. I should hope this cools us down some. It has been so hot that it really is hard to breath when you are out doors. Just walking becomes a chore. Sherri and I were at the store yesterday and when we came back out the heat off the parking lot liked to knocked us out. There is no reason any straight thinking individual would want to live in this kind of climate.

Well as you can see above I am diligently preparing my delectable delight in the kitchen. I have to say I like the kitchen in our 5th wheel. It has so much counter top to prepare meals. I can scatter things all over the place and still have room for more. Some kitchens in other RVs are so small you can't even fix a sandwich on the counter tops. Our last one was that way and I said that if we get another RV we were going to have a kitchen that you could fix a meal without using the kitchen table to cook off of.

OK so much for talk in the kitchen. I did get my dinner fixed and it sure was good. A few chips and a big ol glass of milk and I was ready to go.






After I ate it was time to go outside and water the plants. Yes I was left in charge of plant care. We have to water the plants twice a day or they will die an agonizing death. I drench them in the morning before I leave out and then again when I get home. They are doing quite well despite the 105 degree temps we have had here in paradise.

Then it was back inside to do my other chores of folding the clean clothes Sherri left in the dryer. I got them all folded up and put away and then I was ready to set down here at the computer and start my journal entry for the day. Working 10 hours does not leave much time in the evening to do much more than this. I have not had time to watch any of the Olympics. The only thing I like is the women's Volleyball. I know that sounds sick but I really do like to watch them play that game more than basketball and swimming. I am just not a big sports nut anyway. Really I don't even watch that much TV. I guess I am pretty much an outside sort of guy. I like to go fishing and hiking and just enjoy doing those type of things rather than setting inside watching other people do the sports thing.

OK I have bored you enough with all of this... so I guess I will fade on over to the chat room and see who I can get to talk to me. Sure no one here breaking down the door to see me. Thanks for stopping by here Somewhere in Time.

















Yes I can fold clothes! I am domesticated.

Now I have to say that I make a good sandwhich...notice how far I have to set from the bar.

Yes dear I have done all my chores.

Another Hot One Here In Big D

Sherri and I got up this morning to the usual heat. I get so mad when I read everyone's journals and they are all talking about the cool weather. Oh we couldn't drink coffee outside this morning because it was so cold! Poor pitiful people...Sherri and I can't drink coffee outside because the coffee starts boiling out of the cups!

Today... as yesterday... was the Lets get everything ready to go back to work day. Sherri had to leave this afternoon for Arkansas. I have to get up at the break of no light in the morning so I can fulfill my life long dream of setting in an office in front of a computer trying to figure out what jobs need to move before the other....*^%*& OK that is a mouth full but that is what I think about that!!! You go to college you try to capture the best job out there and at the end of the 40 years of thankless service to some mindless Company and the Board of Directors you wonder to yourself what in the heck did I see in this job in the first place!?!

Geee I have heard from so many people in the last week about how they are being passed up for promotions and better paying positions because the younger guy comes in and works for less and surely can promise the company a longer length of stay...and we wonder why we are so ready to boogie out of town. Our retirement dates can't come any too soon. No wonder so many workers die right after their retirement date...they are so keyed up about leaving and can't wait to get out of there they end up having a stroke when the gate finally opens and they hit the track...I must slow down and smell the flowers now...calm down and take it easy....set back and gather your thoughts. Now I feel better and I know you do to.

Well I am alone now and I have to try to get me something to eat and get myself ready for the morning... which will come way too fast. Sherri got me all lined out with food for the week. I have my instructions on what I have to do...who I have to call and where I need to go. So all I have to do is get er done! Her being out of town puts all this on me and she does it soo much better than I.

Better head on out of here now. Thanks to all who have been giving me feed back on how to go cheap on the road. We will be putting some of these together and then start planning our first real adventure. We will start with the Kerrville adventure and go from there. Anyone have any cheap ideas we are the folks to send them to. We will have many things to plan .....

Somewhere in Time.

Ho Hum Day With Deep Thoughts

Not much to report to you today. We are getting ready to go out and get food stuff. This is the day we have to get everything done before we go back to work Monday. It is a shame that you have to spend the only day you get off to rest...rushing to get ready to go back to work. What kind of since does that make?

