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.