A Big Change For Jim and Linda Part 6 My Future

DeBary, FL.

60 deg. light fog, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 81F. Winds from the SE at 5 to 10 mph.

I know that many of you have more questions about this big change for Jim and Linda. Today, I'm going to try to address a question that I know many of you are asking. This question concerns my future.  

So,  ,  ,  ,  ,  ,  What does this big change mean for me?  Well, I’ve known for at least a year that Jim has not been happy with the choice that he and Linda made to purchase a 45 foot Motorhome.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, Jim really likes the way I cruise down the Interstate highways and how well I handle the crosswinds and rough roads. And, he and Linda really enjoy all the room inside of me and the solidness of my construction.  But soon after he and Linda purchased me, they realized that they had sized themselves out of many of the national parks, state parks, county, city parks and COE parks that they really enjoy.

They also can’t get me into a few of the commercial RV Parks that they really like, including a few of the Escapees Club parks. 

Jim and Linda are figuring that at this time, (and this may change in future years), they will be spending 6 or 7 months out of the year at the house down here in Florida, and travel the other 5 or 6 months. They still have family and friends up North that they will want to see as well as doctors, their financial advisor, and they definitely will still want to see Mike and his family in NC and Joe and his family in VA each year. And, they also want to be able to go back out to Portland to see Jeff and Heather again in a couple years.

There's also the problem of where to store me when they're living in the house. There's a storage lot at Highland Country Estates where the house is, but there's not enough room for an RV my size. All of this means that they will be selling or trading me off on a smaller RV. Right now, they’re thinking a Class C or B+ motor home, but a small Class A is not out of the question. 

As of right now, the plan is to keep me at least until Jim and Linda take possession of the double wide. The reason being that once they take possession, they can move a lot of what I, Myrddin before me and Mariah before that, have been carrying around for the past 12 years. 

They will take all of the off season clothes, extra bedding, towels, and anything else that they’ll not need for the next few months and put it in the double wide. Then, when they’ve unloaded everything out of me that they can, they’ll start looking for a much smaller RV. 

Being that they’ll need an RV for their summer travels, (beginning on or about the 1st of May), they’ll need to either trade me off on a different RV, sell me and buy another RV, or keep me until they return to Florida in the fall.

It will all depend on what kind of a deal they can get.

A Point to Ponder : Why do grocery stores buy so many checkout line registers if they only keep 3 or 4 open?

A Great Visit

Forest City, NC

63 deg. overcast, no wind.

Forecast = partly cloudy, high temp. 79 deg. SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.


I've been having a great time visiting with Big Herb. I think I've been able to pick up his spirits a little. Like I said, he's had to stay in his RV port for most of the summer, and now it sounds like he'll have to stay here all by himself through the winter. : (

There is some good news for him though. It sounds like Roland and Louise are planning on taking him on an extended trip to the Midwest next summer and he may even come and visit me in Rantoul! : )

Jim and Linda have been visiting with Roland and Louise these last 4 days. Louise had to go a doctor's appointment in Charlotte yesterday, but they weren't gone too long. Linda put together a casserole one night, but  Louise has made most of the meals with Linda bringing side dishes to contribute, and last night, Roland cooked brats and hot dogs on his grill.

They sure smelled good!!!!!! ; )

These last 5 days have really gone by fast and it's been great to see Roland, Louise and Big Herb again, but today, we'll be leaving here and heading for Apex, NC to see Mike and his family. (We'll be staying  at an RV Park in Moncure, NC. which is close to Apex).  In fact, Mike called yesterday to make sure we were still coming today and arrangements were made for Jim and Linda to head over to their house for dinner tonight.

Did you know that October is "National Popcorn Poppin' Month"?

Jim's Eye Scan, A New Chair and Cooler Weather

Rantoul, IL.

51 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast =Mostly cloudy in the morning, then clear. High of 79F. Winds less than 5 mph.


It's been real slow here at Prairie Pines. Just a few RVs coming in and then leaving right away the next morning. Normally on Fridays there would be a bunch of RVs coming in for the weekend, but yesterday only a couple came in.

I guess that's normal for this time of the year though.

