Beautiful Summer Days

Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow.  It empties today of its strength.

What have we been doing?  Not one heck of a lot that I can think of to post about.  However, here it comes anyway.

The weather has been gorgeous.  I love it this time of year when it’s warm during the day but not too warm.  There has been absolutely no rain and the sun is out most of the time.  With perfect temperatures it’s hard not to just enjoy each day as they come.

Most of the cooking I’ve been doing has been on our little Weber … just like George.  However, he’s the pro.  I’m just getting into the swing of it this year.  We haven’t even turned the propane on in the motorhome as everything has been done on it including our vegetables and meat.  Some things I’ve tried I’ve loved and others not so much.  I recently did a country hash as posted on the Weber site.  It had a sweet potatoes, apple and butternut squash in the recipe.  It looked good but the thyme and sage I think detracted from the taste and didn’t enhance it.  I think I’ll try it again but add a little pineapple and different seasonings.  Either way I’ve sure been enjoying experimenting with our little Weber!

Friday was a fun day for me.  First of all I had my hair done.  It was cut and colored and foiled.  What a treat!  Now I had to buy a hat to keep the sun off!  No gray for me  ... at least not yet!  Heck, I look old enough now.  If I had gray hair, I'd look even older!!

Well, Macy’s was having a huge sale.  I needed a hat and my closets were nearly empty so I figured it was a place I needed to check out.  That I did. It doesn’t take long to drop a wad even in a big sale.  I want to add that I made a contribution to that store’s bottom line and the local economy.  It’s not that I bought an awful lot.  I only had one big bag.  It’s amazing what they can stuff in one plastic bag.

Saturday we sat around Tammi’s place while she had a garage sale.  It was a community garage sale and folks wandered in off and on all day long.  It was definitely a long day.  I was there just for support and didn’t do one heck of a lot.  Maybe that’s what made it longer but either way, it was a good day hanging out with family.  The only pictures I took were of items for sale.

Sunday was a very short trip on the water. We put the kayaks in on the Kalama River.  It’s a great place to kayak and there are many places with easy access. The water certainly isn’t very deep this time of year.  I would bet where we went on Sunday it didn’t get over two feet.  Now that’s a shallow river!  At a couple places Terry and I even drug bottom – not a good thing!

Jordan being towed by Brendan

 

I’m anxious to get back to the “cabin” to do a little sewing so am thinking that Tuesday might be the day for the little trip.  However, I’d also like to fire up that smoker again too which means we need to stock up on meat before we head up there.  The plants need watering and our wildlife friends would certainly like a tasty morsel treat.

Summer is fleeting.  Before we know it, fall will be here.  The forums are already starting to fill up with thoughts of winter travel.  Where to?  Where to and when?  That seems to be the big questions.

'Tis life on the road. 

RV Step Part Ordered & A Swimsuit Photo

All life is an experiment.  The more experiments you make the better.

First of all, we got the ball joint arm ordered for our step.  The other day we figured it would be easy to get it ordered.  All we had to do was take in the broken part and any RV repair place around here would be happy to order it for us.  Well, that’s not how it worked.  I guess the profit margin wasn’t lucrative enough to bother with.  We were a little surprised that they couldn't handle it.  George suggested we go right to the manufacturer and order it ourselves.  Now why didn’t we think of that?  Well, it actually got me looking online for the manufacturer and I found several RV part sites with the exact item we needed.  By 9:00 the next morning it had been ordered and we felt a little relief in that it would soon be on it’s way to us.  I was surprised how easy it was to find on the internet especially when places who specialize in RV parts couldn't figure it out.  Thanks, George, for the tip.

With the release of the new A1C reduction drug and promised gradual weight loss at the same time, Terry has been hoping his doctor would prescribe it for him.  It’s been all over TV and a hot topic in the medical field.  This new drug helps to lower A1C readings for diabetic individuals and also helps them drop a few pounds at the same time.  Alas, his doctor at the VA clinic can’t prescribe new drugs to hit the market. She said it was a great drug but since it was new the cost was too high. However, the drug company is negotiating with the VA since they feel it would lead to a huge cost savings in the future.  Thus, with his own doctor's approval, Terry decided to madk his own doctor call and visited an internal specialist on Thursday who examined him, checked his other medicines, ran an EKG and prescribed it.  The bad part is that it’s all out of our pocket including the $200 needed upfront at the doctor's office.  Now Terry will need to monitor his blood sugar readings more carefully than he ever has.  Actually, that should be good for him.  He’s never been good at doing that and over the years has got himself into trouble …. as some of you RVing buddies know. Also, if he gets his A1C down, he can get dental implants!!  That is a big incentive!

While Terry was sitting in a waiting room waiting for the doctor, I was doing something a little bit more exciting.  Well, I thought it was exciting.

  Remember this image?  I posted it mid-May as my goal  -  Size 6.

