Updates

Not a lot has been happening since we got home.  You tend to very quickly settle into the routine that you had before you left for parts ‘unknown’.  Which, in my books, is just fine.  It’s still a little cool to be doing any real yard work such as planting.  Did some cleaning up but that’s it.  Jackson keeps looking at the pool with great longing.  Poor bugger.

The rig is now back on the storage lot.  We are very seriously looking into trading in the motorhome and buying a fifth wheel.  We are in negotiations right now so it depends on the price.  We are looking at the Jayco Pinnacle either the 35 LKTS or the 36 REGS.  Of course that means we have to purchase a truck to haul it.  Also looking at a 2009 vehicle.  We would like a GMC, diesel, double cab.  Must be a big double cab for Jackson.  We love our motorhome, but we also realize that a fifth wheel does have more room inside and also more storage room.  As our motorhome is gas it tends to not have as much ‘basement’ storage as a diesel tends to have and we feel that we really need more room.  We’re at capacity now when we go south for several months.  Inside it’s pretty good for storage, not great, but pretty good.  And after being stranded a couple years ago in Flagstaff while they did some mechanical repairs on the rig, at least if something like that happened again, they can take the truck and we’ll still have our home.  Also the gas motorhome doesn’t handle mountains well and we want to go back to the US southwest.  But we won’t take the motorhome, it really struggles on some of those mountains.  I know diesel doesn’t because I have seen them go flying by us on the hills!!!!  So we just have to sit tight and see what kind of prices they come up with.  It will be very hard to say goodbye to our ‘beast’.  She is really beautiful (at least we think so)  and she has sheltered us from major rain storms, snow, major wind storms, umpteen tornado warnings and watches, cold weather, very, very hot weather.  And she has handled them all well and kept us cozy.  I hope she is loved as much by any new owners she will have as we have lover her.

One of my good friends passed away almost a month ago.  Karen was just 55 and full of beans and life.  She developed lung cancer, fought it bravely for a few years, thought she’d won, but it came back and she was gone very quickly.  Her cancer was the kind caused by inhaling herbicides.  She, as a child, had been stationed at one of Canada’s military bases with her family and the government was doing some ‘testing’ with agent orange.  You can read about it here http://agentorangecanada.com/.  I didn’t have a clue about any of this as I also was stationed there during that time period with my ex husband.  Now we didn’t live on the base as she did, we lived in Fredericton which is several miles away.  She lived right on the base.  There are all sorts of actions going on now with that due to so many people getting sick and dying.   There was no funeral, just a grand celebration of life for her.  There had to be around 250 people there which spoke well about how people felt about her.  Much, much better than a morbid funeral, in my opinion.

Also my nephew, my sister’s son, who is 49 has been diagnosed with non Hodgkin's Lymphoma and has been given 2 months to live.  So sad, so terrible.  I don’t know what to say to my sister to comfort her.  It’s very difficult.  We just have to be there for her.  He never married and has no children so he’s going home with them to spend what time he has left.  We come to expect the order of things that our children are still here when we leave this earth.  This is not the order of things.  It’s something I hope that I never have to live through. 

On a brighter note, Ken and I have booked a 2 week bus tour to France in September.  We are going to be taking my 23 year old granddaughter, Danielle.  She has just finished college and I think this will be a wonderful trip for her.  We took a bus tour several years ago to Italy and it was the best vacation we have ever had.  So great to leave the driving, hotel bookings, luggage, tours and everything else to someone else.  We walked our buns off on that tour which was great because we ate like pigs and didn’t put on 1 ounce.  As Italian food is our favourite, you can just imagine the meals.  I fell in love with Italy and hope to go back, but there are just too many other wonderful places to see first.  I will probably say the same thing about France after we return!! We’re all looking forward to it.

Some friends that we know from Panama City Beach and who fulltime are slowly heading this way for the month of June.  Tom and Linda and their Yorkie Reggie will be staying in a campground just a few miles from here.  They have never been to Canada and have a list of things they want to see.  #1 on that list is Niagara Falls, I’m told.  It will be nice to see them again.

Well my brain seems to have dried up, I can’t think of anything else.  We’re patiently waiting for somewhat warmer weather so we can start our planting.  The yard looks forlorn and naked without flowers and blue sparkling water in the pool. 

Until later then…take care.

HOME!!!!

We left Monroe, Michigan on Sunday morning just before 830AM.  After stopping for gas first thing we were on our way.  We stopped once for Jackson to go potty and that was it.  We rolled up into our driveway just past 130PM.  It was a good drive,  no rain, traffic was great.  The stop at the border hardly was that.  The fellow asked us when we had left Canada, (November 27) how many people on board (2 people, 1 cat, 1 dog) any liquor (bottle of wine in the fridge) and we got a Have a good day.  Thanks mate, Ken said and we were through.  Gotta love those Canadians, a lot easier coming home that’s for sure.

At first I was just going to empty the contents of the fridge and do the other stuff another day, but once we got going just couldn’t seem to stop.  Took us around 4 hours to empty the rig.  I have a process, fill a huge bag, bring it in and put that bag away before loading up again.  Works well for us as there isn’t tons of stuff hanging around then it’s a ‘where do I start’ moment.  I had laundry up to the yinyang.  Thank goodness I have those huge front loaders. 