We really goofed off for some time before we headed out. We had to drink coffee and go for our walk..I miss walking every morning..when I was working the middle shift Sherri and I could walk every morning and visit. It was so nice to have that time to be together. Many problems get solved while walking around the park.

I have received so many emails and comments on my budget. I appreciate all the kind words of encouragement so many of you have given us. We hope that our journal and our life style will help some of you carry out your dream of fulltiming. I know many of you out there are worried about money and thinking "Are we going to make it" Believe you me if you put your mind to it anything is possible. You just have to be so disciplined in minding that cash flow. I am not there yet but I am sure when it comes down to a fixed amount of money coming in you can't fudge.

You know that last statement I just made...I am setting here thinking..we have always had a set income. What am I thinking of? I never had extra money...I had so much coming in and that was it. The one thing we all do...and don't say you don't...is use the old credit card to supplement that income. Yeah that is correct...but now we don't have the credit card they are all gone and we have to live on what we have. Now that is what we have to deal with. Oh a light came on and I see where I am going.

OK I have set the beat now we all have to get into that mind set...NO MORE EXTRA SPENDING. We have to be more Conservative with out money....we must follow the budget...we have to find cheaper ways to get by. Now I need your help here. Us PO FOKS have to band together to come up with things to do that don't cost a lot of money. We need to find those Camp Grounds that are nice but cheap. We must find areas that we can stay in for a month and exhaust the free sights in the surrounding area.

The more of these areas we can come up with the more we will all see that we can get by with much less than what we first figured and we will also see that we...PO FOKS can travel and have fun on our pathetic budgets.

Now we still have to work toward debt free retirement. We can't kid ourselves into thinking that we can owe a bundle of bills and be able to head out. We have to get those bills payed off and become free first, then set our budgets so we can do all we can month to month.

I know we can do it because we are going to set our minds to do it.

I will have more to report...So stay tuned to Somewhere in Time

Budget Questions

I had many emails and comments about the budget yesterday. Some of the questions were about car and trailer licenses gifts and other everyday things that come up. The answer is I have those covered in an account that we have set aside just for that. If you figure out what those type of things cost you a year and extrapolate it out over time you can pretty much take care of that when it comes up. Those are things that you have to budget for but you don't have to show on a monthly column. Well at least in a journal...to a board of directors yeah you should mention those details LOL. There are many things that will come up that we will have to address as time goes on...but no different than before we retire.

One thing I did not mention and I guess I should is the fact I married a child bride! Yes Sherri is much younger than me so that means she will not be eligible for retirement for some time. When her retirement starts coming in then we will have more in the coffer for traveling. And the gifts, I should mention that we have discussed this with all the children and made it very clear that gifts are not going to be what they use to be. Fixed incomes do not allow you to be free wheeling with the money for gifts. Our gift to them is we let them live this long and didn't take them out when they were younger....LOL. Oh Speedy how could you be so cruel?? Hey we gave them food and put a roof over their heads educated them and helped them in so many ways. If that isn't the best gift they ever get I don't know of one.

OK back to the budget...We are excited about making this work. The only thing, we wish we had more of is travel time. If we used our retirement stash we could but we both agree that we do not know what is in store for us down the road. We both know that we want to travel and see all the sights that we have always dreamed about. We both agree that we want to spend some time with the grand kids and help them out so....this is the best avenue to take at this time. If we see that we can spend more time on the road we will but until that time we will follow this budget and see how it works out.

We had some of our family say...you could have kept your house and done this much. No not really. The house would have cost us much more in utilities, taxes and upkeep and we would have been really tied down to that one spot for sure. We can still travel at will and if need be work camp along the way. With a house this could not be...even though we owned our home the cost would not have allowed this to happen. And as I mentioned before we are not straped down to the stationary part either. If we decide to travel an extra month or two we can...just depends on what is going on at the time. So all in all we can live comfortably and have fun doing so.