Actually even more than a weight goal, I had a size goal.   This picture was to represent what size I wanted to be able to fit into on my future shopping days.  I can say … that part of my goal has been satisfied.



This is what I bought today!

Size 4!  Size 4!  

However, I must admit I couldn’t wear all size 4’s but I could wear several.  We all know it's who makes them, the style and how they are made.  Some of the 6’s fit perfectly too.  It was so much fun just to try clothes types I used to wear.   Now I've exceeded my goal and can say I’m into size 4 pants again!  Shopping day is going to be so much fun.  Heck, I might just move it up to tomorrow!   Woot!  Woot! 

For the rest of you who have been asking for a picture of me in a swimsuit, I am going to post one so get ready.  My friend, Janice,  sent me one she took a couple years ago when we were in Yuma.  Yep, that’s me modeling in a swimsuit!  Janice wanted proof first that those size 4 pants didn't belong to Jordie and I wasn't just pulling her leg!

 

What do you think?

‘Tis life on the road..

Homecoming - Norfolk Bound

Homecoming means coming home to what is in your heart.  

I loved writing that title above but probably not as much as Justin would love it.  We received a phone call from him on Sunday.  He had tried to call several times the day before but no such luck.  When you’re on the other side of the world times are different and pay phones are expensive.  However, Sunday was our lucky day.

Not only did he want to touch base with us but he also wanted to let us know that shipmates are starting to talk about the big event … heading back to the United States and their “homecoming” in Norfolk.   They’ve seen lots of the world since they headed out to sea in February but “Homecoming  is uppermost in their mind.  He wanted to know if we could be there to greet him in Norfolk when his ship pulled in. Would we come to his homecoming?  That was the question.  So .... we’re thinking we may just be Norfolk bound this fall! (Add that to our list of things on our calendar I posted on the last blog.)   Not sure how we’re going to do this though since we won’t have much notice and Duchess needs a keeper.  We will certainly work it out if we can and at least one of his will definitely be there..  That’s just about the most exciting news I can think of right now! 

However, we have to take it one step at a time.  We have several other places we need to be before we head to Norfolk. The first real trip on our agenda is the one Terry will need to make to a wedding in Virginia and that one is coming up real soon.  Then, we have the trip for our family reunion.  The next trip is about 3 weeks later and that's the cousins' reunion in Texas .... then, we'll start thinking about Norfolk or heading south ... depending on timing of either one of those which will come first.  Aargh!

Tammi and Robert fishing on the lake

One of many!

We made a trip back up to our little “cabin” only to discover that the refrigerator may have died. (I thought it best not to take pictures of that.)  I took several garbage bags of food items to the dump.  That’s not a fun thing to do.  The gas on the refrigerator works fine but it’s the electric that isn’t working.  Without knowing that, we shut off the gas before we pulled out. 

Terry did discover that a fuse had blown.  Is that all it is?  We don’t know yet.  We went to four different places yesterday trying to find a new fuse and no one had one.  So, that's just one more thing we have to fix.  We figure an RV place might be the best place to look.

Speed limit in one area was 5mph.  I had no problem keeping it under that.

Monday was also another beautiful day on the lake.  It was one of those days when the water was amazing.  It was peaceful and perfect.  Tammi and Robert grabbed their fishing poles and played the catch and release game with trout.  They caught them and then gave them their life back.

I still want a new lightweight paddle but haven’t found anyone willing to buy one for me!

Finishing off the day at the community putt-putt area.

Ever have a step break on your motorhome?  Well, that was what we had break on Tuesday.  It was the arm underneath the step and the bolt broke right into.  Getting a new one ordered has proven a very difficult task. I guess we're going to have to go straight to Monaco.  The RV places around here don't seem too willing to help.  However, we did find the fuse at the first RV shop we stopped at.  That was a good thing.

 



‘Tis life on the road.

It’s Been A Busy Week

For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.

Normally when I’m struggling to post on my blog it’s because we have been doing more sitting than going.  Well, that certainly hasn’t been the case recently.  I’ve been struggling to find the time to look at the pictures, sort them and then post a blog.  It’s hard to keep up!!  Well, I’m also struggling to find the time to read the ones I follow.  Where is all this time going anyway?

As an example, six days ago Sandi and I went to a concert with my brother Marv.  It was the Midsummer Concert they hold at his church in Portland during July.  It opens every year with America the Beautiful performed by the full symphony orchestra and choir.  It was absolutely beautiful.

Lee and Sabrina gave Jordie a new laptop computer for graduation.    She was thrilled with it but needed the Microsoft Office Suite with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.  After all, she’s in college and she needs those programs.  It’s not that she could wait until September either since she’s taking two classes during the summer too.  So, we decided to give her a birthday present a couple weeks early …. guess what it was?  You’re right … the Microsoft programs.

