Day 2

Shepherdsville, KY.

We were so tired last night and there was no TV so we retired at 8:30.  Don’t think I’ve ever gone to bed that early but I guess we were tired cause I slept til around 5AM.  I got, checked blogs, emails etc.  About 6 Ken got up, took Jack for his walk and we closed up the rig and headed out.  It was soooooooooooo cold we just wanted out of there.  It was –9 C for you Fahrenheit lovers (me included) that’s 16 degrees)  this morning.  We were warm though inside the rig. 

I got the water up and running today, so nice to turn on a tap.  But at tomorrows stop, Lakeland TN, they are called for a very cold night again.  We’ll be ok if we run the furnace and bring in the water hose.  I’ll put some water in the tank. 

We’re going to spend a few days in Texarkana, Texas, over the US Thanksgiving weekend and besides we’re not due in McAllen until the 1st.  I sure hope the weather improves.  It will be nice to have a little break from driving.

It was a good drive today, 3 stops for Jackie to stretch his legs.  As we have the extra gas tank in the truck bed we haven’t had to fill up since we left home.  Maybe tomorrow we might have to.

Well until later..take care and drive safe out there.

Day 1

I have been watching the weather like a hawk for the past couple weeks.  All indicators pointed to cold, miserable weather when we were scheduled to leave.  And of course it was.  For the past few days it has been bitterly cold.  But we managed to get everything done and was on the road by 8:30 AM this morning.

First stop is Monroe, Michigan.  No problems crossing the border.  Why the heck do those border guards have to try and act so tough?  A smile now and then would be nice, but I think they are trying to intimidate us by acting stern.  Doesn’t bother me cause I had nothing to declare anyhow.  We did bring 4 cases or our own homemade wine with us, which we told him.  He wasn’t the least bit interested.  Yipee!!.  He was more interested in all my electrical gizmos at the front of the truck.  We have XM radio at home and I take the unit with us when we go, and plug it into the radios AUX port.  So we had that, we had our TPMS system (tire pressure monitoring system) and Gert the Garmin.  So there were alot of wires, antennas and he was very curious about those.  Weird.  Maybe he thought I was some kind of a spy.

We ran into a really, really bad snow squall for about 20 miles.  Cars in the ditch, road completely disappeared.  It was very bad.  Slowed to a snails pace.  Should have taken a picture but wasn’t thinking, was just praying to get through it in one piece.

It was very cold in the RV once we got here, I brought a huge jug of water which I put in the shower stall and it had ice crystals in it.  This place does have heated water pipes and I know as long as I run the furnace our pipes won’t freeze, but my concern is tomorrow on the road when the furnace isn’t running, they could freeze then as it’s still supposed to be very cold.  So for tonight, it’s handi wipes, water in a bucket, and paper plates.  We should be able to hook up tomorrow night and be ok.  Oh and even the handi wipes which were in the cupboard had ice crystals in them.

Supposed to be great TV via the antenna here but we can’t pick up a thing.  Doesn’t bother me much but I know Ken loves his TV, tomorrow there’s cable. 

So that’s it..we’re on our way.   Really looking forward to some warmer weather, even in the 50’s right now sounds darn fine.

Until later then..take care and drive safe all of you out on the road.

The Countdown is ON

Yes that’s right.  Another summer has come and gone and now the countdown has begun for our trip south.  Where did the time go?  It seems not so long ago that we just got back.

We went out for a few days in the rig around 3 weeks or so ago.  We had great weather, the evenings and nights were a little cool but with the fireplace on and when necessary, the furnace, we were all toasty warm.  It really did seem a little strange that Arthur wasn’t there in all his usually favourite spots.  We really do miss that little guy alot.

We will pick up the rig at the end of this month to start packing up for our trip to Texas this year.  I just finished mapping out the route and finding campsites to stop at for the night.  It sure is along way.  We found a couple minor issues with the rig so the dealer is looking into those.  Nothing too bad, one of the scissors support jacks at the very back didn’t seem to want to go down and one of the latches on the bins didn’t want to latch.  I’m sure they’ll have them fixed in no time.  As much as we loved our Class A rig we really are enjoying all the extra living space in this 5th wheel.  Like living in a small apartment.

