Another work day ahead

 

This morning we both were moaning and slow to get up. Neither of us wanted to be getting up but we knew we had to. We have this day and one more and we get to go and get our house back.

We left our house at Explore USA in Denton so our warranty work could be done. This is it on our two year warranty and we wanted to get all the stuff fixed before it ran out. This was a good time to do it because we would be gone two weeks and that would give them plenty of time to do the work. We have a five year warranty that begins after December and we will have to handle all those repairs differently.

Well that is about it for this morning. We are out the door into the cold. We will both return...

Somewhere in Time

Funs over

 

Today the alarm went off...

Funs over we have to head back to work and put in our time. Really it is not all that bad. I have had worse jobs in my life...for instance when I was going to college I worked at a nursery planting shrubs and trees. Now that was hard work.

I got up showered and got dressed. Sherri was not too far behind me. She was feeling better this morning and seemed to be moving a little faster. We both finished prepping for the day and went down to breakfast...which by the way if your a Priority Card member is free. They don't open until 6:30 which is a little too late for us to have breakfast but today we were going to chance it. They have a wonderful breakfast buffet and we really enjoyed setting down and eating.

Sure nuff we were late getting to work because of the time we took for breakfast. Maybe in the morning we will get a breakfast to go.

Before we knew it the work day was done and we were loading up in the Jeep. On the way home we found a Notary and when we had got our papers done we found the Post Office and viola we had our list of things to do done.

We made it back to the hotel and relaxed for a short while. One of our friends called to see if we were ready to go and eat. We all decided to go to Sam's Buffet and let the hotel driver take us there. We did not want to lose our parking space. Good parking spaces are at a minimum around here and ours is prime this evening.

It was cold when we got out of the van at the casino. The wind had picked up and our light jackets were not as warm as we had thought they would be. OH well the walk from the van to the front door was not that far and soon we were in the warmth of the building.

We sat down for a good meal at the buffet there and enjoyed the visit we all had. We visited for about 30 minutes after we finished out dinner and then decided to call the shuttle to come and pick us up.

We had a good ending to a day filled with work and play...

Somewhere in Time

Laundry Day

 

This morning there were no alarms and no phone calls so Sherri and I did not wake up until 7:00 am. I had dreamed I was being chased by an alligator on a lonely road somewhere here in Louisiana. Boy was I tired...I don't know if I out ran the beast or not because Sherri had woke me up telling me it was hot in the room. I drifted back off for what seemed a short time and then Sherri asked me if I was awake. We laid there for a while talking about what all we needed to do that day and we thought we would work in a casino with our list of stuff.

Soon we were both up. I took my shower and then Sherri got hers and we hurried on down stairs to the Jeep. We drove over to Diamond Jacks and ate breakfast. We both had omelets and they were soooo good.

From there we headed into the casino and played for a couple of hours and broke even. We had fun and that is what it is all about. We love to play the games and as long as we can maintain enough to keep playing then we are happy.

We left there about 1:00 and went back to the hotel to do our laundry. Sherri gathered up all our clothes and we went down to the laundry located downstairs in the hotel. It is real nice that they have a guest laundry and you don't have to drive all over to find one.  It took one load to get it all and when Sherri took the load out of the dryer she noticed that there was chocolate on her jacket. I started to break out in a sweat! I did not have chocolate???? I knew if it was in my pockets that I would be in time out the rest of the day. Come to find out Sherri was the one with the chocolate in her pocket and was I relieved! She got it out and all was well.

While all this was going on I was in the Workout room walking on the tread mill. I walked for 30 minutes and sure felt good doing it. I am trying to lose 40 lbs between now and the end of February. I know it will be hard to do but it is a must. I am cutting down on my portions and staying away from the starches. Working out will help me shed some of this weight.

We really don't want to go out to eat tonight. Sherri is still tired from last week so we may just order out. We can eat in the room and watch TV. Tomorrow starts our work week and we need to be rested for that.

I'll have to say today has been really fun. We got to go to the casino and play our games. This way of life has been good and we look forward to what tomorrow will bring...