The Fourth of July was a fun day for us.  It was so fun last year that we decided to go back to the same place we had spent it then.  

We have been to huge firework displays but the one in Kalama is the absolute best.  It’s not organized and people bring their own fireworks.  You would think it might not be much.  Let me tell you.  That isn’t the case.  Your neck gets so tired turning and looking at all of them and it goes on forever.  People don’t just spend hundreds of dollars to watch the flashes in the sky.  They spend thousands and thousands of dollars for this event.  What did we spend?  Well, we’re not the big spenders.  We spent $40.  We have no desire to keep up with the big guys. 

It was a great day.  We spent it with family eating, kayaking and watching the skies explode with other people’s money.

Putting the kayaks in the Columbia River is quite different than putting them in some of the other rivers around here.  It’s a mighty big river with mighty big ships.  It can also get pretty dang rough.  Of course, some of those waves are fun to ride but the paddling can also mean quite a workout. 

You can see a little of the chop on the water by the picture but the real reason I even took it was to show the red, white and blue bow that Tammi decorated the kayaks with.

In the distance you can see Tammi and Robert paddling and the ship heading our way.

Neither Jordie nor Brendan were dressed for kayaking.  Here you see Brendan begging Jordie to let him go kayaking even though she wasn’t going to go.  I think she’s on the right track in training him!

We lost a hook off of our kayaks the other day.  Instead of replacing the hook, we decided to replace the whole strap …. plus what the kayaks sit on.  Thule has special kayak racks so we had their "J" hooks added to the top rack we had built.  Don't dare ask what all this rack work cost.  I'd never admit it.

I think the kayaks are really secure now.  There are good things and bad things going to a place like Alder Creek Kayak in Portland.  The good thing is in addition to selling us the hooks, they also installed them and made sure the hooks and kayaks were secured.  If we had bought them anyplace else, we would have just walked out the door with a couple of boxes.

The not so good thing is that we usually find other things we want.  I found a paddle I'd sure like to have.  I've tried to justify it since it has a small shaft and I have small hands.   Why didn’t I get it?  I didn’t get it because it was $400!!!  Besides …. I think I wanted this rack more.

Our plans continue to be that we’re going to take a vacation soon.  We just don’t know how soon or where.  Summer isn’t over yet.  However, it will be just as busy over the next few weeks as it has been or maybe even busier.   We still have seven birthdays, one wedding in Virginia, one reunion in Port Angeles, one reunion in Texas and one anniversary in the next couple of months. Those are just the things I can think of right now.

One of those reunions I'm in charge of and that's a whole lot more work than just going to it.  I've been sending little reminders out every couple of months and just finished the final one with all the details.  It's a Texas style reunion so decorations have been ordered and received.  Ribs have been bought and stuck in Bri's freezer.  The planning for the games, prizes and food sure has made the brain work.  The reunion will be a lot of fun but it's certainly been more work getting ready for it than I figured it would be.  

Summer is a very busy time for sure.  Terry keeps saying that one of these days we’ll retire.  Well, maybe we will.

‘Tis life on the road.

Finally ... I Can Touch My Toes Again !!

PACKING 30 POUNDS LESS

Never order food in excess of your body weight.

I don’t chose when it’s time to report in with an update by the date.  It’s by the pounds and that time has come again. Thank goodness.  It may seem a short time to some but to me it’s taking forever to
get here.  Taking off the last ten has taken a long, long time!!   I just hope it takes longer to put those pounds back on that it took to take them off!  I have to get this posted this quick because we finally put something in the refrigerator that I can't just have one bite of.  For some folks it's popcorn and for others it might be potato chips but for me it's watermelon!

At the moment another milestone has finally been reached.  I’ve lost 30 pounds!  Yahoo!!  Yippee!! Woot!  Woot!  Not only that but my BMI is no longer in the overweight range.  It’s normal again and I can really touch my toes!

Thirty pounds less than I was on April 23rd!  First report given on May 15th after shedding 11 pounds.

Second report made on June 7th carrying 20 pounds less than before. 

On Day one I had a goal but the closer I got to that goal, I wasn't so sure that was a good goal.  I’m only two pounds away from that one now.  That's not really where I want to be so I changed it to six more pounds instead but then again, I'm not so sure that's where I want to be either.  Maybe I'll change that goal to ten more pounds ... maybe.  However, the plan is to go much slower yet now.  You can't just stop this on a dime and go back to eating like before.  I plan on sliding into that goal no matter what it ends up being.  I'd like to feel like I've accomplished something.  Whatever the magic number is I want to be through in August.  At least I want to be mostly through.  

My big shopping day of August 1st isn't going to be so big.  I had to break down and buy a couple pairs of pants that weren't uncomfortable to wear or likely to fall off.

  ---  Too Skinny.

