Switched Insurance Companies Today

I woke up this morning at 2:00 am when a clap of thunder like to have knocked me out of the bed! I thought the Motorhome had run into something then I remembered that we were parked.
I got up and took a look outside to see what it was doing. The rain was coming down so hard you could not see more that 10 foot. Another flash of lightning followed seconds later by a loud burst of thunder...that's close, I said to myself! Sure don't need to go outside with all that going on. I knew before I had gone to bed that the weather was going to turn ugly and sure nuff the weather man was right on. I just closed the blinds and shuffled on back to bed. Can't do anything about the weather so if I am going to be blown away...that is just the way it is going to be.
We don't have a shelter out here...not even a bar ditch to climb into. We are at the mercy of Mother Nature like she had any mercy. I lay there for some time thinking about those poor folks in Alabama that were hit in the same block twice by tornadoes! Now that is something you don't hear about every day. I think if I was hit out here once I would be gone never to return again. I can't even get insurance on my barn because we don't have a house sitting out here. That one I can't figure out. I thought if you could pay the premiums they would insure anything?
Speaking of insurance...I have been seeing the Geico commercials on TV...you know the ones with the lizard walking around. I guess that is the reason I called them...in hopes of getting to talk to the lizard. They said that they could save me up to $500.00 a year Well I just could not pass up the chance of saving some money on insurance. I gave them a call and asked for the lizard.
After I spoke with the lizard I found out that I could insure the Jeep and the Motorhome for the price I was paying for just the Motorhome. Well I got signed up and now I am a Geico customer. I got the same coverage for $700.00 less a year!
Let me see what can I do with that $700.00? I saved some money on changing my Direct TV account and dropping my Verizon air card. Just like the old song goes....I'm in the money.
The weather cleared a little after noon and it looked like it was going to dry up but then I looked to the west and saw the black clouds building. It was not too long when the rain started all over again. I was thinking it would be nice if some of this could be saved up for this summer...you know when it is 100 plus degrees and we are all spitting cotton.
Have a good day...


Somewhere in Time

Shelves in the Linen Closet are Done

Saturday morning I got up and found Sherri already up and working on her computer. She had made the coffee and was drinking her's. I got me a cup and sat down in the recliner. She turned to me and commented on me sleeping late and that is when I took a look at the clock and realized it was 7:00 am! WOW!... I must have been worn smooth out. 
She told me to give Becky a call and see if she and Rodney wanted to come down and drink a cup with us. I did and they said they would be down shortly.
We both retired to the screened in porch and waited for our neighbors to come down. Sherri had re-arranged the furniture on the porch which seem to make more room for everyone to sit and talk.
We got new furniture last fall and she had found some accent pillows that really made it look much better. All we need now is our rug and we will have it all looking real nice.
It is nice having the screened in porch. Last summer when it was so hot and the mosquitoes were so bad we could sit out and not be bothered.
Today Sherri and Becky are headed out to shop in Rockwall. They have a list of things to get and things that have to be returned. I look for them to be gone all day and into the night. 
I, on the other hand, have some trim that needs to be put down on the porch and a bench that needs to be refinished.
We bought these benches about 4 years ago and after we moved from our home we gave them to my oldest son and his wife for their back porch.
They sat out in the weather for some time and when we got them back they were in need of some serious refurbishing. I took them apart...sanded the wood and re-varnished it. The metal arms and back I repainted and after a few more coats of Spar Varnish I should have them ready to put back together.
I got the shelves for the linen cut out and installed the adjustable shelf brackets. Then I stained the shelves and tried them to see if they fit. 

After the first coat of varnish I cranked up the mower and headed out in the yard to mow. It was good weather for mowing...the wind was cool and the temps were just right. 
After mowing I dug up my dead trees I got from Home Depot. They are guaranteed not to die. They would never had sold them to me if they knew my record of planting and things living when I got through. 
That just about took up my whole day so I was really spent when 5:00 pm rolled around. I was ready for a nice hot shower and a little TV action. I settled for a melted cheese sandwich and then it was time for bed.
Not sure what tomorrow holds but I know it will be more of the same...


