The tittle sums it up, my girlfriend Rene left that comment on a FB recently,i'ts just what I've been feeling lately. Thursday we had the walk through and then headed into town, decided to stop by the lawyers office and sign a power of attorney on the off chance we were not able to make it Friday. Our area was under a flood watch and the roads here have taken a beating lately, our most direct route into the Burlington area had road closures earlier this year so a POA assured we'd have our closing Friday.
Friday Dave headed to work at 5:30, the predicted 2"-3" of rain predicted had never materialized so at 6:55 I headed into town to pick up Dave and be to the lawyers by 8:30, by 9:30 we were out of there but with out a check. The buyers used Quicken loans and they hadn't wired in the money yet, we were assured it would be here but it was a bit disconcerting to leave with out money in our hands. I took Dave back to work, then tried to call my girlfriend Carol, since I didn't connect with her I pulled into a parking lot and called my brother. Andy and I talked for a bit about all the changes going on with each of us and our folks, Andy and his family have some changes going on too so exciting times for everyone.
I finally caught up Carol and her daughter Sam at Barnes and Noble, since I had to stay in town waiting for our check we decided to head to lunch at Olive Garden. After a enjoyable lunch with good food and company but no phone call Carol and I decided dress shopping was in order since we were both looking still looking for dressed to wear to up coming weddings. My luck was better today than previous times and I finally found one, now one more for the other wedding-sure wish the wedding weren't for the same family. While shopping I got the phone call that our check was ready, after dropping off Carol and Sam I picked up the check, went to get Dave's signature and then headed to the bank. I finally arrived home at 4:30, the last long day that I should have to put in for awhile. Dave arrived home around 7, we had a frozen pizza to celebrate then took a walk around the campground to share the news with our friends here.
So we are houseless and loving it, the stress is gone from our lives for the most part, the only stress in Dave's life is work but even that is lessened with out the house. Life is good and now for the next chapter of it.
Until next time...
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Maps
Over the past 10 years Dave and I have made some long road trips anywhere from 3-6 weeks at a time, when we got home we would fill our our wall map with pushpins. The pushpins represented a variety of things, places stayed and things done, it was a great way to relive our trip memories. Our US wall map was a great visual reference for planning trips, over the years we've driven in all 48 continental states. I've also kept a master atlas with our routes and travels highlighted.
Our 2006 Honda Ridgeline with 120k+ miles to show for all of the lower 48 states it's been in. We have decided to take it with us on our travels as our run around vehicle, it's gone everywhere we've asked it to, gets decent gas mileage, considering it's a truck, and it's paid for.
I've been going on road trips since the early 60's when my dad would pick my mother, brother and I up in IL where we had gone by bus or train from TX or NY. I remember early on getting maps when we stopped at a Texaco, and it had to be a Texaco, dad was a company man after all. Free maps and pumped gas are all a thing of the past. Welcome centers give out free maps, but how many young folks know how to read one, we always picked up enough for the boys to have one. We are now on our second Magellan and will probably be getting another one in the near future, I have Microsoft Streets and Trips for the laptop but I never go on a trip with out a good ole' map. It used to be I would write the chamber of commerce for tourist information on what was in an area, now just about everything is online now. How times have changed.
Tuesday I spent the morning working on transferring the pushpin points on the wall atlas to Microsoft Streets and Trips map, the goal is to have it done by the time we pull out in the fall.While this won't be as nice as our wall atlas it will help us remember where we've been. Ask Dave sometime about a waterfall in Death Valley that we drove the truck behind-it was in TN, thank goodness for pictures.
Our weather forecast here has heat and humidity in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon, the roads in VT are taking a beating. Tuesday afternoon turned into a rainy thunderstorm filled time, I was working and had absolutely no sales, though there were a few kids in the pool in between the thunderstorms. The winds were so bad they ripped the storm door open and broke the handle, a pop up lost their awning and the rains came down. Executive decision was made to close at 6 instead of 7, no one was out and about in the campground.
This morning we were having a slow start when around 9am a couple of boys came over to tell us of a broken mirror in the bathroom, we're on call a couple of nights during the week. After cleaning that up Dave started working on building new horseshoe pits, one set here are falling apart so it gave him a project to work on. After getting as far as he could we took a walk around and found our friends from GA were home, and they brought me Strawberry Cider :). As soon as the rain stops we're getting together to open it up.
An early text today had us hoping for a closing tomorrow but it will be Friday at 8:30am. As my girlfriend Rene said on facebook "Bittersweet but YAH!!!" If the weather holds we'll get another walk in and call it an early night. Tomorrow will be an early day since the walk through is at 9am, then errands and such since we'll be in town.
Until next time...
Our 2006 Honda Ridgeline with 120k+ miles to show for all of the lower 48 states it's been in. We have decided to take it with us on our travels as our run around vehicle, it's gone everywhere we've asked it to, gets decent gas mileage, considering it's a truck, and it's paid for.
I've been going on road trips since the early 60's when my dad would pick my mother, brother and I up in IL where we had gone by bus or train from TX or NY. I remember early on getting maps when we stopped at a Texaco, and it had to be a Texaco, dad was a company man after all. Free maps and pumped gas are all a thing of the past. Welcome centers give out free maps, but how many young folks know how to read one, we always picked up enough for the boys to have one. We are now on our second Magellan and will probably be getting another one in the near future, I have Microsoft Streets and Trips for the laptop but I never go on a trip with out a good ole' map. It used to be I would write the chamber of commerce for tourist information on what was in an area, now just about everything is online now. How times have changed.
Tuesday I spent the morning working on transferring the pushpin points on the wall atlas to Microsoft Streets and Trips map, the goal is to have it done by the time we pull out in the fall.While this won't be as nice as our wall atlas it will help us remember where we've been. Ask Dave sometime about a waterfall in Death Valley that we drove the truck behind-it was in TN, thank goodness for pictures.