As well as being on a diet, I’ve had a few new learning experiences.  Everything isn’t about the size you wear.  After all you can wear three different sizes at the same time just by changing name brand, design or by wearing spandex.  I've been wearing lots of spandex but even those fall into the one size fits all bracket.

Another learning experience I had was in ring sizing.  My rings were getting way too tight in April.  You know how it works.  Just like my clothes were shrinking from the clothes dryers in the RV parks, the gold in my rings were shrinking too.  I was thinking it was a reflection on the economy and they were getting smaller just like every thing else we were buying.  The answer was to have about six of them sized up and that was just a few days before I went on this diet.  Ouch!   Now the only ones that fit are the ones I didn’t have sized.  I think I’ll wait a while to have any resized down!

-- Who in the world would get on a scale with the weight of a wet towel around their head and another towel around their body?  Not me!!!

Most of us learn to count like this 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  I’ve learned a new way of counting.  It’s like this –.1, –.2, –.3, –.4, –.5.  I can now count backwards very efficiently. My scale has taught me how.

That’s my report.  Some folks look forward to a last supper.  I’m looking forward to a first supper.  What do I want?  I want to go to Anthony’s and have their Ling Cod!!

Finally …………… I’m beginning to see the light at the end of tunnel.  I just don't know exactly where that end is.


‘Tis life on the road.

Mooch–Docking

We grow small trying to be great.

Some of you know what Mooch-docking means.  Others not so much.  It means we’ve pulled into a driveway or on a piece of property owned by someone who just happens to be a friend or maybe a family member.  Well, that’s what we did.  Sunday we moved the motorhome into Lee’s driveway.  Day 1 was to cool down the motorhome and especially the refrigerator.  . The on again off again move was made on Monday.

Perhaps, our timing isn’t the best.  The hottest days of the summer are here and air conditioning is definitely a necessity.  We’ll just see how we do with that.  We absolutely don’t want to run up their bill but we also can’t sleep when it’s too hot.  I can tell you that 95 degrees is too hot!  One thing for sure is that it is much cooler at their yard because they get the wonderful marine air coming off the river.  We certainly do enjoy those breezes during the hot summer days.

Saturday we did a little more kayaking, of course.  We joined Tammi and her family on the water for a short period of time.  The water was no where near like it was on Thursday.  Thursday it was just like glass because there were no boats around.  Saturday was busy with boats and the water a little choppy but it was still a wonderful morning on the water.  Days like that are hard to beat.

In the afternoon we had a birthday party to go to.  It was for my great-nephew who had just turned 6!  That’s a big day for him.  Steaks were on the barbecue and it appeared everyone had a good time especially Zak.

Take a look at the following two shots I took off the TV set.  What do you think these guys are doing?  Do you think they are hunters?

They aren’t hunters.  They are police officers sitting in the brush along side the freeway running radar.  Some folks say it’s all about safety.  I disagree.

We thought we'd get lots of new areas to kayak by moving into town.  However, as usual .... we've been so very busy restocking the motorhome and running errands now that we're in town.  We've got to admit that the internet is much better here than where we were.

‘Tis life on the road.

Some Days Are Just Harder Than Others

  The most beautiful thing in the world is, of course, the world itself.

That’s true.  Some days ARE just harder than others and Thursday was one of them.  It started off taking care of all the little mouths that come around here for a hand-out.  The three hummingbird feeders had to be cleaned and changed.  Next the squirrels were gathering around for their share.  Even a raccoon showed up.  Now he got shooed away.  Hopefully, no extra morsel for him.

Then, Mrs. Kitty, the feral cat who seems to have adopted us, brought her baby kittens to visit and get fed, of course.  We certainly enjoyed watching them running and playing.  However, I think she thinks she lives here now.  Oh oh.

Next Mrs. Deer brought her newborn twins to visit too.  They weren’t quite as playful as the kittens but they were there watching their mom get fed and trying to get fed too.  The babies are so cute.

Then, we forced ourselves to take the kayaks out on their maiden voyage.  Even though the day was a little cloudy, it was warm and the water was just like glass.  We had actually planned on going out much longer but had forgot to pick up an extra paddle for Sandi.  That meant we had to take turns.  Wait a minute … Terry and Sandi had to take turns.  I didn't want to take turns.  The new kayaks just glide through the water.  We're happy with our choice.

 

Since we didn’t paddle as long as we had thought we would, we decided to swim a few laps in the community pool. We had the whole pool to ourselves and that’s just the way we like it. I did discover I need a new swimsuit.  I just bought it a couple months ago but it doesn’t fit anymore since I’ve shrunk a tad.

Back at the cabin we removed the beef and the pork from the smoker. It was done and it was done perfectly. What we didn’t need for dinner was put in the freezer for another day.

That was it. I bet you can tell that it really was another hard day but it’s just what we like.  If we didn’t endure, someone else would have to.

‘Tis a good life on the road.