I guess the main thing I am trying to get across is that you don't have to have the long Green to do this fulltiming thing. Sherri and I have always lived a simple life without all the frills and big dollar items many people have. This has conditioned us for a simple retirement of traveling and seeing the free sights and doing the things that don't cost an arm and leg to have fun. I wish that fuel was down to $.35 cents a gallon as it was when we planned to do this back in the 70's but it is not and we are not going to let it slow us down. I hope that it wont slow any of my readers down. If you feel like that you cannot enjoy what God has put here for you then you need to park next to me and set on my porch for a while. We are blessed in this life in many ways...money is not always the blessing we have...and we should not miss what we do have worrying about that!

I have been researching things to do in this great nation of ours that don't cost. I am amazed at all the things there is to do that you do not have to spend one red dime on! I hope that in my travels around that you will join me and see what all you can do to have fun and not spend a lot of money on. You read so many journals and read about all these places people go and how much it cost and you say GEEEE I can't do all that. Well now you are going to have the Speedmister out there taking you places you and any one that can take a breath can go to on any budget.

One last thought here and then I will go. What we have to live on now is really more than we had when I worked!! You add the cost of running a 2000 sq ft house...paying for a trailer and truck...Taxes!!! Uncle Sam's share of your sweat...now that is a bundle of money. I will have more of MY money to spend on ME than ever before. OK any more questions. The proof will be in the pudding as I always say. Come on along and lets see what we can get into you and I. I bet we will have fun Somewhere in Time.

Budget Time

Well I still have not received the OK from the CEO of Pitman Enterprises, but I guess I can share the proposed Budget with you before it is tossed in the trash and re-done.

What I am proposing at this time is a 4 and 8 Plan which will work in our case and give us a prolonged traveling time (in years not months) without soaking any moneys from the retirement Nest Egg. The CEO has said many times that the Nest Egg has to be secured for that place located who knows where for who knows what for who knows when. That being said this Budget does just that.

Now if you will notice there are really two budgets below. One of the budgets is for Traveling and the other is for, what I refer to as Stationary.

The Traveling Budget shows moneys spent on Rent and Diesel that differ from the Stationary Budget. The reason being…We will spend more on diesel and rent traveling than we will while stationary. Also our entertainment will vary more on the stationary side. So if you will notice the bottom line on the Traveling Budget will be more than the bottom line on the Stationary Budget…thus the savings will be re-invested each year back into the Nest Egg.

OK you ask what does this all mean? It simply means that while stationary we will be building our retirement Nest Egg and not spending it on rent and fuel. This will, if we so desire, give us more money to travel on the next year. Or if we decide to follow the same budget we can build the Nest Egg. Either way the initial Nest Egg stays the same plus the interest that it builds over the year.

Now, this plan calls for a stationary base to live at while in the 8 (which will not necessarily be consecutive months) month holding period. We have that secured so far with our daughter and her husband. They own land in the Wills Point area so this will be our Home Base. Of course this does not come totally rent free…we have a minimum electric cost paid monthly for power. Water will be negotiated out in babysitting time and yard care…which I have a feeling will be a little lopsided to say the least…but not to worry…it will be well worth it.

Also keep in mind as time goes forward and the Nest Egg builds we could lengthen the 4 month Traveling Budget time line and shorten the Stationary side.

2009 Rough Draft (without CEO approval)


Stationary Budget

Fixed

Insurance $250.00
Medical/Meds $295.00
Home Base Elec $ 50.00
Truck/Trailer Care $ 50.00
Telephone $100.00
Groceries $350.00

Total Fixed $1094.00

Broken

Diesel Fuel $150.00
Rents $0.00
Misc $100.00
Clothing $25.00
Entertainment $50.00

Total Broken $325.00

Total Fixed and Broken $1419.00


Traveling Budget

Fixed

Insurance $250.00
Medical/Meds $294.00
Home Base Elect $50.00
Truck/Trailer Care $50.00
Telephone $100.00
Groceries $350.00

Total Fixed $1094.00

Broken

Diesel Fuel $500.00
Rents $500.00
Misc $100.00
Clothing $25.00
Entertainment $100.00

Total Broken $1225.oo

Total Fixed and Broken $2319.00

Any questions....As soon as this passes the boss I will let you know... but that will be...
Somewhere in Time

Did Not Go In Today

Yes...Speedy stayed home today....Oh shame Speedy. I really do have an earache. Last weekend Sherri and I helped Jennifer clean her pool and do all the chemical stuff you have to do to make it safe to swim in. In doing so I got water in my ear and that is all it takes for a sissy like me to get an ear infection! OK I knew better... but it was for the g-kids....you know the old story.

