Satchel’s Pizza

Gainesville, FL

I spent a lazy morning and around lunch time Vicky called and invited me to lunch with her and the girls!  I was excited to be invited so later in the afternoon i went with Vicky and the girls out to a late lunch.  It’s Vicky’s 23 rd birthday!  We went to a Pizza place and it was definitely different. 

This place is called Satchel’s http://www.satchelspizza.com/ and it’s decorated with other people’s junk they bring in .. you see chains made of any kind of plastic cap you can think of even medication caps. 

There is so much stuff to see it’s hard to describe.  Behind where you eat there is a store you can shop for trinkets and some neat gifts.  
 

We ate inside of this van Yessss .. the back of the van has a long and round table and we sat inside and had our lunch!! 

We had an awesome time and the pizza was fantastic!!  You can buy a slice or whole Pizza we decided on a whole large pizza to share and half had pepperoni, mushrooms, onions and extra cheese, the other half had spinach, meatballs, ricotta cheese and basil .. yes i didn’t try that but the girls all loved it.  Oh if you ever get into Gainesville, FL you have to stop and try out this place. 


It was a great day and thanks girls for making my afternoon a great one .. i so enjoyed it.  Once again Happy Birthday Vicky!!

A Rainy Day

Gainesville, FL

I was woken up to the sound of rain hitting the roof.  So i did what i do best when it’s raining.  Yep, i rolled over and snuggled farther into the warmth of the covers and went back to sleep :))

Once i decided the rain wasn’t going to let up I got up and got online and turned on the news .. their saying it’s going to let up anytime.  Well the weather men missed that one big time.  It has rained all day and evening .. guess even in Florida the weather men are wrong :) 

There wasn’t really much to do since it was a dreary day and going outside was out.  At least i can say it’s a warm rain and it’s not cold.   Later in the afternoon we decided to go ahead and get stocked up on grocery’s since we will be heading out of here on Sunday and it’s about 20 miles to a store where were heading next.  For us with us being a big rig we prefer stocking up on things before or after we hit the road rather then stopping while were in between destinations.

Wow, Florida is not a cheap place to shop .. ughh we spent over $100 on food!  Our meat supply was getting low and so i needed to get some back in the freezer.  I purchased 5 lbs of Hamburger, 3 packages of pork steaks, 2 whole chickens and polish sausage, frozen mixed veggies, ketchup, chips, soda, and all the other things we were going to need for the upcoming week.

I’m have to admit i have enjoyed being here in Gainesville, but i am ready to move on again.  That itch hitch is definitely setting in.  We have several more days before we hit the road and we have not even begin to start packing .. that’s on the list for the next few days.  When sit for longer periods of time you tend to get more things out and leave them out.  For example all my electric appliances and things you use on a daily basis.  Where when your only parked a few days you put them back as soon as you finish with them.  Hmmm maybe we should do that all the time as it makes for a cleaner home .. oh well we are living life not trying to impress anyone.

Dinner tonight was a home made taco salad and it was very good .. not really much to blog about today.

Where does the time go?

Gainesville, FL

Sunday we went to church and didn’t get home until almost 3 PM.  Yes, it was a long but very good service.  There was a family there from Israel and they did some type of dance and it was very moving.  After church we  came home and just relaxed as neither of us were feeling the best.


I thought i would take pictures of our electrical setup inside our rig .. very redneck huh?

Monday was a beautiful day and we spent it doing some errands .. on the list was going back to the laundry mat to wash bed sheets and covers.  Lexi must of had what we did although she threw up and yes it was on our bed :(( 

look at this cactus .. it’s behind where we are parked at. 

Today has been another fast day filled with more errands and enjoying the warmth and sunshine.  It’s hard to believe how fast the past 2 days have flown by.  Not really sure what all we’ve done but time sure has flown by for us.  On Sunday we will be heading farther south into Florida.

Attending a Birthday Party & more repairs

Gainesville, FL

We woke up to a nippy morning .  The clothing required today was not the preferred T-shirt and short pants.  Instead it was a sweat shirt and jeans.    We had several things on the to do list again today.  First was getting our laundry done so we loaded up and headed to get that dreaded task done.   While our laundry was going we walked across the street to fresh produce place and got some more oranges, grapefruits, bananas, green peppers, lettuce and cabbage.  It’s been great having this store near us and I'm so enjoying it and plan to visit it one more time before we head out next week.

By the the time we finished with laundry the sun was out and about warming temps to the low 60’s and i wasn’t complaining. Our next stop was over to the Napa parts store to get some needed parts.  A cap on the fuel filter was broken by a tech when we got our oil changed and a new one had to purchased.  $125 purchased a new cap and fuel filters.  The cap was $57 bucks for a piece of plastic!  Hubby has decided he is going to start changing the oil and fuel filters himself after this fiscal!
 