Early yesterday morning, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed down to Champaign, IL. Jim's eye doctor wanted him to get a scan done of his eyes to compare to how they were doing a year ago, so yesterday was the day to get that accomplished.  The place where he had the scan done, (actually Linda's retinologist), will send the results to Jim's doctor.

Hopefully the results are the same or maybe even improved.

Being that they didn't even have to dilate Jim's eyes for the scan, when he was done, he and Linda headed over to Ashley Furniture to check out chairs to use at my desk. You see, the chair that they were using was a dining room chair that they had bought in Sioux Falls, SD when we were there last year, and it just wasn't working out. So, they decided that they'd look for something different.

Well, they found a regular "desk chair" that they liked, and, because the only one they had in stock was the floor model, Jim and Linda were able to purchase it at a reduced price!!! : )

This thing is pretty spiffy!!!! It swivels, goes up and down, and even leans back!!!! Even at the reduced price, it was kind of expensive, but as much as that chair will get used, I think it was worth it. ; )

Now, after Jim and Linda came back here and got the new chair inside of me, (not an easy task), : O  the question came up, what do they do with the old chair? It's still good and is very nice looking, so it would be a shame to just throw it away, but as you RVers know, there just isn't room inside of an RV for an extra chair!!! : (

Well, Jim went over and talked to Paul and he said that he may know someone who could use it, so Jim carried it over to the office area and put it into the storage shed for now.

Hopefully Paul or Louise will be able to find a new home for the chair.

Oh!! Thanks for reminding me, CLT..

After they went to Ashley's, Jim and Linda stopped by the Urbana Gardens Restaurant in Urbana to get something to eat. Being that it was after 10:00 by that time, they had breakfast for "brunch". : )  Both Jim and Linda said that the food and service was very good as usual.

The weather here is much cooler than it has been. A cold front came through the area Thursday night and dropped the temperature down about 15 to 20 degrees. It's supposed to stay cool for the next day or so before the temperatures start climbing up again. Then, they're forecasting another cold front coming through Monday night which is supposed to bring the overnight lows down into the lower 40's!!!!!

A Point to Ponder : If you work too hard to be clever, you won't have enough energy to be smart.

Wait!!! Don't go yet, there's more!!!  I just found out that Louise decided to use the old chair in the office!!

Good, I'm glad the chair found a home so soon. I got kind of attached to it after carrying it around with me for over a year. : ) 

Do You Remember?

Rantoul, IL

52 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Clear, high 84 deg. S. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.


Do you remember where you were on 9-11-2001?  I think most Americans do!!

Jim and Linda say that they were right here in this CG, down on site #7 or #9. They had just started Full-timing in June of that year and when those planes flew into the towers, they couldn't help wondering if they would be able to continue to travel at all?

There are other dates that I would imagine that many of you remember vividly. How about it, do some of you remember Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941?

How about when President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22 of 1963, or Neil Armstrong being the first man to set foot on the moon on July 21, 1969?

These are just a few dates that stand out. I'm sure there are others that many of you remember very clearly. Maybe when you were married or when your first child was born? When a loved one was lost?

Please take a moment to remember all those lives that were lost on this day in 2001.

The CG here in Rantoul really emptied out Sunday. By noon almost everyone that was leaving had left and now there are only a few RVs here. From here on, there will be less and less RVs stopping by and the ones that are still here will be leaving.

Jim and Linda are starting to think about what they need to get done before we leave here. Jim has one more eye doctor appointment this Friday, there's some shopping that needs to be done, and some people that Jim and Linda want to see before we leave.

Did you remember that the 9/11 attacks resulted in the death of 2,996 people, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims?

All Of The "Illinois Bunch" Are Here and The Cook-out

Rantoul, IL.

57 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast =  Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s. Light south winds.


Denny came over for awhile yesterday morning and he and Jim sat outside under my awning and talked for awhile. They have known each other for years, and in fact, lived only about a block apart when they were growing up.

They always seem to find something to talk about. Being from the same small town, they both know a lot of the same people and Denny keeps Jim abreast of what's going on with them.