Our weather forecast here has heat and humidity in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon, the roads in VT are taking a beating. Tuesday afternoon turned into a rainy thunderstorm filled time, I was working and had absolutely no sales, though there were a few kids in the pool in between the thunderstorms. The winds were so bad they ripped the storm door open and broke the handle, a pop up lost their awning and the rains came down. Executive decision was made to close at 6 instead of 7, no one was out and about in the campground.
This morning we were having a slow start when around 9am a couple of boys came over to tell us of a broken mirror in the bathroom, we're on call a couple of nights during the week. After cleaning that up Dave started working on building new horseshoe pits, one set here are falling apart so it gave him a project to work on. After getting as far as he could we took a walk around and found our friends from GA were home, and they brought me Strawberry Cider :). As soon as the rain stops we're getting together to open it up.
An early text today had us hoping for a closing tomorrow but it will be Friday at 8:30am. As my girlfriend Rene said on facebook "Bittersweet but YAH!!!" If the weather holds we'll get another walk in and call it an early night. Tomorrow will be an early day since the walk through is at 9am, then errands and such since we'll be in town.
Until next time...
Monday, June 24, 2013
Summer begins
Wednesday was a work day for Dave which means we're both up at 4:30, after all these years it's such a habit we can't wait to break. While Dave had to be out the door at 5:30 I eased very slowly into my day. Seems like my days start like many others, reading emails and blogs, checking FB and catching up on financials. Saw Gail had commented on making it to VT and about Maplewoods Campground so decided to come out of the blogging closet and put ourselves out there in blogland. Time to make some more new friends, never can have too many. Thank you Gail for being the first full timer to comment on my blog. Plans were soon made for dinner on Thursday and a paddle on Friday, food and playing, have I said lately how much I know we'll love this lifestyle.
Since it was a w**k day for Dave it was one for me too, spent my time talking to folks and trimming some of the many hanging petunias we have around the porch. Since the weather is going to be nice for the next few days Dave took Thursday off so When he got home around 7 I had a fire going, hot dogs over the fire and a beer, not a bad way to end a work day.
Thursday was all about friends, old and new. Around 10am after a quick run to the grocery store Dave put a pork butt on the smoker so it could slow cook all day. Around 11 am my girlfriend Carol and her sister Lisa came out for a visit, have to remember the camera needs to come with me or maybe a different phone :) Dave came back from painting one of the bathrooms in the bath house and grilled some burgers for lunch. I took a walk with the girls around the campground, they left around 2:30 and I headed went to man the store for a few hours. For a Thursday we had nine people checking in, looks like lot of folks wanted to get a jump on the beautiful weather, we have a full campground for the weekend with summer weather forecast for the next week. As my shift wound down wonderful smells were wafting down, dinner was smelling good. Just before 6 I headed home soon after Gail & Rick arrived with the rest of dinner. Pulled pork, roasted potatoes (thanks Gail & Rick) and corn on the cob made for a great meal. We spent the rest of the evening talking and getting to no one another around the fire and planning our float trip on Friday. Sometime after our normal bedtime (9pm) we called it a night, a little TV and reading and soon it was off to bed.
Today is the first day of summer, a day we've celebrated for 29 years. In 1984 we were in a major car accident, thanks to seat belts we're still here today, Dave was out of the hospital in a week but I ended up there for a month. We spent the rest of that summer on disability and finally we both went back to work in the middle of October. After surviving that and not killing each other as we spent the following months recuperating and we celebrated the 1st anniversary of our accident on our honeymoon in Hawaii.
This morning Dave and I headed out to find a spot on the Lamoille River to put in at, since there was construction going on near the take out point we checked it also, it's 5 miles by car and probably 8 or 9 by river. What we thought would be a short 2 hours turned into a 3 1/2 hour float, but with a beautiful sunshine filled VT day and not much paddling required on mine or Gail's part who could complain.We even had a covered bridge thrown in, but alas no moose for Gail.
What a great time we had once again with these very nice folks. I've read from everyone about how nice the RV'ing community is, if Gail and Rick are an example of the folks we'll meet down the road we so have made the right choice in our new lifestyle.
After dinner Friday evening Dave had to go welcome the new campers and see how many dogs he could find. Once again some coworkers are in the campground and some friends we made here last year, and they all know each other. After making the rounds of campfires we finally called it a night around 11pm.
Saturday we got the house almost wrapped up, there is just one trip left and then the final walk through. We are so tired of going to the house, I'm really ready to be done with it. By the time we got back to the RV there was just time to get ice cream before the clouds opened up. After that it was an easy decision to stay in for the night.
Sunday started out warm and humid, by the time I opened the store at 9 there were kids in the pool, a few reservations were made though if we had openings for July 4th we could have made more. The store stayed steady all day, when the sun was out the pool stayed full, it was the busiest Sunday I've worked yet.Monday starts a long work week for Dave so it was an early night.
Still waiting to hear from the appraiser to schedule the return visit, we did hear from the buyers and our fixes are acceptable just need to be verified. Think that's the last piece of the puzzle before closing, sure wish he'd call.
Until next time...
Since it was a w**k day for Dave it was one for me too, spent my time talking to folks and trimming some of the many hanging petunias we have around the porch. Since the weather is going to be nice for the next few days Dave took Thursday off so When he got home around 7 I had a fire going, hot dogs over the fire and a beer, not a bad way to end a work day.