We got home and after much attempt he finally got the cap off.  (NO, i didn’t take any pictures i hide inside as it wasn’t a good thing and took him awhile to get it off)  Come to find out the place in Missouri that had changed our fuel filters last had crossed threaded the cap on and they didn’t put a new gasket on it therefore they used a racket to tighten it and caused the problem.  No way could we blame the the yesterday.  The second filter needs a special Allan wrench hubby doesn’t have and we forgot the air filter.  Yep, back to Napa we went and spent another $100!  It's been an expensive week for our truck.  The oil change yesterday was $125 and with today's purchases total was $350 bucks!  Ughh but up keep is a must in our lifestyle.  We got home and hubby didn’t have time to finish his work as we have a party to get ready for.

We arrived at the Party before the guest of honor.  This first picture of Pastor Oscar is blurred i got bumped in the crowd taking pictures .. hehe Pastor Oscar is moving to Gainesville in June 2012 to join the staff here at Ignite Life Center with IHOP.  The church is excited to have them join their team.  Pastor Oscar has a 40th birthday coming up soon.

They did a good job of surprising him.  He thought he was coming to a birthday party for Pastor Mark (head pastor) as his birthday was on Monday.  Oscar birthday is the 29th. 
 
Pastor Oscar is a huge baseball fan, it’s his second passion they say.  So it was all baseball stadium theme .. it was really cute.  We had helped make these boxes on Thursday night (actually hubby constructed and did all the work)  The were used for drinks, popcorn, cracker jacks, peanuts and sunflower seeds.  Just like in a real stadium. 

 
Here the girls running the popcorn stand

Cotton Candy!  No, i was good and didn’t have any as i had splurged on Friday and had to be strict today with myself today.

Drink stand

Nachos

they had a picture display and a brief case full of baseballs that all the guest signed upon arrival.
 
the red carpet where every one gathered right before the guest of honor arrived
 
the tables were setup and numbered with peanuts, baseball bubble gum

the cake was cupcakes and look at this display .. i loved it!!
     
the cotton candy was huge hit with the kids .. well yes even the big kids .. hehe

They had an announcer and the ball game had started and first off was the national anthem

Then the guest of honor threw the first pitch. 

Pastor Oscar wife had shirts made up for their family with their last name and the number 40 .. Fitting huh for a big 40 party.
 
They ended the party with a dvd tribute to Oscar and then they had toast or roast where people got up and said something nice or told on the guest of honor.  It was cute and were thankful we had been invited and enjoyed a great afternoon/evening.
 
Hubby was a hit with his choice of attire .. everyone loved his shirt.  It was another exhausting day and we arrived home around 8 pm in time to watch the Saints get beat and i started watching the broncos and it was not looking good so i headed off to bed.

Road trip to Ocala

Gainesville, FL

It’s a good thing i do not believe in all the Friday the 13th bad luck wing a mig .. Although i have to admit our morning started off with some ruff spots.  First we got up and it was a nippy morning.  Only 46 degrees but after looking at the temps in Illinois of only 14 degrees, i decided i was lucky and i wouldn’t complain.  We got around and ready to begin our day of a road trip.   Right before we left we put the dogs outside to potty.  There is a dog named Billy who comes to visit us on daily basis.  His owner Ron brings him to let him off his leash to play and roll in the dirt.  Well we didn’t know Billy was on his way to visit and we had Lexi and the others outside doing their business before leaving.  Well needless to say Billy came running to me as he does every time he sees me.  That didn’t go over good with Lexi and her hair went up on her back and her you better back down growl came out.  I tried to get Billy to stop but he wanted to play.  Lexi was not in a playing mood.  I hurried to pick up Lexi and started yelling for hubby to get outside quick.  Billy’s owner Ron yelled for Billy but he wanted his daily petting and attention.  It all worked out well as i had Lexi in my arms and Billy decided he would listen to his owner.
 
We finally got on our way to our appointment to get our truck oil changed and man the traffic on I-75 was pretty heavy.  Between women in cars and truckers on their cell phones and weaving all over the road and slowing down .. I’m not usually one to say one way or another about making new laws.  I believe at times we can have to many laws of the land.  But I'm going to be outspoken on this issue and I believe there needs to be a law to prohibits cell phone usage of any kind while driving.  It’s very dangerous and regardless what anyone says it does distract the driver and causes them to weave or slow down and backs traffic up.  If you need to text or talk, very simple .. PULL OVER and STOP get your business done and out of the way of other drivers. 

Once we through the traffic or not so faithful or reliable GPS got us lost!  I went to call to get directions from the place we were looking for .. UH OH!! We both forgot our phones at home!  YES, can you believe it, i am without my phone!!  The only other choice my darling husband (he wasn't at this point .. hehe) had was to finally stop and let me ask for directions.  The first couple i stopped had no clue and finally i saw a mail truck and i literally run him down waving my arm.  Yes, poor guy probablly thought  oh no another disgruntly employee .. hehe

He did stop (i think he felt sorry for a handicap lady with a cane chasing him down) gave us great directions and we finally reached our destination over an half hour late!  We had friends Pete, Linda and their grandson were waiting for us.  We had planned to leave the truck there and come back and get it but since we were late, they got the truck right in and so we sat in the parking lot visiting while waiting for it.  Once we got the truck finished we headed over to the Golden Corral for lunch and some catching up.
 