Somewhere in Time

One day off then back to work

 

Sherri and I got up this morning and headed to work...What... you say... it is Saturday...Well you are right there Pilgrim. We were in Rayville putting a new store in an old location and it took just a little bit longer than the great planning gods thought. We got on the road after a quick breakfast and arrived at the store a little late. We have put in some overtime this week...which will be OK...we need extra money for Christmas.

Speaking of which...we have a ton of kids now. I think Sherri is going to give the older girls gift cards to their favorite stores and the little ones get some presents. It is coming to that time in our lives that we don't have the money to buy for everyone. Our kids stopped getting presents from us years ago and the grandkids took over. Now that the grandkids are getting older they are dropping out of the gift pool. Soon it will only be the great grandkids.

I was reading my mentors journal today... Darrell of: http://www.wanderingamerica.com/index.html

and he was talking about the economy and how flat that it has stayed. Well they say that we are not getting cost of living increases on our SS because it is flat...and we are suppose to believe that. Everything is going up except in DC where they don't go out on the street for any information.  If you just look up at the diesel prices and the food cost you would see that we are all paying more. Diesel alone in the past 3 months has gone from $2.78 to $3.20 which is an increase of $.14 a month. Not to mention the increase in electric bills and water bills and food cost. Our elected officials are living in another world. But then they don't retire on SS and have to find medical insurance to supplement their health insurance.

Our president made the comment the other day that veterans that volunteered for military service should have to pick up some of the cost of their medical. After all they volunteered to work for him so why should he pay for their medical. You know I haven't heard one Senator or Congressman volunteer to pay for their medical cost or any other cost that they incur while serving us. Mater-a-fact they take their full salary and medical with them as soon as they leave office. Federal Judges do the same...WOW... what a deal. Wonder why we can't get a deal that good?

Nuff said just had to vent for a while...then I have the right to...I served my country and I vote every election.

Sherri and I plan on doing absolutely nothing tomorrow. We may do a little laundry and mail some letters but other than that we will be kicked back and chilling...

Somewhere in Time 

Loading up the New Store

 

This morning I woke up for the fourth time and the fourth time was the right time to get up. The other three were just trial runs. I hate when that happens. It seemed like it was every hour on the hour and I just could not stay asleep!

Well like I said the fourth time was the one I had to get up and stay up. I felt my way through the room to the shower. I did not turn on the lights so Sherri could sleep. I always get up first and get my shower...get dressed and then I wake her up so she can do her thing.

Today we had to drive about 30 minutes to a new store set. This was a new store that had to be set from the bottom up. It would be a new experience for me...not having done this type of set before.

We arrived on time and checked in at the front door and then had our meeting. Once the meeting was over we got right to work setting the Entrees. This is all freezer work and it does get cold. Now this is not too bad in the summer...but winter...you never do warm up until you hit the hot shower at the hotel.

We finalized the evening by eating at Chili's. I had the tortilla soup and a house salad. So far I have been sticking to my diet and eating smaller portions. I hope to be back down to my old weight...

Somewhere in Time

Here we are in Louisiana

 

 

Sherri driving her new Jeep

Riding shotgun trying to stay calm

Sherri and I got up Monday morning knowing that we had a tight schedule. One that would probably run us late getting into Louisiana. We had all the intentions in the world of getting up early and getting everything ready to pull out of the park by 9:00 am. Well as things would have it that never happened.

We did get up on time and we made our coffee as usual...and when it came time to get things packed up we did. The only thing is we just did not get in a hurry after that. 9:00 am turned into 10:30 and then we had to stop at the dump to clean out.

We got all that done and checked out of the park a little before 11:00...then it was on to Explore USA to drop the RV off at the hospital. We are having our slide adjusted and some interior touches done before our warranty runs out.

I met with the tech doing the work and went over my list to be sure he knew what had to be done. Went inside to sign the papers and give them some instructions on leaving it plugged up so our groceries would not spoil. I think I got everyone there straight on what needed to happen and then it was time to hit the road.