Somewhere in Time  

The Weekend is Almost Here

Everything in full bloom here  

Sherri is off to work and I just came out to the office/laundry room/TV room to catch up on my reading. It is still dark outside and the weather is warm for this time of year.

They say that due to the warmer than normal weather we should have a good crop of bugs this year. WOPEE...can't wait for that. Last year with record heat we had mosquitoes so bad you could hardly sit outside without being carried away...now this.

Where can you go where there are no bugs?? That will be my next question...which will lead me to planning a trip to that place as soon as I find out where it is.

The trees are in full leaves now! The weather has been so warm...We did not really have much of a Spring here...we are into the 80's already and our AC is running in the front and the back of the Motorhome. Soon I think I will have to turn the AC on in the Laundry room/Office.
You know what comes next...Yes....mowing the lawn. I really did not want to start that so early this year but if we keep having this warm weather and rain it will be inevitable. I need to put a new blade on the mower and change the air filter. Just a general overhaul to keep it running for the next 20 years.
Almost got my shop cleaned up. I have been working on that on and off for the last month. Not much more to do and I will be able to build something in there. Sherri wants a table in front of the couch and some shelves in here linen closet. I have to get the shop all done so I can get to those projects before our next road trip.

Just a few more hours of work in here and I should have it all ready to use 

I have some shelves to get built in the barn to get some of our junk up off the floor. You can't see it when we are parked in there but when we leave it really looks bad.

You know I really need to get started on some of these things. I will leave you with that and bring you up to speed on how well I do in tomorrow entry...

Somewhere in Time  

Back at The Lake

Left the park around 12:00 noon ....Sure hate to go

Pulled in yesterday about 3:30 and got the Motorhome put in place...jacks down...slides out and hooked up to shore power and water. It was good to be off the road and back in the barn. I just collapsed in the chair and did not move for some time.

Never saw so many trucks on the way back to Texas 

 Took a break at the Texas Louisiana line and ate some lunch 

Soon I did have to get up and take the laundry to the laundry room and get that started. While in the laundry I did turn on the computer and see what had been going on with all our traveling friends.

While at Lincoln Park we did not have Internet so I was a little behind. It did not take long to catch back up and while I was on line I posted my journal that I had been doing while away.
Sherri and I just sat around the rest of the day and relaxed. She has to go to work tomorrow so she did not want to do anything. I don't blame her so we just did nothing and later on made us some dinner and watched TV until time for bed.
Tomorrow will be here soon and we will have to start all over again...

Somewhere in Time

Decided To Go With Sherri

First wreck on the Interstate just West of Longview Texas

 

Sunday 11, 2012

We headed over to the state park today to dump and while we were there we decided to just hook up the Jeep and go to Louisiana. One nice thing about full timing is the fact that when you decide to move on you can. When you have everything you own in your coach all you have to do is hook up and head out. How nice is that!

Sherri said she sure wished I could go with her to Louisiana…so I did. We cleaned up the black tank and got the Jeep hooked up and we were on the way East.

When we left the State Park the weather was overcast with drizzle. The temps were comfortable and there was no wind. This would be a good day to drive the Motorhome. We got to the Interstate and turned East. We were on the road for about an hour when we hit the first accident. A truck had hit a car and then slid off the highway. It was not raining when we came on the wreck but it had been and I suspect that the traffic was stopping and the eighteen wheeler could not.

This was wreck number one. Before we go to the Flying J in Shreveport we had ran into nine wrecks. All of them involved eighteen wheelers hitting cars or running off the road. I could not believe how fast the traffic was moving on these wet roads.

Second wreck just past Marshal Texas

Third Wreck and I was getting hungry

We finally arrived in Ruston and pulled into Lincoln Parish Park about 15 minutes before the gate closed. We had a coupon for three nights they had given us one time when we had to leave early. I thought that was a real nice gesture for them to do that. We will have a nice three day stay.

The water was up to the walk way around the lake

 

The weather was closing in on us as we made our way down into the park. The road is closed in by large pine trees on either side and it got dark down in the thick of it. We had unhooked the Jeep and Sherri was leading the way down to the camp area. She found our favorite site unoccupied and waved me in. With one swipe we were in and soon the jacks were down and the slides were out.

Sherri located our favorite site and we got parked…

The sun sank into the west.