I think if was about 9:30 or 10:00 when I saw Gordy and Dorthy pull into the CG. They had driven down here for the day, and just brought their car instead of the Motor home. Once they were here, that meant that the whole "Illinois Bunch" was here. : )  After they were here for a little while, Dorthy came over and visited with Linda for awhile and Jim went over to Denny's RV, where everyone was gathering, and visited.

During the afternoon, Linda was busy getting food together for the Cook-out that was planned. She baked a cake, cut up some cantaloupe, made a cucumber and onion salad, "doctored up" the potato salad she had bought at the grocery store, and baked a green bean casserole.

Then, about 4:30, everything was packed up and taken over to Denny's site where Dave and Denny had built a campfire. (Denny and Dorthy helped Jim carry the food over there). After everyone was there with the food that they had prepared, they started cooking hot dogs and brats over the fire, and cooking a few burgers on a grill.

Jim and Linda had invited Paul and Louise to come to the cook-out so they came over and had something to eat also. They had to leave once when an RV came into the park, but once they got them registered and into a site, they came back over and visited for awhile longer.

Jim and Linda both said that they think everyone enjoyed the cook-out. There was more than enough food for everyone and everything really tasted good. : )

After visiting for awhile, Jim and Linda came back here. (Denny and Dorothy helped Jim and Linda carry some of the stuff back). While Linda was putting the left-overs away, Jim went back and visited for a little longer and then came back here for the evening.

Gordy and Dorthy went back home last night and today the rest of the "Illinois Bunch" will be leaving. : ( It's too bad that they couldn't stay longer, but they have to get back home. I'm hoping that I'll get to see them again this winter, down in Florida. 

This afternoon, Jim has to go see his eye doctor. He's not looking forward to going, but knows it's best to go and make shure everything is OK.

Did you know that Americans eat more than 16 billion hot dogs each year?

The "Eyes" Have It

Rantoul, IL.

55 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Light southeast winds.


What do the "Eyes" have?  They have a good report!!!!!  : )

Jim and Linda took CLT, (Cute Little Truck), and headed down to Linda's retinologist a little after noon yesterday. Again, even though she hadn't noticed any problems, she was very anxious about going. Well, as it turned out, everything is fine and she won't have to be going back for another year. (Unless she notices some changes in her vision.)  

Great news!!!! : )

Of course to check her eyes, they had to dilate them. So, when she came back here to the CG, she was still wearing her "movie star" glasses. ; ) 

Not much else happen around here yesterday. Jim did go over and talk to Louise in the morning to make sure that there were sites available for the 2/3 of the "Illinois Bunch" that will be coming tomorrow. I don't know for sure which sites they'll have but hopefully they'll be pretty close to me.

Today, Jim and Linda need to go and pick up their mail at the Post Office and a few things at the grocery store. I also need a little cleaning inside of me so I'm presentable.

A Point to Ponder : Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.

The Rains Cometh and The Illinois Bunch Too

Rantoul, IL.

55 deg., clear, W. wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 70s. North winds 5 to 10 mph.


Wow!!!! That was some kind of storm!!!

Yesterday afternoon, we had strong winds, small hail, severe thunder and lightning and 1.8 inch of rain!!! The radar had all kinds of purdy colors in it, but we lucked out and didn't have any tornadoes in this area. (That I've heard about). 

We definitely needed the rain, but we didn't need all the other stuff that came with it. 

Yesterday morning, Jim spent quite a bit of time on the computer and then went out and secured everything outside as they were forecasting the storm and the radar for this area was starting to light up. The afternoon was spent watching the radar, TV and the weather out of my windows.

By late afternoon, the storms were over, so Jim and Linda took CLT and headed to Monical's Pizza where they had a very good pizza.

After they returned, Linda worked on her Family Tree program and then they both watched a pre-season football game on TV.

Oh, and with all the excitement of the storm, I almost forgot!!!! The "Illinois Bunch" are coming this Sunday!!!! : )  I didn't think that they would be coming until sometime in September!!!!!

What a great surprise!!!!!

Well, actually 2/3 of them are coming. Jim talked to Dave and Linda talked to Bev and it looks like Denny and Bev and Dave and Dee Dee will be here, but Gordy and Dorthy won't be able to come. : (  Bev did say that Gordy and Dorthy may be able to drive down here for one day, but they won't be bringing their RV.