We had some great food and the fellowship was even better.  Our day was finally turning around.  We hadn’t seen Pete and Linda since our stay in MS back in April 09.  So we had lots of catching up to do.  We spent several hours visiting and eating (Yes i strayed today .. but I've been saving up all week) Unfortunately it was time to say good bye and with hugs and plans to meet up again on way back through when were heading North in the Spring.  We departed and headed back toward Gainesville.  We had been told about being able to see some gators near Paynes Prairie and i really wanted to see a gator so hubby turned us around in search of hwy 441 .. well once again Ms unreliable got us turned around and lost.  Finally we found the Interstate and decided we’d forget it.  Well on our way hubby saw a sign and so we turned off the interstate onto 441.  We found the state park entrance and went in for directions.  Great it’s on way home and just a little farther up the road. 

It wasn’t long and we found the board walk .. but .. not so great .. due to the drought the past few years it was dry and there was no gators to be found.  It’s almost a spooky feeling seeing how an area used to have 5 ft of water or more and now it’s completely dry.
   
there are signs up about the gators and all we saw was some kind of bird roosting in a dead tree.
 
It’s just unbelievable how large this area is and there wasn’t not a drop of water to be found and before it was covered with water.
 
not sure if you can see the concrete barrier that was used to keep the water off the road but where you the car and camper is the road and right along the edge is a concrete barrier all along it. 

I took this picture of the signs explaining what is here .. well before the drought

They had a nice pull off area for parking and walking along the board walk.

It wasn’t long after leaving that we turned on hwy 331 and started seeing signs of the city and palm trees

Oh  no our timing wasn’t so good it was a little after 3 PM and were right in the middle of downtown Gainesville rush hour!

We got home let the dogs out to go potty and then it was back in the truck and off to Wal-mart.  The dogs were completely out of food (not a good thing) Several needed items and 60 bucks broker we were headed back home again.
 
I came home and put on my fleece PJ’s and curled up in the chair for some rest and relaxation.  It ended up being a great day seeing our friends but we were tired and spent the night in the warmth of our warm home as it’s going to get near freezing tonight .. can you say brrrr .. we brought my flowers back inside to protect them.  I’m glad this Friday the 13th is over .. hehe

Assemble, building and painting

Gainesville, FL


I have been really busy and exhausted at the end of the day.  Enjoying sunshine is an exhausting experience :)
  
I was upstairs and the kids were outside playing .. The little girl in the pink loves to wave (she was waving at a bird here) and as any little kid, they were curious what was going on up above them. 

One class go back inside and another comes out.  See the 2 little kids standing at the fence trying to see what was going on?  Snicker

 
the railing upstairs is in bad shape and in need of some repair.   See how the post are kicked loose?

So digging through the scrap lumber and ripping boards to make new ones to replace the really bad ones and then making new railing to keep the post in place and so they can’t be kicked out.  I’m doing the painting.  Have i mentioned how i am not a painter?  I usually end up with more paint on me then on the boards .. snicker

see how much better it looks?  Much more sturdy and nothing like a child can get through these now.
  
This church needs so much work done .. see how they have these metal braces holding up the roof?
 
A new toy arrived that was donated and needed put together

It took lots of patience as normal some of the holes were not completely drilled through and luckily we had the needed tools to get the job done. 

so that task was tackled and finished .. the next day we say the new toy was a hit and it was loaded with kids.  In fact you couldn’t of squeezed another child on it .. i didn’t have my camera with me.
  
Several of the railing had to be completely removed and new ones built.  I got in trouble when i was helping rip some boards, hubby yelled at me as i got my hand to close to the saw blade when reaching to pull a board through.  I have been told to not get near the saw!  Imagine that!  Hubby said he loves my hands all in one piece just like they are now.  Like he has room to talk, he cut the tip of his thumb off using a saw.  It’s horrible to get old and have health problems. (shhh.. don’t tell him i post this picture of him) :))

I haven’t gotten this one painted yet.  Wednesday was a day off as exhausted had set in and  I just didn’t feel well.  Plus i did not hardly sleep Tuesday night.  I’ve have learned to listen to my body and when it says .. time to rest that is what happens.  When you are doing volunteer work you get to work at your own pace and if you do not feel good you get to take time off till you do.  Needless to say it’s been to bed early at night and some nights i am not sleeping because my body is screaming after what I've done all day but I'm enjoying being able to help others.  Sometimes we just have to fight through and do things .. because laying around all the time is not good either.