Once we got settled we noticed that the lake was out of it’s banks and the water was rushing over the spillway. It was getting dark at that time and you could not see real well but you sure could hear it.

The sun was setting in the West as we went inside for the night. It rained off and on all night. We slipped into bed later than usual due to the Spring Forward Time change.

Looking forward to tomorrow when we can get out and hike some of the trails through the woods. I am writing on Windows Live Writer. I don’t have Internet down in here so I will post all this when we get some WIFI…

Somewhere in Time

 

Monday 12, 2012

This morning when I woke up I lay there for a long time. It was so quite and occasionally I could hear the rain drops falling out of the trees when the wind would blow. I pulled up the shade in the bedroom and looked out to see that it was still dark and from what I could tell from the moon light it was partly cloudy.

I got up and went into the kitchen and poured me a cup of coffee. Sherri was not too far behind and we sat for a long time sipping coffee and not saying anything. We finally both spoke at the same time commenting on how quite it was here and as the sun began to light up the park our comments turned to how beautiful it was here. This is one of our favorite parks so far out of all the ones we have stayed in.

The lighter it got the more we could see that the lake was slowly returning to its normal level. This is a thirty acre lake with several fishing docks and swimming beach. No motorized boats are allowed on the lake but you can use a trolling motor. I wish I had loaded my boat in the Jeep but I forgot it so all I can do is fish from the dock just down from our site. With the water being up so high during the rain I don’t look for the fishing to be too good but then I will have to wet a hook.

Before we knew it…it was 10:00 am and we were still in our jammies. I was rebooting my computer and Sherri was playing games on hers. I think I might have found a temporary fix for my computer. I have rebooted the start-up software and so far it has been working??? It still needs to go into the shop for a tune-up.

I guess we waited to long to go for our hike through the woods. They have bike trails here and you can walk them when they are not having an event. The trails go through some beautiful wooded areas and the birding is good here too. Maybe next time we visit Sherri wont have to work and we can spend more time exploring.   

We decided to go to Wally World before Sherri left to go to work. I needed some things to do a few projects with and maybe some bread and other supplies. While I was roaming the store I decided to pick me up a book to read. I finished my last book the other day and I was in need of another adventure. I can travel away in my mind when I read…I can be a pirate on a wooden sailing ship or an American Indian sitting on my pony atop a butte. Reading is real to me and is the one thing that takes me far far away from the reality of everyday life.

Well another day comes to an end…Sherri is leaving for work and I will stay behind. The months are passing fast and soon she will be able to retire and put all this work behind her. We will be heading out to see sights we have only read about….

Somewhere in Time

 

Tuesday 13, 2012

I woke up all alone in bed this morning. Sherri was gone and I had no one to drink coffee with. I did get up and make some and then sat in the living room and drank it all by myself.

It was still dark outside even though I slept in. I  guess the time change made the sun rise later. That was OK by me I just sat at the computer and typed in all the information for the day and enjoyed the time of peace and quite…it is quite here for sure!

When the sun broke through the trees I could see individuals moving about. I watched a grey squirrel romp around on the site next door to me. Appears he is looking for something to eat. There was not one leaf unturned when he finished his search. The sun got even higher and I watched many folks walking and running down the street in front of me and that made me miss Sherri that much more.

I once again tried to get a signal on Direct TV but to no avail. I guess the trees are just too thick down in here to let a signal through. The south is blocked from where I sit but I guess that is OK. This gives me more time on the computer…reading my books and generally letting my mind relax. Sometimes I think that TV takes our lives over and consumes much of our time that we could be discovering new things outdoors. I find myself spending too much time watching shows that have no meaning and only doing it to pass the time away.

Today I plan on reading some more of my book and making some spaghetti for us to eat tonight. I need to clean up around the coach and get some things put away. OH…I need to get my projects done so this coming weekend I wont have to worry with them.

Sherri just called and said that she would not be home tonight. She has picked up an additional job that she can do before returning. OH well I guess I can make it one more day…maybe I wont poison myself.