Jim hasn't been able to get in touch with Louise yet, but he's quite sure that it won't be a problem getting them sites here at the CG for 3 or 4 nights.

He'll go over and talk to her this morning.

Today, right after lunch, Linda has that appointment with her retinologist. He'll probably dilate her eyes so she won't be able to see much for awhile after her appointment. Then sometime, either today or tomorrow, Jim and Linda will need to go to the grocery store to pick up a few thing before the Illinois Bunch get here.  And, I need a little sprucing up inside.  ; )

A Point to Ponder:  Half the people you know are below average.

Another Test

Rantoul, IL.

66 deg. clear, SE wind @ 5 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of a thunderstorm and a chance of rain in the morning, then partly cloudy with thunderstorms and rain showers. High of 91F. Winds from the SW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.


Didn't post the last few days because there hasn't been anything newsworthy happening around here. : (  Yesterday, however, Lind had to go and get another blood test. It seems that there was a problem with one of the results on the previous test and her doctor wanted her to get another one, just to make sure everything was OK.

Linda really didn't want to get another test because in the past, there has been problems with the results of this particular test, and it has always proven to be OK. But, the doctor insisted, so she and Jim took CLT and headed down to Champaign and to a Quest Diagnostics Center to have the blood drawn and the test preformed.

Because Linda has to fast before having the test, she didn't have any breakfast, so they stopped at a Bob Evans Restaurant on the way back here. : )  After lunch, CLT took Jim over to the CVS Drugstore to pick up a few items and then to the County Market Grocery Store to pick up a few more things.

There's nothing scheduled for today, but tomorrow, Linda has to go see her retinologist for her annual eye check-up. She hasn't noticed any change in her vision, so she isn't expecting any problems.

A Point to Ponder:  The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.

Doctor's Appointment and A Suprise Visit

Rantoul, IL.

68 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. Light east winds becoming northwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation 50 percent.


Yesterday was the day that Linda had to go to see her doctor in Fisher, IL., for her annual check-up and to get her prescriptions renewed. She always gets very anxious just before she goes to the doctor but everything went well and unless there's a problem with the results of the blood test that they took, it looks like she's "Good to Go" for another year!!! : )

Because of the blood test, Linda couldn't eat anything in the morning, so from the doctor's office they headed over to the Village Garden Restaurant, (also in Fisher), and had a very nice breakfast. ; )

While they were eating, the phone rang and it was Dave, (One of the "Illinois Bunch"). He and Dee Dee were out and about and wanted to know if it would be OK if they stopped by for awhile, in about an hour and a half? Jim told Dave that would be fine and that he and Lind were looking forward to seeing them.

So, after finishing their breakfasts, Jim and Linda headed back here to make the inside of me presentable. : )

I think if was around noon when Dave and Dee Dee pulled up in the parking area in front of me. After h and h, (hugs and handshakes), they came inside of me and had a very nice visit.

It sure was good to see them again, but all too soon, they had to leave. : (  But, I'm hoping that I'll be seeing them again real soon. Hopefully the whole "Illinois Bunch" can make it here to the CG for a get-together, sometime before we leave.

Speaking about leaving, Jim has been doing some planning and it looks like we'll need to leave here around the 20th of September so that we can head East to to see Mike and Joe and their families, (with stops along the way to see a couple of Linda's cousins and Roland and Louise),  Anna who is now living in Jacksonville, FL. and get down to DeBary, FL. in time to get a decent site at the Highbanks CG for the winter.

Whew!!!! Looks like I'll be putting on quite a few more miles before the end of the year!!! ; )

After Dave and Dee Dee left not a whole lot happened. We had some t-storms go through the area, but here at he CG we only had about 96 drops of rain. : (   Most of the rest of the day was spent watching TV, and doing normal things.

Did you know that American, Eddie Eagan is the only person to have won gold medals in both the Summer and Winter Games? He was a boxing champion in the 1920 Antwerp Games, and also won gold at the 1932 Lake Placid Games in the team bobsled event.

A Little Ride, Rosie and A Test

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = High temp. 98 deg. partly cloudy, S. wind @ 6 mph.