Now all that is left is to give it a good cleaning and we can drive it over to the storage lot.  Tonight it’s going to be cold and I really don’t want to winterize again, so I’m going to put heat lamps in the water bins and turn the gas furnace on low. 

Sure is just wonderful to be home.  Jackson just about went out of his mind and Arthur acted like he’d never left.  Fun to get away but there really is ‘no place like home’.

Till later then…take care.

On Our Way

We left Foley, Alabama just after 8 AM on the morning of Wednesday, the 21st.  Our first stop for the night was Calera, Alabama.  Tonight we are just outside of Nashville.  It rained on and off on the way, and just after we settled in here, the skies opened up.  Right now it is just dreary and not raining, but there is more in the forecast.  Tomorrow night our planned stop is just outside of Cincinnati, Ohio.

I think we’re all glad to be heading home.  Jackson is bored out of his cotton pickin’ mind.  Even Arthur appears to be bored.  It was difficult for me after being home for a few days to attend my Dad’s funeral to return back down to Foley.  Ken said I should stay home and he’d drive home by himself, but I think that would be just plain stupid.  I am the navigator, the dog settler, the double and triple checker of things.  As it was the 3 of them were very lonely and very glad to see me.  Nice to be needed….

There will be an awful lot of unloading once we get this baby in the driveway.  Many, many trips in and out.

Well, until, later…take care.

A Trip Home to say Good-Bye

It’s been a very hectic week to say the least.  Last Friday the 9th I received a phone call from my sister to tell me that my Dad had a massive heart attack.  My Dad would have been 97 on May 7th of this year.  He lasted 24 hours on equipment and when they removed it his heart was so badly damaged that it just couldn’t go on and he passed away very peacefully.  I made flight reservations from Pensacola to Toronto and went home.  After the funeral I flew back down here.  Ken stayed with the fur kids. 

My Mother passed away 15 years ago and it didn’t take Dad long to meet a lovely lady and marry her.  We all loved Mary, she was a gem.  Unfortunately, she developed cancer and 7 years or so after they married she was gone.  My Mom, bless her heart, was a homebody, but not Dad, he was the social butterfly of the family.  He was extremely active all his life.  My sister compared him to the Energizer bunny and that he was.  But Mary, well Mary loved to do all the things Dad loved to do.  Dad was a fanatical fisherman and Mary loved to fish.  They took many fishing trips together.  They loved to hike and walk and both kept very active.  Until she got sick. 

After Mary passed away, again it didn’t take Dad long to meet someone else and marry her too.  Unfortunately, she was no Mary.  None of us really warmed up to her, but that’s another story.

They moved into a seniors complex, not a old age home but an apartment complex for seniors.  Dad helped run all the social events, which was absolutely no surprise to us.  He had thousands of movies, so he arranged movie nights for the seniors.  They played lawn bowling, bean bag baseball, I think they even had nights out.  He ran the bingo and called the numbers.  And Dad helped or completely ran them all.  He just had to keep busy.  And he loved it.

There are 4 of us, I have 2 older sisters and 1 younger brother.  We all said that we hoped that when it was Dad’s time that he went quick because it would have just killed his spirit if he was any sort of an invalid.  Dad was a healthy man all his life.   He had a couple illnesses the last couple years but he bounced right back.  He had no arthritis, no major aches or pains.  He was an incredible man.  He led a charmed life, he really did. 

My Mom &  Dad were missionaries in the West Indies, on a small island called Dominica.  I was the only one born there, but other than my brother, who was born in Canada, we 3 girls were raised there.  My Dad never stopped for a second down there, preaching, helping the people with things, just go go go.  I do believe it was the happiest time in my Dad’s life.  He loved it there, but we came home in 1958 and stayed home.  But Dad continued his go go go.  He never stopped for a second, couldn’t sit still, loved bowling, fishing, tennis anything that kept him busy.  He would walk into a room where he knew no one and within 10 minutes was friends with all of them.  Not a shy bone in his body. 

Up until about 10 years ago he was an avid tennis player. One of the reasons he stopped playing was because he told us all his player friends had passed away AND they were all younger than him and when he found new players he didn’t think they gave him a good game.

So it was not a mourning, but a celebration of 97 years of a life that was well spent and well enjoyed.  There were few tears, much laughter at the funeral home and service.  You cannot mourn a man who lived so long and so well.  I’m sure that where ever his spirit his, he is running something, playing something and absolutely, taping movies. 

As they say, God’s speed Dad. 

New Home

On March 1, we arrived here in Foley, Alabama.  We are staying in Bella Terra RV Resort.  It is a beautiful ownership resort, but we are just renting a spot.  It is a very beautiful resort.  The heading photo is our site here.  This is what we see out of our front window.