I fixed some tuna fish for lunch and scarfed down a sandwich in record time. I got to feeling guilty about stuffing myself so I decided to take a mile and a half walk around the lake. That is the distance around the lake so if you are in to walking and keeping track of how far you go this is the place to walk. They have the walkway marked off in quarters so you can keep track of the distance you have gone. At the first quarter mile I was not sure I could make the other mile and a quarter! It has been several weeks since my last serious walk so I was not feeling up to it. I sucked it up and made it, however, without too much problem. After I got the first three quarters in I did begin to feel better.

I returned home and collapsed in the chair. By this time it was 6:00 pm and I was thinking hard about fixing something to eat. I had planned one meal but with Sherri not coming home I just could not bring myself to do a lot of cooking. I know I will come up with something to fill me up. I don’t want to feel guilty again I don’t think I can make another lap around the lake.

Better go now. I don’t want to bore my poor readers out there with meaningless garble. I wish some of you were here to enjoy this wonderful park with Sherri and I. Keep it on your radar if you are ever passing through Rustin Louisiana on Interstate 20. Take Hwy 33 north for about 3 miles to a sign that says “Lincoln Parish Park”. I think you will find it to be a jewel…as we have…

Somewhere in Time

Rain Rain Rain

State Park Dump station is only about 2 miles from the barn 

Got up this morning to the sound of rain coming down on the barn roof. It always sounds much harder than it really is on the metal roof. When I looked outside I could see that it was not that hard but it had been raining for some time and there were many puddles in the street out front.
Well this kind of shuts down some of the plans I had for today. I still will have to go to the store and pick up a few things. The rain wont keep me from eating so I better stock up on food before Sherri takes off to Louisiana.
I have to take the house over to the State Park and dump the black water too. It takes about and hour to get the Motorhome sucked in and moved to the park. Once there we get all that done in about 30 minutes and then we are headed back to the barn to park. We only have to do this about every other weekend so it is not too bad and much cheaper than having a septic system installed.
With the rain and the fact I have to get out in it to get this all done I guess I better get to hopping. Sure wish I was pulling out to go...

Somewhere in Time

Many Still in Winter

Got up early this morning...Sherri was going off to work the last day of this week. I had made ready the coffee last night so all we had to do was flip the switch. Have not used the auto start on the coffee maker in some time so one of us has to remember to turn it on as soon as we  get up.
We sat for some time planning out our weekend. We like to have a plan on what all we need to get done before Saturday gets here. We spend more time working our plan and less planning our work on Saturday. I still have those shelves to build and Sherri will be catching up on our laundry. The rest of the weekend will be spent relaxing and enjoying the time we have together.
Reading some of your comments I see that many of you are going through the same weather changes we are. It is hard this time of year to have cold one day and hot the next. This is what causes tornadoes in this part of the country. We are hoping that this Spring will be calm and not cause any bad weather here. We both love the Spring time but the weather is so unstable and you have to contend with thunderstorms...hail...high winds. This is enough to keep you on edge until Summer rolls around and all you have to put up with is the heat.
Sure need to finish this last cup of coffee and get to my house chores. I like to get them done before my nap...

Somewhere in Time

Things There Are A Changing

Sherri and and I got up this morning...or I should say that Sherri got up this morning and left me laying in bed. I had all good intentions of getting up when she did but things did not work out that way. I laid there for some time and I guess I fell asleep. The next thing that I knew it was 6:00 am and Sherri had made coffee.
I got up and made the bed and then got dressed. I went on into the living room and found Sherri on the computer working on her reports. I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down with her.
I noticed on the weather radio that the outside temps were in the upper 60's. We were enjoying an inside temp of 70. I sure am glad I got our weather station set up and running. Now I can tell what it is doing outside without going out in the weather to find out.
Today we have an appointment to get our taxes done. Our tax guy keeps us in line on our incomes so we don't have to pay a ton in at the end of the year. I turned 65 this year so I wont have to worry about how much I make but Sherri still has to keep and eye on her income so I wont be taxed on the my Social Security. I wont go into how I feel about that...I am not very nice when I speak about our government and what it did to my money I put away for all those years.
We left a little late for our appointment and wouldn't you know it a storm hit just about the time we left out the door. This did not help us getting there at the appointed time but then we still had to wait for our guy to get his papers together. All worked out well and we signed our papers and were off to the stores to look around.
The weather did not get any better and as the day went on the rain got heavier. By the time we drove back to the Motorhome we noticed a lot of flooding along the road. We need this rain but....ALL AT ONCE!
We got home and really liked being able to pull into the barn out of the rain and unload the Jeep. We had left without a coat one and when we got out to unload we liked to have froze.
Another day has come and  gone and with the cold weather here with us now we remembered it was still winter...