Thursday was all about friends, old and new. Around 10am after a quick run to the grocery store Dave put a pork butt on the smoker so it could slow cook all day. Around 11 am my girlfriend Carol and her sister Lisa came out for a visit, have to remember the camera needs to come with me or maybe a different phone :) Dave came back from painting one of the bathrooms in the bath house and grilled some burgers for lunch. I took a walk with the girls around the campground, they left around 2:30 and I headed went to man the store for a few hours. For a Thursday we had nine people checking in, looks like lot of folks wanted to get a jump on the beautiful weather, we have a full campground for the weekend with summer weather forecast for the next week. As my shift wound down wonderful smells were wafting down, dinner was smelling good. Just before 6 I headed home soon after Gail & Rick arrived with the rest of dinner. Pulled pork, roasted potatoes (thanks Gail & Rick) and corn on the cob made for a great meal. We spent the rest of the evening talking and getting to no one another around the fire and planning our float trip on Friday. Sometime after our normal bedtime (9pm) we called it a night, a little TV and reading and soon it was off to bed.
Today is the first day of summer, a day we've celebrated for 29 years. In 1984 we were in a major car accident, thanks to seat belts we're still here today, Dave was out of the hospital in a week but I ended up there for a month. We spent the rest of that summer on disability and finally we both went back to work in the middle of October. After surviving that and not killing each other as we spent the following months recuperating and we celebrated the 1st anniversary of our accident on our honeymoon in Hawaii.
This morning Dave and I headed out to find a spot on the Lamoille River to put in at, since there was construction going on near the take out point we checked it also, it's 5 miles by car and probably 8 or 9 by river. What we thought would be a short 2 hours turned into a 3 1/2 hour float, but with a beautiful sunshine filled VT day and not much paddling required on mine or Gail's part who could complain.We even had a covered bridge thrown in, but alas no moose for Gail.
 |
| Rick & Gail |
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| Rick & Gail |
What a great time we had once again with these very nice folks. I've read from everyone about how nice the RV'ing community is, if Gail and Rick are an example of the folks we'll meet down the road we so have made the right choice in our new lifestyle.
 | ||||
| Dave, Faye, Gail & Rick |
After dinner Friday evening Dave had to go welcome the new campers and see how many dogs he could find. Once again some coworkers are in the campground and some friends we made here last year, and they all know each other. After making the rounds of campfires we finally called it a night around 11pm.
Saturday we got the house almost wrapped up, there is just one trip left and then the final walk through. We are so tired of going to the house, I'm really ready to be done with it. By the time we got back to the RV there was just time to get ice cream before the clouds opened up. After that it was an easy decision to stay in for the night.
Sunday started out warm and humid, by the time I opened the store at 9 there were kids in the pool, a few reservations were made though if we had openings for July 4th we could have made more. The store stayed steady all day, when the sun was out the pool stayed full, it was the busiest Sunday I've worked yet.Monday starts a long work week for Dave so it was an early night.
Still waiting to hear from the appraiser to schedule the return visit, we did hear from the buyers and our fixes are acceptable just need to be verified. Think that's the last piece of the puzzle before closing, sure wish he'd call.
Until next time...
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
B'day-New Friends
Monday was Dave's birthday, we are once again the same age, for 6 weeks every year I'm married to a younger man :) Since we've been going so much lately we decided to hang around the campground for the day. I even got out of baking a cake, there was leftover cake from the weekend bbq, good deal. Dave enjoyed hearing from the family and friend
Dave has cut back on OT for the last few rotations, over the last few years he usually worked 16-20 hours OT every other week pulling a seven day work week doing it. It's finally time for him to cut back some and enjoy some real time off. Our responsibilities are getting smaller by the day and as they do Dave's stress levels go down, it is so good to see him just kick back and enjoy the moment.
On one of our walks Monday we met Rick of the Gypsy Turtles blog, I haven't read their blog yet but had heard of the name on other blogs I'd read. We visited with Rick a bit and told him we'd have lots of questions for him and Gail. Dave and Rick had talked enough to know they like local beers so a little while later we started off towards their site with an offer to try some local beers we had, as we headed their way Rick and Gail were heading out on a walk around the campground, well we got as far as our site, sat down and laughed the rest of the afternoon away. I think we'll like this life!!!
Later that evening I decided to let friends on FB know we had a blog and that it was now public. Since we now had friends in the blogging world guess I'll have to stop being a lurker and start to participate. Rick and Gail are on their way to Bar Harbor ME to meet other full time friends, it just so happens I lurk on their blog, guess that will change soon too. Oh boy about to jump into this blogging world-though I think knowing me it will take me a few days to comment. The first step is always the hardest, just got to get that foot to move.
Tuesday arrived early, another ride with Dave into work and out to the house for me. On the way in we once again caught up with a friend, Tim gave Dave a ride the rest of the way in, good thing today we were much closer to work. Tim was in his dune buggy and wearing a winter coat, gloves and hat, meanwhile Dave wasn't quite so prepared in his short sleeves. Sure wish I had a camera, though the guy behind us might not have appreciated it, maybe I should get a smarter phone so I could have a camera.
We both need new phones, Dave's is a flip phone and very simple , just like he likes it. His brother is always after him to text him back, whenever Gary texts Dave Dave then calls him back. Gary will even text Dave instructions on how to text him back, good luck with that Gary. I've been trying to figure out what to get, my girlfriend Carol has all the newer stuff and I can see where it would be an asset in many ways. We have Verizon because of their discount Dave gets through work but looking at their website is confusing, I know a trip to the store is in our near future. Usually going to Verizon isn't any fun, for some reason we're limited to the ones that we can go to and inevitably there is a wait.
I stopped to get breakfast at Beaudrys which included a visit with Pat from our local post office, who I later saw again when I dropped off our address change. Pat has been at the post office for years, my father supplies her with books when he is done reading them, always a pleasure know matter what I brought her and there were some doozies over the years. My folks did live in Singapore for awhile, our sons live away so always a reason to see her, she's been there since before we came to town, the benefits of the small town living something we will miss with out a doubt.
By 8:30 I had the truck packed for goodwill and the downstairs cleaned up so I headed up to my folks house. Before it started drizzling we visited and I learned a bit about their new place but the rain cut that short, we'll try to stop in next time we're in Huntington. With both of us moving life is a little crazy for us all but we all do see a light at the end of the tunnel.