Anyway... here I set at home and it would not be so bad but I am all alone with nothing to do but set here on the computer and look at all the places I would love to be. Now that is not as fun as being there. It does past the time, however so I will continue to do that as soon as I finish this post. Jesse of http://kram-a-lotinn.blogspot.com/// scolded me the other day for neglecting my journal for two days so I am driven now to keep up with the days for fear of more scolding!

Actually I will say... I have had the time to work on my 2009 Budget. All I have left to do is run it by the CEO of Pitman Enterprises and get the STAMP OF APPROVAL. I will give you all one guess who the CEO is here. She would be in Texarkana if that gives you any help in guessing who I am talking about. To stay near the same subject I will tell you that this budget I have created is in two parts. The first part will cover the Traveling Budget. This budget will consist of items Fixed and Broken to reflect the traveling aspect of fulltiming. The second will cover the Stationary Budget and it's Fixed and Broken details.

Our Fixed items will be items that never change in the budget whether you are traveling or not.
The Broken items are those that change all the time especially if you are in your home base. I will cover this more when I get the OK on the spreadsheet so you can have a visual.

Anyway as I look at the budget I have created I am more optimistic about the amount of things we will be able to do even in today's economic downfall. I feel that being a fulltimer in these days could be compared to being broke before the Stock Market crash that caused the Great Depression. Did it affect those folks?? If your broke you can't go down from there....only up. So we still have homes that are paid for and transportation and worse come to worse we could get a job and make some extra money if the need called for it. Better yet you can work for Rent... can't do that in a stix and brix for sure.

So Sherri is in Texarkana and she is making money today for diesel tomorrow. I am so proud of my little bread winner. She is doing her share to make this adventure come true here in about 6 months. Whoa...6 months....time is going forward get ready for that big sucking sound when we break free from this place. Like a cork out of a bottle we will hit the road and start our dream.

I read in the forum today people asking the question...What do you do to get ready to Fulltime. You know I don't know that there is a fixed answer to that question. I think everyone has their own set of circumstances that make them have to do certain things to get ready. If you can find a person that is in the same set of circumstances that you are in then you have a plan to follow....otherwise you are on your own. Just thought I would through that in.

Wish I had some pictures to add today. I just can't think of any that I have that go along with the dribble that I am spewing now??? Oh well maybe they will come to me
Somewhere in Time.

She Is Gone Again

Well the weekend is over and guess what...I am headed back to work this morning! As usual I am just overjoyed! I hope that everyone shows up today so I can just do my job. The day goes so much faster if I can just handle what I need to and then go home.

Sherri left for Texarkana again, she will be staying there and working in Atlanta Texas. She had to leave Sunday and she starts doing her thing this morning. She enjoys the extra money but the working part is not really what she likes to do. This throws a wrench in having the g-kids for the summer any. She likes to entertain them some and this working gig, she has is not going to allow that. Oh well she will retire again soon and we will have time off to see the kids.

This last weekend we helped our daughter Jennifer clean her pool and do all the shocking and stuff to it. The kids don't help out...duh! and her husband works nights and is the Constable during the day. Not much time for pool cleaning. We try to help her out when we go up there to visit. We will have a home base there once we retire. Our barn is located on their property and we are planning on putting in a drive next to it. We will have a place to park with water and electric. To pay them for this we will help around the place and look after the kids as soon as Jennifer gets out of the Police Academy. She is going to be a Police Officer just like her husband. We will have to mind our Ps and Qs.

Well I guess I better fix my lunch and get ready to head off to the office. This is Monday and I know that I will have some absentees to deal with as soon as I get there. It was real nice visiting with you this morning and Somewhere in Time we will do it again.