The bathroom project that was started so very long ago finally got finished.  What a screw up with the vanity.  Ordered the first one, waited 4 weeks for delivery and when it arrived it really was a piece of junk.  All the doors and cupboards were crooked.  So that went back and we ordered from another company.  That was another 4 weeks, they arrived and they had screwed up the positioning on one of the cupboards.  That one cupboard had to go back and be reordered.  Another 3 weeks went by.  In the meantime, my son, who is a electrician by trade and a ‘can do anything, fix anything’ guy had installed the new vanity lights and ceiling exhaust fan and plugs.  The correct vanity finally arrived and my son and Ken installed them.  And my son did all the plumbing for me.  I ordered a granite counter top, 2 more weeks.  In the past couple days, I installed the backsplash and touch-ups of paint from some ‘boo boo’s’ of things being installed, mainly the countertop.  But I can officially say, it is done!!!  We wanted to do the powder room on the first floor before we left, but after this marathon job, it will now wait until we return in the spring.  Thank goodness this was only the guest bathroom or we would have really been in big, big trouble.

Well that is about it for now..blogging will pick up again once we start to head out.

Hope everyone is healthy and happy.  Be safe.

Until later then..take care.

Thank you

I just wanted to thank all of you for your kind words about our loss of Arthur.  I know several of you have known that kind of loss.

The house sure seems quiet and empty without him.  Even with our goofy Golden, Jackie, it still seems empty.  You know something is missing.

As of now we don’t intend to get another cat.  Arthur would be a very, very hard act to follow.  And I would miss those characteristics that he had that I’m sure another one wouldn’t have.  As I said before, he truly was one of a kind.

Goodbye Arthur

To say that Arthur was an awesome cat would be an understatement.  Many cats have come and gone from our home, but Arthur was one of a kind.
 

We rescued Arthur 3 years ago last May.  He was 6 years old when we got him.  His previous owners didn’t want him anymore.  His coat was absolutely terrible, he had a blocked tear duct and consequently his eye ran water and that whole area had dried crusty stuff around it.  His teeth were filthy.  I wondered at the time what I was getting myself into.  But we took him, he just looked so pitiful.
 

From the moment we got him home, it was plain that he felt he was now safe and in his forever home.  He just made himself at home and made us his Mom and Dad.  I took him into the vet and had his teeth cleaned and that blocked tear duct looked into.  It couldn’t be cleared but that was no big deal, it didn’t seem to bother him and we just wiped away any tears that collected.  We brushed his coat many, many times a day and it took a few months to retain it’s natural health.
 

Nothing bothered him, absolutely nothing, well maybe the vacuum cleaner if it got too close.  He had to come and check out every visitor that arrived.  He talked to us, oh man did he talk.  He never shut up!!  He came when called.  When it came time to go south for the winter we thought we had better get him used to the RV so we took him out into it while it was parked in the driveway.  He just walked in, sniffed around and hopped up on the couch.  Again he was right at home.  He went on several of our travels, in his crate while driving, never complaining.  He knew his favourite places and once parked he headed for them. 

He would sit beside me here on my computer desk, I hardly had room left for me.  He would sleep between us most of the night.  He always came in and said goodnight.  He’d hop up, get his loving, and then disappear for awhile.  But sometime during the night he arrived back and parked himself.

He was fine all day yesterday but around 6 PM I noticed that something was wrong, very wrong.  We got him into the vet and he was diagnosed with kidney cancer.  She said he wouldn’t survive the night.  We did what we had to do to put him out of his suffering.

The house seems somewhat empty without him in it.  He was a presence, he was a character, he was a very good friend and we miss him.

Safe travels Arthur, we love you.