Next we had to stop by Terrell to pick up our new Jeep. Well this is the second one we bought in the last 2 weeks. No I don't own two Jeeps I had to take one back. They sold me one that they said you could flat tow but that was not correct. I had to call the manager there and told him I was a little upset about this. He told me to bring the Jeep back and he would make it right. Sure nuff they did they sold me a Liberty for the same price with twice as much equipment as the other. I was a happy camper and now I have the Jeep I wanted

Sherri drove it out with a smile on her face and we went to Applebee's to eat lunch. After eating we walked out to the Jeep to go to the lake and I noticed we didn't have an inspection sticker on the windshield. OK back to the dealership to get that problem fixed. You would think that a new Jeep that you just got off the showroom floor would be easy to inspect in short order....well no....we waited almost 45 minutes for that to get done. By this time we are way off our schedule and we still have to stop by the barn at the lake and do a load of laundry.

Heading east and the sun fading away

Last look back at a beautiful sunset.

OK now it is about 4:00 pm and we are heading out to Louisiana. We started out in the day light and soon the sun sank into the west leaving us in total darkness. Our Jeep lights come on automatically when the day light fades away. I had time for one last glance back to see the sun paint the sky. Then as I redirected my sight ahead of me I saw the state line pass by and we were in Louisiana...

Somewhere in Time

Waiting on Friends

 

We got up this morning about 6:00 am and felt the cold on the other side of the covers. Sherri got up and went down to make coffee while I hung back waiting for the furnace to warm up the house. Chivalry on my part wouldn't you say...LOL.

Not much happening today...we are meeting Mark and Dortha for a late lunch up in Denton Texas. Until then we are putting together our expense reports for work. We spend a lot of time keeping up with that so we will get reimbursed for all our travel hotel and food.

This has really spoiled us over time. We have not gone out and bought groceries in so long that we forgot what all it takes to keep stocked up. When we met all our friends during Thanksgiving we were embarrassed for not having anything to contribute to the pot lucks! We did go out and  get some supplies but even then we tried to keep it to a minimum so it would not spoil while we were on the road.

Someone asked Sherri if she needed a cookbook the other day...Sherri's answer was she does menus now not cookbooks. We have even forgot how to prepare some dishes we use to love because we have not done it in so long.

OK enough of that...we need to get ready for our guest...so that means we need to clean up the house so we don't scare them to death when they come in. That is another thing about our jobs. We are in hotel rooms so much we don't have time to keep this house neat. Clean it is...but neat...NOT. We come in off the road...do the laundry...repack our bags...pull out the computers and printer so we can do our reporting...stack reports all over the house and then try to put it all back in order before we leave. Well as you know some things get put away and some things don't. This leaves you with clutter that has to be dealt with upon our return home...and it all starts over again.

WAAA WAAA WAAA I know what a tuff life! We will get over it. I know that when we stop doing this job we will have to acclimate ourselves to being more efficient and learn how to plan meals...buy groceries...and cook. We both look forward to that time.

Starting in January of next year we will be on a reduced work schedule. We will be doing only the sets with the team and no more...what we called filler jobs. We don't want those extra hours and travel...we will spend more time going where we want to go. This will put us on call for the team sets and free us up to do some short trips of a week or two.

Mark and Dortha got here about 1:30 and we visited until 4:00. We were starting to get weak when we decided to go and eat at Texas Land and Cattle just up the street from the park. We had such a good time visiting there that we forgot what time it was. Mark and Dortha had to drive back to Ft. Worth so we had to say good-bye. We just hated to part company and made plans to get back together...

Somewhere in Time

  

Looking back Somewhere in Time

Sherri and I laid in bed this morning waiting for the furnace to warm up the house. Once it kicked off I got up and went down to the kitchen and put the coffee on. Sherri was not too far behind me. When the coffee was done I poured us both a cup and we say in the recliners...blankets over us...and watched the sun come up over the lake.

I got on the computer and went to Facebook where I decided to change my picture. When I was going through the pictures I found some old shots of Sherri and I. I just had to share them with you

Now I see how far I need to go to return to that waist size...I guess I better get started on that diet....

