One More Day!

Carlinville, IL

Wow, what a day it has been.  I didn’t sleep good and was up very early.  In fact to me it was still the middle of the night to be awake.  Weather changes affect me just like the cold and hot.  Temps were dropping and the wind was blowing and it was a dreary morning.  It looked as if it could or would rain at any time.  Since i couldn’t sleep and resting didn’t stop the pain i decided to go ahead and get started on what i had to do.  I started getting things that needed to be done today down stairs on the go.  I put the grand kids toys away in their winter storage area (behind the couch).  Cleaned off the counters.  Did some surfing on the internet.

Hubby was up early and once it warmed up a bit we got dressed and headed to town to finish some things.  Another trip to Wal-mart my printer is out of ink, med’s filled, dog chain (Lexi broke hers), eggs hubby’s prairie farms dip .. WOW ..  what was a few things ended up being $70 bucks!  Ughhh  i wanted to check the mail one more time hoping what i was expecting would arrive, YESSS it was there .. so glad it came before we left.  Then we needed to fill up the truck with diesel.  Back home and we worked some more on getting those last minute things done.  I straightened the frig so things will hopefully ride good, put the bars in that i purchased to hold things in place.  Visited with friends and said see ya all next summer :) 

I was looking at my receipt and noticed i had been charged for 3 inks, YIKES, i called Wal-mart and they told me to bring my receipt back in for credit.  So that meant back to town and got my refund  I only got 1 ink so a refund of $28 bucks was due .. YESSS i will take that.  I thought my bill was awfully high for 2 little bags.  Back home we put the awning in, everything outside other then the water, sewer, electric and satellite are done.  Now that everything is done it was time to get my shower so hubby can do the water and sewer and get his job finished.  All hubby has left in the morning is the electric, satellite cords and hook up to the truck. I have to put the coffee pot, dogs dishes and what ever dishes we use away in the morning. 

Tyson showed up and loaded the trailer and his truck down with all the stuff that goes to storage.  We sure do have lots of stuff here when were here visiting the kids.  Gabe and Kelsey showed up. We had a good visit with our kids and even though we will miss them while were gone .. I am so ready to get out of this COLD!!

We plan to be up early and off to an early start tomorrow.  The plan is to travel 425 miles tomorrow.  Since I've had 2 very long days and not much sleep, i’m going to retire to bed and watch the Christmas shows on the Hallmark channel!!

A Busy Day

We got up early and got an early start to our day.  First on the list was to head to LWCC and turn in my radio, keys and golf cart.  My job as camp host is officially over.  Next on our list was to stop and check our mail (I’m expecting a package) no luck it didn’t come in today :(  Next we had Dr. Appointments at 10 AM.  We arrived got our check up and flu shots and the green light to head out for the winter :)  thanks Doc!  Then we needed to go by Dollar General and get some envelopes for my sister to forward my mail in and of course we had to visit a bit with her :)  We left my sister’s house and on to the bank to get some money and do several other items :)  Off to hubby’s mom’s house to visit with her one last time of the year.  That is right we will not see any of our family until next year.  She feed us a nice late lunch and we had a great visit and before we knew it , that time that we dread approached.  We gave hugs, I Love You’s and was on our way to pick up the grand kids. 

We got the grand kids and by then it was time for dinner so of course they wanted their favorite, Yep you guessed it right McD’s!  Finally we got home and spent the evening enjoying our grand’s one last time this year.  Their dad showed up around 10.30 PM to pick them up and we said our good byes, hugs and kisses.  We were exhausted and had a very busy day with lots packed into one day.  It wasn’t long i was ready to head to bed.  Ughh i woke up with a charlie horse and that started my ruff night.  I couldn’t get back to sleep until around 2 AM and i was back awake around 5 AM.  My legs and back were killing me so finally i gave up and got up.  I had some things that i needed to do anyway.  Might as well get started on them now.

Hope your all having a better night then i am .. 1 more day and it’s lift off!  I’m so excited!

1st of November!