It rained on and off lightly so decided to go ahead and cut the grass, by 11 I was done doing what I could. We have a dump run to make, a mattress to drop off and the GMC tailgate to store. Still waiting to hear from the appraiser to do the final check on the door and heating system. Keeping fingers crossed all continues to go so well.
Made the final Goodwill run, stopped by and picked up our first mail at our new address, sprung Dave from work early and we headed home. We decided to stop at Wicked Wings in Johnson VT for lunch, we had some of the best onion rings we've ever had and the rest of the meal was just about as good. We'll definitely be back, we've got their take out menu and Dave has to go by on his way home from work.
I spent the afternoon reading and Dave pondered the inside of his eyelids. Took a walk around the park and found a project for us to work on Thursday. Grilled shrimp and steak for dinner. Like I said I think we'll like this life.
Until next time...
Dave has cut back on OT for the last few rotations, over the last few years he usually worked 16-20 hours OT every other week pulling a seven day work week doing it. It's finally time for him to cut back some and enjoy some real time off. Our responsibilities are getting smaller by the day and as they do Dave's stress levels go down, it is so good to see him just kick back and enjoy the moment.
On one of our walks Monday we met Rick of the Gypsy Turtles blog, I haven't read their blog yet but had heard of the name on other blogs I'd read. We visited with Rick a bit and told him we'd have lots of questions for him and Gail. Dave and Rick had talked enough to know they like local beers so a little while later we started off towards their site with an offer to try some local beers we had, as we headed their way Rick and Gail were heading out on a walk around the campground, well we got as far as our site, sat down and laughed the rest of the afternoon away. I think we'll like this life!!!
Later that evening I decided to let friends on FB know we had a blog and that it was now public. Since we now had friends in the blogging world guess I'll have to stop being a lurker and start to participate. Rick and Gail are on their way to Bar Harbor ME to meet other full time friends, it just so happens I lurk on their blog, guess that will change soon too. Oh boy about to jump into this blogging world-though I think knowing me it will take me a few days to comment. The first step is always the hardest, just got to get that foot to move.
Tuesday arrived early, another ride with Dave into work and out to the house for me. On the way in we once again caught up with a friend, Tim gave Dave a ride the rest of the way in, good thing today we were much closer to work. Tim was in his dune buggy and wearing a winter coat, gloves and hat, meanwhile Dave wasn't quite so prepared in his short sleeves. Sure wish I had a camera, though the guy behind us might not have appreciated it, maybe I should get a smarter phone so I could have a camera.
We both need new phones, Dave's is a flip phone and very simple , just like he likes it. His brother is always after him to text him back, whenever Gary texts Dave Dave then calls him back. Gary will even text Dave instructions on how to text him back, good luck with that Gary. I've been trying to figure out what to get, my girlfriend Carol has all the newer stuff and I can see where it would be an asset in many ways. We have Verizon because of their discount Dave gets through work but looking at their website is confusing, I know a trip to the store is in our near future. Usually going to Verizon isn't any fun, for some reason we're limited to the ones that we can go to and inevitably there is a wait.
I stopped to get breakfast at Beaudrys which included a visit with Pat from our local post office, who I later saw again when I dropped off our address change. Pat has been at the post office for years, my father supplies her with books when he is done reading them, always a pleasure know matter what I brought her and there were some doozies over the years. My folks did live in Singapore for awhile, our sons live away so always a reason to see her, she's been there since before we came to town, the benefits of the small town living something we will miss with out a doubt.
By 8:30 I had the truck packed for goodwill and the downstairs cleaned up so I headed up to my folks house. Before it started drizzling we visited and I learned a bit about their new place but the rain cut that short, we'll try to stop in next time we're in Huntington. With both of us moving life is a little crazy for us all but we all do see a light at the end of the tunnel.
It rained on and off lightly so decided to go ahead and cut the grass, by 11 I was done doing what I could. We have a dump run to make, a mattress to drop off and the GMC tailgate to store. Still waiting to hear from the appraiser to do the final check on the door and heating system. Keeping fingers crossed all continues to go so well.
Made the final Goodwill run, stopped by and picked up our first mail at our new address, sprung Dave from work early and we headed home. We decided to stop at Wicked Wings in Johnson VT for lunch, we had some of the best onion rings we've ever had and the rest of the meal was just about as good. We'll definitely be back, we've got their take out menu and Dave has to go by on his way home from work.
I spent the afternoon reading and Dave pondered the inside of his eyelids. Took a walk around the park and found a project for us to work on Thursday. Grilled shrimp and steak for dinner. Like I said I think we'll like this life.
Until next time...
Monday, June 17, 2013
Anniversary-Fathers Day-Birthday weekend
Friday's work afternoon went well, by closing all but 2 rigs had checked in. Just as 7pm approached they called ends up they were just 10 minutes away, but needed final directions. Since the campground is so new the road it's on isn't in any GPS and there is another road most GPSs try using. Robin ended up staying to check them in and I headed home. Dave ended up coming home a few hours early, it had been his first day back but still wasn't up to par. While waiting for me to come home he took a walk around the campground, he has taken on the official unofficial job of welcoming campers when he's not working. Looks like we have more co-workers in the park, whom I hadn't recognized as they checked in or came to the campstore afterwards. Jack & Sherrie along with Pete and Kathi were here to spend the weekend, I remember Jack from walking in the halls of IBM with Dave and it seems Pete works support for part of my old area there. He knows my old leads and co workers so will be letting them know he met us, I've kept up with some of them but haven't seen any one for awhile. We ended up closing out the night with them and there wives, another great evening in our new lifestyle.