Somewhere in Time

Home Sweet Home

 

 

We left Arkadelphia Arkansas around 2:00 pm and headed down the highway to Lake Tawakoni. We had a short stop there at our barn to drop off dirty clothes and pick up some things we needed to take to Lake Lewisville. We arrived at our lot about 5:30 after an uneventful trip on Interstate 30.

We got our stuff unloaded and the other loaded and we were once more on our way down another highway. By the time I pulled into the park I was road weary and ready for some recliner time. We both collapsed into our chairs and sat there staring out the windows at the lights on the other side of the lake...The light shimmering off the surface of the water hypnotized us both.

When we came out of our hypnotic state we both got ready for bed. We have a long day tomorrow with laundry and shopping. We have this weekend to get all our chores done before we leave for Louisiana. We will be there for two weeks...at which time we will work in a casino...

Somewhere in Time

 

On the road to Hickory Creek

 

We got out of bed this morning reluctantly. We have to move today to a new park about 1 hour from Cowboy RV Park. No mater how long or short the trip you have to prepare the same way. We fixed our coffee and sat in the living room talking about our route to the north. We noticed that the wind was blowing pretty good out there and knew that we would be fighting a side wind part of the way up there.

It was about 9:00 am when Brenda knocked on the door and came in to visit. She said that she was feeling better. She was sick yesterday and we all missed her going with us. She stayed for some time visiting with Sherri while I stepped outside to finish some chores.

Brenda left and Deb came in. Everyone was in their Jammies. Then Dortha came in and she was dressed. They all wanted to say good-bye.

While all this was going on I was outside wrapping up the blue chores. All the guys came by to say good-bye and then I put the finishing touches on the rig and it was ready to roll. It is hard to say so long for a while to friends that you enjoy being around. We know that we will meet up again soon but it is still hard.

I started the diesel up and we began to roll out of the site. All the while Brenda and John were taking pictures while Deb and Rod waved us on. We will miss all you guys and will talk about all the fun moments we had this past week until we meet again...

Somewhere in Time

We want to thank all our Dreamer Friends for a wonderful Thanksgiving...One filled with stories so funny our sides would hurt long after we called it a night. Also want to thank the girls for all the wonderful food that they prepared for us. This is what makes this life style so unique and builds memories that we will take to the front porch rocker when our traveling days are through

Thanks from the two of us....

Joe and Sherri

 

More Fun With Friends

 

I was up and down last night...just could not get the temp to regulate. It was cold outside but not cold enough to run the heat. Our home gets warm real fast but once warm it stays warm so the heater just has to be manually turned off and on. I could use the furnace but then I would have to use my propane...I know...I am tighter than Dick's hatband.

Well I did get some sleep once I got settled in. It was 7:00 am before I knew it. The sun was just starting to peep over the horizon. I rolled over and pondered whether or not to get up now and fix coffee or wait. That is when I noticed Sherri was not in bed. I got up and went down to the living room and found her curled up on the recliner. She had woke up not feeling well and got out of bed not wanting to wake me up.

I went ahead and put the coffee on and went to take my shower. Today we had all planned on going to Cabello's to shop for stuff. The girls wanted to go to Penzeys to buy spices. So we headed out to Penzeys first. As soon as we were finished there everyone was hungry so we went next door to Goff's hamburgers for lunch. I did not know they were still in business! We had a good meal and then we were on to Cabello's. After getting lost going and coming we finally made it there and shopped for good while. Sherri and I did not buy anything but we had fun looking at all the supplies they have for campers.

We left Cabello's and returned to the RV park about 5:30. We planned on leaving for dinner about 6:00 so we had time to change and get ready. I walked down to see if everyone was ready and found out that Brenda was still not feeling well. I guess she had just over done the days before. We missed having her along on the trips to the store and out to eat. She has a way of keeping us all laughing and in a good humor. Get well Brenda!!!

We all pilled into two cars and drove off to the Chinese Restaurant in Fort Worth...or was it Benbrook? We stay so lost around here! We had a lot of laughs and ate some good food. I forgot my camera again! John and Deb got some pictures of which I will have to steal one. After dinner we all drove back to the park and headed off to our homes. We leave tomorrow and feel sad about parting from all our friends. We will miss them until we meet up again...

Somewhere in Time