WOW .. it’s the 1st of November already.  Where has this year gone?  We only have 2 more months before it will be a new year.  This year seems to have flown by faster then normal.  I slept in this morning and once i finally got up and to moving i got some laundry going.  I want to get everything washed up before heading out.  We will be in a COE park and so no sewer means no laundry.  Other then my basic morning of checking the blogs i follow and checking face book i did nothing :))

 

After lunch the dogs had an appointment with the doggie doctor.  Lexi was due to get her shots and Roo needed hers as well since we are not really sure she has had them.  Hubby was concerned as we had never really taken Roo for a car ride and with our lifestyle being able to ride is a must!

Lexi was first to get weighed .. WOW she is up to 25 lbs!  The last time she was at the Dr’s office she weighed 18 lbs.  Lexi doesn’t like going to the Dr, she has white coat syndrome.  She gets nervous, pants and sheds her like crazy.  She even growled at the doctor when he gave the needed shot.  Lexi got a new piece of Jewelry to sport. Of course her other jewelry looks horrible as she bites at them all the time.  Lexi is sporting a new necklace her old one she has out grown (snicker)  She used to have a pick one now she has a new green one. 

  

Next was Roo turn and she did great.  She didn’t even seem to notice she got a shot.  Roo had to have 2 shots.  She also received a Micro chip today.  Now if she is to get lost she can be found.  Roo now has more jewelry on her necklace.  Both the girls look pretty good sporting their new necklace and jewelry.  Lexi has a micro chip as well.  She got one about 3 yrs ago.  Although Lexi chewed up her plastic tag and it had to be replaced with a metal one :(

 

Both the girls enjoyed their ride and Roo did wonderful riding and I believe she will do great traveling with us.  She loves looking out the window and seems to enjoy her big high back seat.  I think they were excited to be back home and have their Dr’s appointment behind them.  Esp their treat they got for being good girls .. well Roo was but Lexi still got a treat :) 

On our way home we stopped by Wal-mart and picked up a few things i forgot the other day and of course we had to get candy for the grand kids :)) The girls still had energy and Roo was waiting patiently for her opportunity to steal a new toy that got today.  They love things that squeak!

We came home and Jim and Wanda had a nice camp fire going se we sat and visited with them and before we knew it was time for dinner.  We all went to the dinning hall for dinner and visited with friends Sharon, Georgia, Sally and Myron.  It will probably be our last time enjoying a meal together this year.  We sat and visited after our meal and before we knew it .. time had flown by and the dinning hall was closing.  We said our good byes, hugs and departed.  We came home and i snapped a picture of home after sunset.  As you can see we have everything packed away except what the kids have to take and put in storage. 

We went for a sunset stroll and then came back and finished enjoying the fire that Jim and Wanda had going in their fire pit.  Of course they had already went home but we still enjoyed the last of fire.  (Thanks Jim for the wonderful fire) Once the fire was done we retired inside as it was getting late.  It’s been a beautiful day and an even more beautiful evening.  It’s a clear sky and the stars are shining bright, it’s quiet here in the campground and we are the only ones here.  2 more days and our winter journey begins! 

Happy Halloween

Today is Trick or Treat day.  We’ve never had trick or treater’s  not even when we lived in a stick home.  We lived to far out and no close neighbors.  Make sure you all sleep with a light on tonight because it’s a good night for the ghost and gobblins to come out.  Boooo do you know who is watching you tonight?

We woke to another very nippy morning.  We’ve been getting moving very slowly in the mornings.  After all we are retired and it’s too cold to do anything else but hibernate inside until the sun comes out and warms up. 

Once I finally got myself motivated and moving.  First on the list was to vacuum and pick up.  Next i put my nick knack's that don’t ride away.  I’m trying something different this time moving.  I put the bar stools with my table away behind the recliners and secured several of my flowers on them.  I’m getting more and more done.  I’m down to pretty much the last minute things on my end too plus the grand kids are coming Friday night so i can not put away several things they will use still. 

 

Hubby worked outside picking things up, checking the air in the truck and camper tires.  Putting the propane tanks away, checking all the fluids in the truck and etc.  It was a busy day of doing things that needed to be done before our winter journey begins.  We are down to just needing to do the basic last minute things.  It was a beautiful afternoon to be outside working.  As long as you stayed in the sunshine. 