Saturday was our 28th anniversary but we had other celebrating to do, Mount Mansfield Union High School class of 2013 had their graduation so we had to be in Burlington by 10am. Left home around 8:10 and by 9:35 we were sitting with the McDonald family awaiting the graduates. I used to have a cleaning business and have kept in touch with a few of them thanks to Facebook, I sure surprised Barb when I caught up with her. Earlier I had seen her so when she stopped to take pictures in front of us I said hi to her, took her a bit to place me since she hadn't a clue I'd be there. After a short visit and a promise to try and catch up before she leaves the area we both had a graduation to watch.
Since the graduation party was a mile away from our house we headed there first, Dave mowed and I got all of the stuff we need to get out of the house to the garage. Looks like one more trip to various places and then a few things to come back home and we will be done. We headed to the McDonald house were we enjoyed a few hours of celebrating with them, so good to see their families again, by 3pm Dave was ready to head home.
Saturday was a Father's Day BBQ celebration in the campground, we got back in time to enjoy some cake and to visit with our new extended family. Over the course of the evening we took a few slow walks around the campground visiting with lots of people eventually ending the night with our friends from work.
Sunday we actually slept in till after 6, hopefully when we don't work we'll be able to stay up later and get up later, with the schedule Dave keeps it easier to be early to bed and early to rise people, can't wait to change it by just a few hours or so. I headed to work around 10 and closed at 5pm, took a few reservations but spent most of my time dead heading petunia baskets we have hanging around our wraparound porch. By the time I headed to home I knew I was coming down with whatever Dave has had, I spent the rest of the evening feeling worse by the minute.
Until next time...
Saturday was our 28th anniversary but we had other celebrating to do, Mount Mansfield Union High School class of 2013 had their graduation so we had to be in Burlington by 10am. Left home around 8:10 and by 9:35 we were sitting with the McDonald family awaiting the graduates. I used to have a cleaning business and have kept in touch with a few of them thanks to Facebook, I sure surprised Barb when I caught up with her. Earlier I had seen her so when she stopped to take pictures in front of us I said hi to her, took her a bit to place me since she hadn't a clue I'd be there. After a short visit and a promise to try and catch up before she leaves the area we both had a graduation to watch.
Since the graduation party was a mile away from our house we headed there first, Dave mowed and I got all of the stuff we need to get out of the house to the garage. Looks like one more trip to various places and then a few things to come back home and we will be done. We headed to the McDonald house were we enjoyed a few hours of celebrating with them, so good to see their families again, by 3pm Dave was ready to head home.
Saturday was a Father's Day BBQ celebration in the campground, we got back in time to enjoy some cake and to visit with our new extended family. Over the course of the evening we took a few slow walks around the campground visiting with lots of people eventually ending the night with our friends from work.
Sunday we actually slept in till after 6, hopefully when we don't work we'll be able to stay up later and get up later, with the schedule Dave keeps it easier to be early to bed and early to rise people, can't wait to change it by just a few hours or so. I headed to work around 10 and closed at 5pm, took a few reservations but spent most of my time dead heading petunia baskets we have hanging around our wraparound porch. By the time I headed to home I knew I was coming down with whatever Dave has had, I spent the rest of the evening feeling worse by the minute.
Until next time...
Friday, June 14, 2013
Sick Husband - IL Home
Monday Dave headed to work, an hour later I got call from him, the bug that had got him on Sunday was making it difficult to work, by 7:30 he was home and down for the count. I spent the rainy day inside keeping eye on him or reading blogs and doing stuff on the computer. I spent a slow afternoon at the store, got a few reservations but no ice cream sales.
Tuesday was a repeat of Monday I just headed into town to do laundry and get some groceries. Another rainy afternoon spent around home hanging out with a sick husband. I spent the afternoon at the store again and had absolutely no customers.
Wednesday was Dave's day off, we had had a lot planned for the day, he wasn't feeling the best but decided to go for it. I've known Dave for 31 years and never seen his social security card, I decided he needed a replacement and wanted to get it while still here. During our waiting I overheard the clerk ask for folks social security number, instead of writing it down he had them say it out loud along with their name, birth date and mothers maiden name, not good that info in the wrong hands could cause some real problems for someone. When I went out to feed the parking meter I spoke to the security guard, hopefully he tells someone who can get the problem addressed. After waiting over an hour we finally got to the window, after a short conversation and the clerk wondering why we lived at a shopping center we were on our way 10 minutes later. After observing some of the clientele and the frustrations of people waiting so long we understood why they had an armed security guard there. Our next stop was at DMV and that was a much more pleasant experience.
After a few more stops we headed to the house since we wanted to take advantage of the garage. Dave wanted to change the oil in the Ridgeline and I started the final clean up of upstairs, I actually think I'm all done up there. Next week I'll be back to finish up downstairs and we'll be done for good I hope.
Thursday Dave was still not feeling up to par so we stayed home and took a few short walks around the campground. Dave puttered around outside cleaning the grill and smoker, I spent some time cleaning the inside, by the afternoon we were taking naps.In the afternoon a co worker of Dave's and their wife stopped by for a short visit, Tim and Jenni help work a family farm, their farm stand is convenient for Dave to stop on the way home from work now. Last summer Tim would bring in sweet corn to work and we enjoyed some over a few campfires, can't wait till it's ready this year.
My folks headed to IL last Saturday to look for a home, Thursday was the day they were to start going out looking at homes. I'm sure in the town they're looking in there isn't too much available since it's a small town, by the afternoon we got a message they had purchased their next home. They should be moving the end of July.
Today I've gone to the grocery store, got caught up on blog writing and made a fruit salad for a graduation party tomorrow. I'll spend the afternoon and early evening at the store, it'll be my first Friday evening and I'm looking forward to being busy, lots of reservations for the weekend and the sun is suppose to shine.
Until next time...
Tuesday was a repeat of Monday I just headed into town to do laundry and get some groceries. Another rainy afternoon spent around home hanging out with a sick husband. I spent the afternoon at the store again and had absolutely no customers.