Jim took a bike ride early yesterday morning. He'll probably take one early this morning too,  so that he can get his ride in before it gets too hot.

Being that it was so warm, Jim stayed inside most of the day, (after about 11:00), and read blogs, watched TV and played around with the new GPS. He's now in the process of entering all the addresses into the new GPS, that he had saved in the old one.

Oh, I found out one interesting bit of information!  I found out that the lady who lives inside of the new GPS is named Rosie!! Rosie seems pretty nice and I'm sure she'll try to guide us to our destinations the best that she can. ; )

Linda called and made an appointment with her regular doctor yesterday. If everything goes well, all of the doctor's appointments will be taken care of during August and then we can leave here anytime we want to in September.

For dinner, Jim and Linda decided to head down to the Steak n' Shake Restaurant in Urbana. Even though they know how to get there, Jim decided to test Rosie and see if she could find the way. CLT said that she did a fine job and led them right to the restaurant and then right back here again. : )

Way to go, Rosie!!!!!  : )

After they came back from the restaurant, the evening was spent watching the Olympic games on TV.

Did you know that the first time the teams and competitors were representatives of countries and not of clubs or just individuals was in 1908?

Olympic Games

Rantoul, IL.

65 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. Light northeast winds.

How about those Olympic Games????? Have you been watching them on TV?  I thought they were great last night!!!!!

We actually had a little rain yesterday. There were 2 "cells" that went through this area and both of them brought some rain.

I don't know how much we had, (probably less than 1/4 inch), but I think the grass looks a little greener this morning. : )

Not much going on around here. It was pretty hot outside again but Jim was out and about some in the morning and then pretty much stayed inside during the rest of the day, surfing the Internet and playing with the new GPS unit. Linda has been working on entering data into her family tree program and of course both she and Jim have been watching the Olympics.

Oh, Linda called and made Eye Doctor appointments for both herself and Jim yesterday. Nothing wrong, just their annual check-ups. Today, I think she's going to call to set up an appointment with her regular doctor.

I don't think there's anything planned for today. There's not much going on here in the Campground during the week. Maybe there'll be something going on this weekend.

Did you know that at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, silver medals were awarded to the winners and bronze to those who came in second place?

Another Pretty Day and Something To Watch Out For

Moncure, NC.

40 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Patchy frost this morning. Sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. Northeast winds around 5 mph.


Yesterday turned out to be a very pretty day, but a cool one. It never got out of the 60's and there was a light breeze blowing, so it felt nice if you were in the sun and out of the wind, but cool if you were in the shade where the wind was blowing.

By the forecast, today should be much the same.

About 3:00 yesterday afternoon, CLT took Jim and Linda over to a shopping center in Apex. Linda was looking for some books for the grand kids, and Jim wanted to pick up some fluorescent bulbs for me. Then, because it was getting close to dinner time, they stopped at a Chilli's Restaurant and had something to eat before coming back here to the park.

I had kind of forgotten about something that CLT brought to my attention when he got back yesterday. I've noticed a lot of them lately and I thought you might want to be on the watch for them.

What is it? 

It's the "Weekend Trucker"!!!  You know what I'm talking about. It's the guy that has never driven anything bigger than a compact car who goes out and rents a U-Haul or other brand of truck for one or both days of the weekend. All of a sudden he thinks he's in a "big rig" and everyone else has to watch out for him. He blasts down the road with no idea how long it would take him to get that truck stopped if someone pulled out in front of him, he swings around the corners, either taking up multiple lanes, or running over the curb, and tries to "bully" his way when merging into traffic. Oh, and where does he park his "big rig" truck??? Anywhere he wants to because he's bigger than everyone else and they can just see how they can get around him!!

He's a "Weekend Trucker"!!!!

Now don't get me wrong, not everyone who rents a truck is like this, but I'm sure you've seen the type I'm talking about. Many renters are very careful and realize that they are driving a larger vehicle than they're used to, and I've no problem with them.

OK, enough jabbering about that!

Tomorrow Mike, Gina, Brenna Savanna and Dillon are planning on coming out here to the RV Park to see me. So, I'm hoping that today, Jim and Linda will do a little cleaning and straightening up of stuff in me so I can make a good first impression on them when they come. I don't need too much work but I have noticed some dust and my floors need a good cleaning.