Dinner tonight was left over Chicken.  I’m not feeling well tonight, my ears & throat are aching i have drainage and I'm hoping it’s allergies from being outside and I'm not coming down with anything.  I have a Dr Appointment Friday to get my flu shot and i need to be healthy to get it.

I’m going to take a hot shower and curl up in bed and watch some TV.  I’m starting to get that itch hitch really badly .. come on Sunday and get here .  We plan to leave Sunday if there is no rain in the forecast.  3 more days until take off!!

Our newest family Member!

It’s official we have a new family member!  I’d like to announce our newest arrival.  About a 45 lb bouncing baby girl Roo!!  We made it official today.  We have adopted Roo and she now proudly wears a official name tag with her name and our phone numbers.  Thursday afternoon she goes to the vet and gets a check up and needed shots (oh i hope she likes her new doctor)

This morning started out as a non productive day.  Hubby left to go do some work and returned home.  No one showed up today, guess the cold kept them away.  So we decided it would be a good day to run into town and get his driver licenses renewed.  NOOO it’s not near his birthday but since we are not planning on returning until June of next year his licenses do expire in April so we needed to get him legal so we didn’t have to return sooner then we have planned.  Plus we needed to get our propane tanks filled up before heading out.  Well .. the local DMV couldn’t renew CDL license so that was a strike out ..next to get propane .. can you believe we just missed the last of the 4 guys that could fill our tanks until after lunch. Another strike out!!  Back to the camper for some lunch.  I made a few phone calls and behold we found a DMV that can do it!

We loaded up and headed back into town stopped at the propane place, finally someone who could fill our tanks .. we needed one of 30 lb and our 20 lb gas grill tanks filled .. $35 for both.  I didn’t think that was bad being they were both empty!  That is off the ta do list.  Next we headed to Jerseyville to the DMV and after a bit of a wait .. hubby now proudly has another 4 1/2 years on his licenses.  I got mine renewed in July so we both are good to go for several years.  While we were there we went ahead and renewed our camper sticker another one knocked off the ta do list!  It’s due the end of December and we always get it before heading out on our winter journey.  Illinois is our home base state.  We have lived here all of our lives and no plans to change that.  We spend more time then anywhere else here in Illinois, we vote, we pay taxes, we do all the stuff that anyone with a permanent resident doe. PlUS  it’s where our grand kids are!!

 

After leaving the DMV we headed to Wal-mart to see if they have the dog tag machine, i looked in Litchfield yesterday and it was a no go .. no luck they don’t have one any more either .. ughhh so i had a brilliant idea.  Let’s head to Alton to Petco!  I love Petco and my babies love it when i go to Petco :))  So off to Alton we headed first stop was Petco and they had the name tags.  Wow .. they have gone up in price.  I remember buying them for 5 bucks!  Now their $11 a piece and some were even $20!!!  Guess they know we love our babies and we are suckers :))

After leaving Petco we headed to Big Lots as i hadn’t been to one in a longggg time .. I love Big Lots!  Wow they had some good deals too .. even better yet.  I got a new rug for 5 bucks, several new table cloths in colors that I've been looking for and they were only 2 bucks each, i got 3 different colors!  I love being able to change things around and since i can not move my furniture it’s change table clothes and such :)  I replaced a small baking pan that i have missed since leaving it in the motor home, i got a expandable spring rod that will hopefully hold my printer in place while traveling (another off the ta do list) and of course i got the babies some doggie treats!  Roo has gotten to where she knows that when we bring bags of stuff into the camper she starts inspecting them as she knows some where in one of them is something for her and the other 2 babies.  YESSS they are spoiled! 

Next it was Home Depot to look for several things.  1st on the list was to get a new area rug for outdoors.  I haven’t needed one here as we are on a very nice concrete slab.  We tossed our old one when we got here as Lucy had way too many accidents on it during her last week of life.  Poor thing couldn’t walk very far with out potting and she felt so bad, of course mommy and daddy told her it was okay we could replace it.  So we did today.   I was looking for a black or maroon but they only had gray or green. I got a gray one instead of the standard green.  It will match our home better.  2nd on the ta do list was to look for some trim to trim our refrigerator in with but we couldn’t find anything that i was happy with.  I do not like the fake stuff.  In fact i want to replace the trim around our door frame with the same thing we put around the refrigerator so we decided since there was no way in this cold weather we could stain and gloss new trim we’d wait until this winter to finish that project.  Hubby looked at some new toys but decided to wait on getting what he was looking for (some kind of tool gun).  We did run into an old friend we hadn’t seen in 6 yrs or more.  We visited and got caught up on with each and then it was time to head to get some thing to eat. 