Just Checking In

It’s been along time since I blogged.  I typically don’t blog much once we return from our snow birding.  Although I do enjoy reading my fellow bloggers day to day activities, and don’t find them boring at all,  I do think that mine are just plain boring so I don’t blog.  I think I mentioned before and several other bloggers have said the same thing, that I started this blog so that my kids could know where I was, what we were doing etc. while away.  But as it turns out, none of them read it or even appear to really want to.  Shows what I know!!!!!!

As those of you with ‘sticks’ homes you know they keep you busy.  For us, it was opening the pool, planting flowers, and just general tidying up the back and front yards.  We just finished having a new roof put on the house.  And we also had to have a new pool heater installed.  What a difference that makes!!  The other one took forever to get up to the temperature, no so this one.

Ken and I are in the middle of updating our guest bathroom.  We had our own ensuite done professionally last year, but we decided we could tackle the guest one as we didn’t need the whole thing to be gutted like our ensuite.  And we weren’t changing the layout as in the ensuite.  So Ken remove the old vanity, toilet etc.  We just left the tub/shower in tact as it’s just fine.  I have ordered new vanities and toilet.  See Rick you’re not the only one covered in drywall dust.  It’s amazing how many holes you make in your walls over the years.

As much as we love our home, once home for awhile we really miss the RVing life.  We don’t use the RV much in the summer mainly because the house requires someone to around due to the pool and flowers to be tended to.  Ken keeps saying the ‘downsizing’ word.  If I could find something and somewhere I really liked then I’m game.  But I do keep checking the real estate listings.

We are taking the 5er up to Cookstown for our yearly birthday visit with my sister.  My other sister is also coming.  Ken said ‘you ladies have a good time’..and opted out!!  So he’ll be staying home with the critters.  That won’t be for another month anyhow.

 

Jackson, as usual, has one of his ‘babies’ in his mouth.  I really don’t know what he would do if he didn’t have one.  And this is one of Arthur’s favourite spots…

Well that’s all for now..until later then, take care and drive safe..

Colour me Very, Very Bad!!!

Yes that’s right .. my bad.  I should have blogged a long time ago.  No excuses, just plain lazy.  And plumb wore out.

We had an uneventful, good trip home.  We spent 4 nights on the road.  There was good weather, no rain, snow or otherwise.  That was a blessing.  The nights were chilly but with the furnace, fireplace, and electric space heater, there was absolutely no problems.  The crossing at the border was uneventful.  As usual, Jackson broke the ice.  It just seems that everyone who meets him falls in love.  The fellow was a little stiff until he asked us to unroll the back window and Jackson of course stuck his big head out.  That was it, the guy was patting him and rubbing his neck.  His whole attitude changed after that.  Amazing!!!  We really didn’t have anything to declare anyhow, usually never do.

We got the fridge contents and necessary items emptied out of the rig the first day, and left the rest for gradual emptying after that.  We took everything out of the basement and I went through it all.  Anything that had not been used in a couple years, went into another bin and will be stored in the garage.  I think we got rid of at least 3 bins under there.  Should give us more room.  Tomorrow it is supposed to be somewhat warmer so we will get out there to vacuum, wash floors, clean the fridge and the bathroom.  Then Monday or Tuesday we’ll take it back to the storage lot.

It was very cold the first day home, well below freezing (that had not been predicted earlier!!!) so I left the furnace on in there because I really didn’t want to have to winterize again.  I have just left it running in there at about 55 to keep the chill out and hopefully keep the pipes from freezing.  We have had disgusting weather since we’ve been home.  Rain, freezing rain, ice pellets and that dreaded 4 letter word SNOW.  Did someone not tell the weatherman that this is April for Pete’s Sake?????

It sure is wonderful to be home.  As much as I love being away in the rig, there really is no place like home.  I think Jackson and Arthur would say the same thing too.

Next trip out isn’t until July.  Till then we will be kept busy, opening Jack’s favourite thing THE POOL.  Planting flowers, cleaning up the yard.  But first, please warm up.  I’m spoiled, I don’t like this cold. 

Anyhow, until a later time…take care, drive safe.