Wednesday was Dave's day off, we had had a lot planned for the day, he wasn't feeling the best but decided to go for it. I've known Dave for 31 years and never seen his social security card, I decided he needed a replacement and wanted to get it while still here. During our waiting I overheard the clerk ask for folks social security number, instead of writing it down he had them say it out loud along with their name, birth date and mothers maiden name, not good that info in the wrong hands could cause some real problems for someone. When I went out to feed the parking meter I spoke to the security guard, hopefully he tells someone who can get the problem addressed. After waiting over an hour we finally got to the window, after a short conversation and the clerk wondering why we lived at a shopping center we were on our way 10 minutes later. After observing some of the clientele and the frustrations of people waiting so long we understood why they had an armed security guard there. Our next stop was at DMV and that was a much more pleasant experience.
After a few more stops we headed to the house since we wanted to take advantage of the garage. Dave wanted to change the oil in the Ridgeline and I started the final clean up of upstairs, I actually think I'm all done up there. Next week I'll be back to finish up downstairs and we'll be done for good I hope.
Thursday Dave was still not feeling up to par so we stayed home and took a few short walks around the campground. Dave puttered around outside cleaning the grill and smoker, I spent some time cleaning the inside, by the afternoon we were taking naps.In the afternoon a co worker of Dave's and their wife stopped by for a short visit, Tim and Jenni help work a family farm, their farm stand is convenient for Dave to stop on the way home from work now. Last summer Tim would bring in sweet corn to work and we enjoyed some over a few campfires, can't wait till it's ready this year.
My folks headed to IL last Saturday to look for a home, Thursday was the day they were to start going out looking at homes. I'm sure in the town they're looking in there isn't too much available since it's a small town, by the afternoon we got a message they had purchased their next home. They should be moving the end of July.
Today I've gone to the grocery store, got caught up on blog writing and made a fruit salad for a graduation party tomorrow. I'll spend the afternoon and early evening at the store, it'll be my first Friday evening and I'm looking forward to being busy, lots of reservations for the weekend and the sun is suppose to shine.
Until next time...
Moving Sale-New Address
Friday we were on the road early, we were heading into town Dave for some OT and me to get ready for the moving sale. As we got near Dave's work a coworker pulled out behind us, Dave got him to pull off and take him into work while I headed directly to the house. After a quick stop at our general store for breakfast and a visit with the owner I got started on the moving sale.
I had decided to put out the sign as I got ready Friday for Saturdays sale, pretty soon I had people stopping. Dave sent someone over from work and by the time I left at 11am for my haircut appointment I had made $250. I haven't had a haircut since September so Heather had her work cut out for her. We've known Heather since she rode the school bus as a senior when our son David was in 1st grade, she lived just up the road from us. She has been styling the whole family since she started out in the industry, Friday was catch up day. Just as we are moving out of Huntington she is moving back in, to her parents house as they move to the house next door. Lots of things for us to catch up on. My next stop was Staples for a few items, as I walk in who do I see but our best friends Mike & Carol, they had stopped by the house while I was getting ready but we didn't talk about where they were headed. We ended up at Chili's for lunch and had a great impromptu lunch together. Afterwards I made a few stops, I got our new address set up at the UPS store and then stopped in to say goodbye to the owner of our oil delivery company. Years ago I would call around and find the cheapest oil, for many years I have been using the same company and even got the chance to get to know the owner when I worked at the bank. I picked Dave up just before 3pm and by 4pm we were home.
After a short regrouping we headed over to see one of Dave's coworkers, they and their best friends had come for the weekend. We talked with them for a short while promising to catch up Saturday evening, by 9pm we were in bed.
Saturday we slept in till 5am, by 6am we were on the road for the house, a quick stop at Beaudry's our general store and we had the garage doors open by 7:30. Our other best friends Les & Deb came over with things to sale, they plan to sell their house next spring and move some where warmer. With just a few short breaks we had a steady flow of people coming in until 2pm when we starting shutting down. Mike and Carol also came over to spend the time with us and bring us sustenance. Mike had made a homemade pizza that we all devoured along with some sandwiches Les and Deb brought from Beaudry's we all ate well. Thanks guys we really appreciated it. All totaled we made over $800, not too bad and we're getting $1700 from the buyers for the stuff they want, should pay for the lawyers with some left over.
After dropping off our king bed and dresser to a storage unit for a friend we made it home around 4pm. Boy were we beat, we kept thinking about catching up with our friends and wondering if we really had the energy.
We decided to take a walk around camp and see what was going on, first stop for me was another seasonals while Dave talked to his buddy as he was playing horseshoes. Soon Dave joined the rest of the seasonals around a fire, most of them know we are counting the days till closing so we filled them in on the latest. I ended up with a glass of wine, me who doesn't drink wine but has been thinking I may need to rethink wine drinking, drank a glass of wine. Followed by a Seagram's (flavored beer) strawberry daiquiri, I'm not a beer drinker either and there are just a few mixed drinks that I do drink but like food I am trying to expand my palette.After that I knew I needed to eat before any more drinking was to take place.
After dinner and a short rest we headed back to visit with our friends, before we knew it it was 11pm, way past my bedtime. Seems we must have gotten a second or third wind.
Sunday after a leisurely morning we headed back to the house. We packed as much as possible into our Honda Ridgeline and headed to Goodwill. There's a bit of furniture, just a bit more that will end up at Goodwill and then need to take all of our old chemicals in for disposal. We'll probably have just a few more trips to the house. :)
Until next time...