Somewhere in Time

No Rain So Far

This morning I woke to the sound of the AC unit coming on? What the...I guess it must be warm in here. No I left the fan running last night because it was warm. OK...I brushed the cobwebs out of my sleepy head and realized that I was hearing the fan blowing. I had dreamed last night that it was really hot and I was trying to get cool.Sometimes I have the weirdest dreams.
One thing that was not a dream this morning was the fact that Sherri returns home and I must have this place cleaned up. I dare not leave anything undone for fear she will think I don't do anything while she is off slaving away at work.
I do have some projects to do today. One of them is to cut and install some shelves in Sherri's linen closet. I have the adjustable brackets to install and then she can adjust them to whatever height she desires.
I got my bird house done yesterday and put it on top of the fence in the backyard. I plan on making several more so my Blue Birds will have a place to call home.
The yard is not ready to mow yet...thank heavens! I really don't like having to take care of a yard but then that comes with having a home base.
Time to fly so I will hook up with you all later...

Somewhere in Time   

Some Missions Accomplished

This morning came with the alarm going off...you know that prison break alarm. I was up with a flash trying to find it so I could turn it off but Sherri had that all under control and soon it was quiet again.
I had a busy day yesterday with all the projects I had planned for the great weather the Lord has blessed us with. The temps stayed in the upper 70's all day and I was just making good time of it.

Finished the play house roof

Installed two more wall post in the barn

Ran the new cable into the Motorhome for Direct TV in the back bedroom

Set up the inside weather station

Set up the outside weather station

Built the garbage can holder and took it to the street

I felt so good after I got through and so soar at the same time. That was a lot of work for this old boy. I love doing project though. It is better than sitting around all day watching TV and getting fat...In my case er.

I have always been that way. I just can't sit still for too long...unless it is at the dinner table. I have to be fixing or breaking something all the time.

I was speaking of weather...which reminds me of the news about the tornadoes in our southern states! My heart goes out to those folks who just got back on track after the last storms that rolled through last year. My goodness they have really had it hard. I wish I was on the road I would go by and see what I could do to help out for a few weeks!

OK I have some things I want to get done today. I want to build some Blue Bird boxes for our birds we have around here. This is the Blue Bird Capital of Texas. They are plentiful and I need to see about getting them some new houses to live in. 

Headed off to the....CLEAN...shop to build some bird houses. I will have some pictures to post...

Somewhere in Time 

We Lost One Of Ours

One of our own has passed from this life to the next and we are all left sad. Our RVing community will have a void in it due to the passing of Kevin Sullivan. Kevin was a fellow Dreamer and our hearts go out to Arlene. 

I am more than sure that Kevin will be RVing with us in our hearts. Those that we lose are kept alive by our fond memories. 

We all should remember that the days of our lives are numbered and we should live them all to the fullest. I don't plan on passing up any opportunity to see or do anything as long as I have breath in my body.
Yesterday was a day of doing just that. I had set out to clean my shop up and I got a large part of that plan knocked out. I can see the floor in there now which is a big improvement. I hope to get the second half of that plan completed today and be able to set out doing some projects in there that I have been wanting to do for some time.
I got a call from the VA telling me that I had an appointment for lab work and to see the my doctor. I had forgot about making the appointment and had to cancel it due to other things. I will be making a new appointment today. That is another thing that I must keep up with is my appointments and my health care! They send a notice in the mail but I had not picked it up in a week so I just over looked this one.
Sherri made a real good meal last night. I like it when she is home. I sure do eat better. She can think up things better than I can. I have a problem putting together different foods? Oh well I am working on that and hope to be much better before long. 
Better get to work this morning so I can get through. Things are starting to shape up around here now that we have been here. Not sure how much longer we will be staying but we are getting a lot done...


Somewhere in Time