I wanted Chinese but hubby wanted Woody’s fried chicken, since we can not get Woody’s fried chicken on the road it won out.  Oh it was so good .. great choice hubby!!   We met the kids and visited for a while and before we knew it, time had flown by and it was time to say good bye.  We headed home with barely enough time to relax a bit before we say good nite. 

More Ta Do List

Since it was a cold morning it was a good day to sleep in.  Once i finally drug my weary bones out of bed.  I did my morning routine of browsing the internet to catch up on what is going on in the world.  I’ve been watching the weather channel to keep up on what Sandy is doing.

After being lazy it was time to get started on my morning chores.  Then we decided to go do the dreaded task off getting groceries.  So we  headed to Litchfield.  Dollar Store, Camper store, Rural King, Wal-mart and Aldies.  Ughhh  over $200 poorer we returned home to put away our purchases.  Now the cabinets are stocked.  We still do need to get a some meat items before we began our winter journey.  I like to travel with stocked pantry and freezer.

On the list of ta do things is installing the locks on the refrigerator so it will stay closed while going down the road.  We purchased some heavy duty closet door latches and today hubby got the needed size screws to install them. 

 

WOW .. they work great!  Just like our RV refrigerator you have to push the doors in to get them to shut and lock but hey works for me.  This is the one on the freezer door.  The refrigerator door has one just like it.  We also purchased some gutter extensions as we needed new ones on the awning side.  Water was running down inside our light.  Hubby also got those installed.  The new light outside that was installed needed caulking put around it and that was done today as well.  YES .. were getting more things knocked off the Ta Do List.

 

Dinner tonight was BBQ Pork  sandwich with some chips.  Earlier this morning i had a big family pack of pork steaks that i had bought thinking i would cook them when the kids were here.  I took them out of freezer and put them in the crock pot and they cooked while we were running around.  When i got home i poured the broth off that i plan to use later and separated the meat.  I BBQ enough for dinner tonight and the rest i put into containers to do something else with them later.  I love things i can take out of freezer and use at a later time :)

Later on Tyson stopped by and picked up Toby’s blanket and the WII remotes we forgot on Saturday.  We visited with him before he left and the rest of the evening was spent relaxing.  6 more days give or take and we should be on the road.  Of course if they are calling for bad weather like rain we will re-think those plans.

Me O My winter has arrived!

Wow, we woke to down right cold!  I do believe winter has made it way to the Midwest and unfortunately I'm still here!  I spent the last couple of days in my flannel jammies until late in the afternoon.  Staying inside has been a good thing lately as it’s too cold to go outside. 

The grands came Friday night to spend the night and enjoy some time with Papa and Grammy.  Our time is drawing near and it won’t be long that we will be pulling out.  We will miss our precious jewels while were gone but I'm looking forward to getting away from the cold.

Gabe and Kelsey came over Saturday afternoon with Caden a little boy they spend a lot of time with.  As you can see the boys get along pretty good.  They had fun playing at the park.

 

Kelsey and Hailey played Barbie’s while the boys ate candy :)

 

Earlier i made a big pot of Chili to eat on since it’s a cold winter day.  The kids love my Chili and so i thought i would make it one last time for them this year :)  Before we knew it .. it was time to get ready for the Halloween Parade.  I didn’t get to take many pictures as i was busy helping Toby pick up his candy being thrown his way.

Needless to say the kids got a shopping bag full of candy!  Oh my so glad their taking it home :)  After the parade Tyson took the grands home and Gabe and Kelsey came back to our place where we played a couple games of Yuker.  Before long it was after 10 PM and time for them to get the little guy to bed.  We had a great time with our kids.  We will probably only see them one more time before we head on our winter journey.