I had decided to put out the sign as I got ready Friday for Saturdays sale, pretty soon I had people stopping. Dave sent someone over from work and by the time I left at 11am for my haircut appointment I had made $250. I haven't had a haircut since September so Heather had her work cut out for her. We've known Heather since she rode the school bus as a senior when our son David was in 1st grade, she lived just up the road from us. She has been styling the whole family since she started out in the industry, Friday was catch up day. Just as we are moving out of Huntington she is moving back in, to her parents house as they move to the house next door. Lots of things for us to catch up on. My next stop was Staples for a few items, as I walk in who do I see but our best friends Mike & Carol, they had stopped by the house while I was getting ready but we didn't talk about where they were headed. We ended up at Chili's for lunch and had a great impromptu lunch together. Afterwards I made a few stops, I got our new address set up at the UPS store and then stopped in to say goodbye to the owner of our oil delivery company. Years ago I would call around and find the cheapest oil, for many years I have been using the same company and even got the chance to get to know the owner when I worked at the bank. I picked Dave up just before 3pm and by 4pm we were home.
After a short regrouping we headed over to see one of Dave's coworkers, they and their best friends had come for the weekend. We talked with them for a short while promising to catch up Saturday evening, by 9pm we were in bed.
Saturday we slept in till 5am, by 6am we were on the road for the house, a quick stop at Beaudry's our general store and we had the garage doors open by 7:30. Our other best friends Les & Deb came over with things to sale, they plan to sell their house next spring and move some where warmer. With just a few short breaks we had a steady flow of people coming in until 2pm when we starting shutting down. Mike and Carol also came over to spend the time with us and bring us sustenance. Mike had made a homemade pizza that we all devoured along with some sandwiches Les and Deb brought from Beaudry's we all ate well. Thanks guys we really appreciated it. All totaled we made over $800, not too bad and we're getting $1700 from the buyers for the stuff they want, should pay for the lawyers with some left over.
After dropping off our king bed and dresser to a storage unit for a friend we made it home around 4pm. Boy were we beat, we kept thinking about catching up with our friends and wondering if we really had the energy.
We decided to take a walk around camp and see what was going on, first stop for me was another seasonals while Dave talked to his buddy as he was playing horseshoes. Soon Dave joined the rest of the seasonals around a fire, most of them know we are counting the days till closing so we filled them in on the latest. I ended up with a glass of wine, me who doesn't drink wine but has been thinking I may need to rethink wine drinking, drank a glass of wine. Followed by a Seagram's (flavored beer) strawberry daiquiri, I'm not a beer drinker either and there are just a few mixed drinks that I do drink but like food I am trying to expand my palette.After that I knew I needed to eat before any more drinking was to take place.
After dinner and a short rest we headed back to visit with our friends, before we knew it it was 11pm, way past my bedtime. Seems we must have gotten a second or third wind.
Sunday after a leisurely morning we headed back to the house. We packed as much as possible into our Honda Ridgeline and headed to Goodwill. There's a bit of furniture, just a bit more that will end up at Goodwill and then need to take all of our old chemicals in for disposal. We'll probably have just a few more trips to the house. :)
Until next time...
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Tom's day
Today is our son Tom's 24th birthday, Happy Birthday Tom we love you. From the day he was born he has been full of energy, he has brought joy and happiness to our lives. He lives with his girlfriend Krystal in Colorado Springs CO and waits tables for Red Robin, when he's not busy working he enjoys ultimate Frisbee and bowling. After leaving a message on his phone he called me back and we had a great short visit. So far his day is going well and has heard from us and had a conversation with his brother, their first since he moved away in 2011. Our sons are polar opposites and for many years have not gotten along, for a multitude of reasons. When David called for Tom's number this morning I had high hopes for them to connect for a bit. I've kept Tom up to date on the changes in David's life, Tom told me they had a great conversation. I later talked with Dave, Tom had not told him about his talk with David, when Dave heard about that he was amazed, we are so glad they have reconnected if only briefly. What a great day this is becoming.
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| 10-2011 Faye, Tom, Krystal & Dave |
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
The week has started
Sunday was overcast so was a slow day in the store. Took a few reservations, had someone check in for a few weeks but over all a slow day.
Monday after a grocery run Dave and I got to doing our chores. Dave spent the afternoon getting a slide topper put on the bedroom slide. Since his sealing of some seams we've had no more water, the topper will help keep the debris off the top and help if we do have any more leaks in the bedroom slide. Around 1:30 Dave put ribs and a couple of chickens in the smoker. Around 4pm Mike and Carol arrived, Dave had started a fire already so we spent the afternoon talking around the fire though we did take a walk around the campground. After an evening filled with talking and laughing they headed out around 10pm. We do appreciate them coming out and are looking forward to going to their daughters graduation in a few weeks.
Tuesday started off very slow, around 10am we decided we really should head to the house and get some work done toward this weekends garage sale. We got everything moved downstairs the buyers aren't buying. Most of the stuff we had set aside for the sale made it to the garage. The weather isn't suppose to be too good but we don't have a lot of choice left for weekends. Closing is tentatively set for the 28th of June, we are all hoping for a sooner date though. After the sale we will take one load to Goodwill then return on Sunday to finish getting it out of the house. After which there won't be too many reasons to go to the house which will help with the gas bill.
This morning was spent touching base with a few folks, getting the word out about the sale and getting the financials up to date. Now it's time to go put a few hours in at the store.
Until next time...
Monday after a grocery run Dave and I got to doing our chores. Dave spent the afternoon getting a slide topper put on the bedroom slide. Since his sealing of some seams we've had no more water, the topper will help keep the debris off the top and help if we do have any more leaks in the bedroom slide. Around 1:30 Dave put ribs and a couple of chickens in the smoker. Around 4pm Mike and Carol arrived, Dave had started a fire already so we spent the afternoon talking around the fire though we did take a walk around the campground. After an evening filled with talking and laughing they headed out around 10pm. We do appreciate them coming out and are looking forward to going to their daughters graduation in a few weeks.
Tuesday started off very slow, around 10am we decided we really should head to the house and get some work done toward this weekends garage sale. We got everything moved downstairs the buyers aren't buying. Most of the stuff we had set aside for the sale made it to the garage. The weather isn't suppose to be too good but we don't have a lot of choice left for weekends. Closing is tentatively set for the 28th of June, we are all hoping for a sooner date though. After the sale we will take one load to Goodwill then return on Sunday to finish getting it out of the house. After which there won't be too many reasons to go to the house which will help with the gas bill.