The evening we arrived the owner, who has his rig and a cute casita here on his lot, had a cocktail party.  Although we were tired from the trip and setting up, we walked over.  People are very friendly, and we spent about an hour or so socializing there then headed back home.  Then last night they had a singer and open bar and snacks over at the clubhouse.  We walked over and it was nice.  We left at intermission.  Jackson is not a happy camper being left along.  He hates it.  So we try not to leave him too long.  Tomorrow afternoon they are having a Bloody Mary Bash.  I’d prefer it to be a Bloody Caesar Bash but I’ll take the Bloody Mary’s.

We arrived to beautiful hot weather.  It was lovely, and the very first time this whole trip that I have put shorts on.  But alas, it wasn’t to last.  We have since been plagued with foul weather.  I’m sure you’re heard about the tornadoes in northern Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.  It was awful.  We have several tornado watches and warnings along with severe thunderstorm warnings.  Thankfully only the thunderstorms have materialized and RAIN.   Also it’s quite windy, all awnings have been in for a couple days now.  We are RV bound today as the weather is just too nasty.

Yesterday we drove down to Gulf Shores.  A very pretty place and one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen.  I have never seen or felt sand so white and so fine.  It’s so soft on your feet.

Well hopefully you are all safe and weren’t in the path of the tornadoes.  Until later …. take care.

Our boy is 5!!!!!!!!!!!!

Five years ago today, our beautiful Golden Retriever, Jackson, was born.  His Mom was a small lovely honey coloured Golden and his Dad was a large white or cream Golden.  He had 9 or 10 litter mates.
 
Jackson’s Dad & Mom

We always wanted another dog.  We had our precious Maggie, a yellow lab, she was now 7.   She was suffering from a torn cruciate ligament and major surgery and we couldn’t take her to park any longer to run and play with the other dogs, something she loved to do.  Once I retired in 2006, we decided to get another dog as company for Maggie and someone for her to play with and have a buddy.  Boy was that a mistake!

Maggie

We went to the breeder, a drive of about 2 hours, to pick out our new furkid.  When we got there, there were 5 puppies in the whelping pen.   We had no idea if we were going to get a male or female, we just thought we’d just go with the flow.
 
Jackson and his brothers & sisters
(I think he’s on the far right)

We played with the pups for a bit and they were all nuts, jumping and yelping all but one.  He sat there, was quiet, and just plain sweet.  I asked about him and was told that he had always been the quieter one among his siblings.  Bingo!!! this was the one for us due to the fact that Maggie was what we called the ‘puppy from hell’ !  Man she was a bad one.  Papers were signed, instructions given and we were off.  In hindsight I should have put him in a crate but I thought he would like to sit on my lap on the drive home.  He wasn’t comfortable on the ride home, proceeded to upchuck on me.  Poor guy, must be hard, never away from his family, all he knew was that whelping pen and the house and all of a sudden, he’s with strangers, in a weird moving vehicle, no wonder.   As soon as we got home I took him right outside into the backyard where he threw up again, but then once his feet hit solid earth he was fine.

We introduced him to Maggie, she sniffed him and walked away.  Jackson was kind of excited, I suppose thinking, ‘great, a 4 legged buddy’.  Maggie, I’m sure, was thinking, ‘when are you taking this guy back??!!’  They had a few buddy moments now and then over the years but not often and only when Maggie felt like it.  Maggie was a bossy, dominant girl and she wanted us all to herself.  She had a beautiful personality, but she had her own mind and once it was set, it was set.

But there was a kind of truce between them, Jackson adored her and Maggie tolerated him, barely.  But he never seemed to mind.  He’s a happy guy, and his main world is Ken and myself.  He did miss Maggie a lot when she died, he moped around, sighed a lot, but in a few months he did get over it.

Everyone who meets Jackson, seems to fall in love with him.  Not only is he beautiful (I am after all his Mom you know so what else would I think?) but he has the most amazing personality.  There is not a mean bone in his body.  He’s just a big love bug.  He listens well, is a joy to be around.  If I had to find one fault with him it’s that he’s not the greatest of travellers.  Not always the greatest when you RV.  In the RV he’s not so bad but in a car, oh my goodness.  Probably due to the bad start when he arrived home.  He fusses and whines and just is a royal PITA.  He’s a major, major foodie, but then a lot of retrievers are.

He has brought such joy to our lives over the past 5 years.  He was a blessing to have around after Maggie died.  He helped us heal.  Can’t imagine our lives without him. 

Happy Birthday Jackson..we love you.

We’ve Moved

Today we left Emerald Coast RV Beach Resort.  We left around 10 AM.  It was difficult to say goodbye to our friends.  It’s really something how close you can get to people in 3 short months.  A few tears were shed and we were on our way.  It’s only about 120 miles down the road.    It’s Bella Terra in Foley, Alabama.  We are here for 6 weeks then we head home.  Seems like along time ago that we left home.

The sites here are lovely, large, paved, neat and clean.  They had a cocktail evening tonight at someone’s site.  This is an ownership campground, so these people owned their site.  They had a lovely gazebo with a gas fireplace and they had built a casita on their site.  It was very nice and all the people we met seemed very friendly.  It was a party to get to know everyone as I gather several new people arrived today.

Very tired tonight, took a lot of work to setup everything inside and out.  I will blog more later on with details about the area and the campground.

Until later….take care.