This morning was spent touching base with a few folks, getting the word out about the sale and getting the financials up to date. Now it's time to go put a few hours in at the store.
Until next time...
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Catching up & weather extremes
Not too much going on around here, seems like we are in a holding pattern. Wednesday we spent hanging around the campground. Took a few walks around the park and visited with some of the seasonals. There are three other couples that live here fulltime during the summer. One couple Dick & Pat full-timed for awhile, looking forward to picking their brains over the summer. We've already been told to stop by their home area in GA, our winter plans this year are to stay out west but the following year we plan to do a gulf coast tour.
Thursday we headed back to the house. We had a few appointments to keep there. Our septic was being pumped, oh boy and the buyers wanted to be there. Also coming was the appraiser for the FHA loan they are applying for. For the most part things went well, a few things have to be addressed. We have a deck on part of a flat roof off of the master bedroom. We have our hot tub there and it is a place we spent many an hour relaxing there. We never put up railings, which I kind of thought might come back one day and haunt us but figured we'd address it then. Then is now, hopefully the work around will be a locking bolt on the sliding door. We were under the impression that only the furnace needed to be checked, well no they want to check the whole system which is down now. So when the appraiser comes back to verify what ever the underwriter wants for the deck safety he'll check the heating system. Otherwise things seem to be progressing along nicely. We have a garage sale planned for June 8th so next week we'll be back at the house getting stuff done for that.
Friday was a work day for Dave, I had my errands to run. Tried the laundry in Morriseville, very nice but a bit pricey, $3/wash load & .25 for 6 minutes in the dryer. But it is convenient to my grocery store so until the laundry room here is done I'll be visiting it on grocery day. Stopped by a nursery and got some annuals for the small garden we have here. Got the grocery shopping done, it's getting easier each time to navigate the store, not wandering lost in the store anymore. It was a sunny afternoon so got all the plants in and watered. Sat down in the RV for a bit, ended up turning on the AC. Another typical VT week, starts of with record lows, snow & furnaces running in the RV's and the week ends with record highs and the AC's running. As they say in VT give the weather 5 minutes and it'll change totally. We've experienced 80 degree changes in 24 hours, a low of -40 to 40 above one of the first years we lived here. It had rained Thursday and Dave had lamented about not having fire so Friday as the temps dropped in the evening I got one started all by myself and the help of some fire starters :). When he got home we had small dinner and sat around the fire and had deserts, s'mores for me and pepperoni on a stick for him.
Saturday was a work day for me but didn't have to be there till noon. There was to be a chili cook off that day at the campground. In the morning I got Dave's chili recipe out and got started on my first time making it alone. Seems like I'm finding my way around this tiny kitchen quite nicely, when cooking or baking it's all in getting stuff prepped and measured out before hand. Guess everyone heard how awesome our chili is because no one else brought any, we ended up having a nice potluck which started just as Dave drove in from a long day at work. The store wasn't too busy, took a few reservations and sold quite a bit of ice cream considering we don't have many folks here.
An evening thunderstorm blew through with some vengeance, today is starting out sunny but predictions for afternoon thunderstorms. Time to get to work.
Until next time...
Thursday we headed back to the house. We had a few appointments to keep there. Our septic was being pumped, oh boy and the buyers wanted to be there. Also coming was the appraiser for the FHA loan they are applying for. For the most part things went well, a few things have to be addressed. We have a deck on part of a flat roof off of the master bedroom. We have our hot tub there and it is a place we spent many an hour relaxing there. We never put up railings, which I kind of thought might come back one day and haunt us but figured we'd address it then. Then is now, hopefully the work around will be a locking bolt on the sliding door. We were under the impression that only the furnace needed to be checked, well no they want to check the whole system which is down now. So when the appraiser comes back to verify what ever the underwriter wants for the deck safety he'll check the heating system. Otherwise things seem to be progressing along nicely. We have a garage sale planned for June 8th so next week we'll be back at the house getting stuff done for that.
Friday was a work day for Dave, I had my errands to run. Tried the laundry in Morriseville, very nice but a bit pricey, $3/wash load & .25 for 6 minutes in the dryer. But it is convenient to my grocery store so until the laundry room here is done I'll be visiting it on grocery day. Stopped by a nursery and got some annuals for the small garden we have here. Got the grocery shopping done, it's getting easier each time to navigate the store, not wandering lost in the store anymore. It was a sunny afternoon so got all the plants in and watered. Sat down in the RV for a bit, ended up turning on the AC. Another typical VT week, starts of with record lows, snow & furnaces running in the RV's and the week ends with record highs and the AC's running. As they say in VT give the weather 5 minutes and it'll change totally. We've experienced 80 degree changes in 24 hours, a low of -40 to 40 above one of the first years we lived here. It had rained Thursday and Dave had lamented about not having fire so Friday as the temps dropped in the evening I got one started all by myself and the help of some fire starters :). When he got home we had small dinner and sat around the fire and had deserts, s'mores for me and pepperoni on a stick for him.
Saturday was a work day for me but didn't have to be there till noon. There was to be a chili cook off that day at the campground. In the morning I got Dave's chili recipe out and got started on my first time making it alone. Seems like I'm finding my way around this tiny kitchen quite nicely, when cooking or baking it's all in getting stuff prepped and measured out before hand. Guess everyone heard how awesome our chili is because no one else brought any, we ended up having a nice potluck which started just as Dave drove in from a long day at work. The store wasn't too busy, took a few reservations and sold quite a bit of ice cream considering we don't have many folks here.
An evening thunderstorm blew through with some vengeance, today is starting out sunny but predictions for afternoon thunderstorms. Time to get to work.
Until next time...
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