Oh, and my "little room" needs some attention too. ; )

One more thing. Dave, (one of the Illinois Bunch), who had heart surgery is home from the hospital and seems to be doing well. He sent an e-mail to Jim the other day and he said that there were some problems while he was in the hospital, but everything seems to be OK now. Also, the doctors seem to think that if everything goes according to plan, he and Dee Dee should be able to head down to Florida as scheduled.

That's really good news!! ; )   Take care, Dave.

Did you know that North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation?

There Was A Change In The Weather

Moncure, NC.

45 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly sunny and breezy. Highs in the lower 60s. Southwest winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

Well, as expected, the news around here is the weather. After having many days of great weather, it rained almost all day yesterday and then last night a cold front came through with quite a bit of wind and much colder temperatures. In fact they even issued some tornado watches and warnings for areas South and East of here.  : (

Because of the nasty weather, Jim and Linda didn't even go out except to head over to Mike's at about 4:40. CLT says that the drive over there is kind of nice as they have been taking back roads that are not busy at all, even though they're traveling when it's the time when people would be getting off of work.  : )

Don't know what's going to be going on today. It's supposed to be pretty windy and that may affect what Jim does because I understand he doesn't really like to be out in the wind much. One of these days, Linda needs to get a blood test to be faxed back to her doctor in Illinois. And, I know that they're just about out of bread and milk, so they need to do a little grocery shopping soon.  So. . . . . maybe they'll do one or both of those things today.

Or Not!! ; )

Oh, I got a comment from my friend, "Big Herb", and it sounds like he's having slide problems too!!  : (   I hope Roland can get him repaired so that he can head down to his winter spot in Frostproof, Florida.


Did you know that the University of North Carolina's mascot, the Tarheels, is a nickname for North Carolinians that supposedly came from the days when NC produced a lot of tar, and someone saw a set of footprints made by someone who had stepped in the tar?

Good To Go!!!

Rantoul, IL.

54 deg. overcast NE wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Mostly sunny. Highs around 70. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

About 8:15 yesterday morning, Jim remembered that he had forgotten to get CLT and drink of 87 octane, so he took him and headed to the nearest station, which happens to be a Casey's. By the time they came back here, Linda was ready so they headed down to the little town of Savoy, (which is just South of  Champaign), to Jim's 9:30 eye doctor appointment.

CLT says that they got there with a little time to spare.

Again, they checked his vision and eye pressures and then put some drops in his eyes to dilate the pupils so the eye doctor could look in his eyes to see if there was anything wrong.

Well, she couldn't find anything seriously wrong, so she told Jim to keep on putting the drops in that she had prescribed and that he was "good to go" until next summer when we return to Illinois. : )

Good News!!!!!! : )

On the way back here to the CG, they stopped at the Urbana Gardens Restaurant and had breakfast for lunch. When they got back here, Jim took a nap as his eyes were still bothering him from being dilated. While Jim was sleeping, Linda worked with her family tree program and took a little nap herself. ; ) 

After Jim woke up, he went outside and checked my engine fluid levels, re-installed the tow bar on the front of CLT and checked my generator. While he was doing that, Linda washed a load of laundry and then worked on the computer some more.

Unless there's a glitch, we'll be leaving here Monday morning and start wandering our way towards the East Coast. : )

Oh, It doesn't sound like I'm going to get to meet Judy and her RV. : (  The place where they towed her MH to in Illinois, can't seem to fix it so now they're going to tow it back to Indiana!! She was in Indiana when all if this started, I'm wondering why they didn't tow it to a repair facility there in the first place?

You can click on this link to view her blog, Travels with Emma . If you have time, add a comment to her blog to let her know that we're all hoping she'll kick that "Murphy" guy in the "you know where", and get back on the road real soon. ; )

Did you know that light colored eyes dilate faster than dark colored eyes?

The New Computer and Jim's Appointment

Rantoul, IL.

48 deg. clear, NE wind @ 6 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy. Highs in the mid 60s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.

It was about 10:30 by the time Greg arrived with Jim and Linda's new desktop computer. The setup went pretty smoothly but there was a couple little glitches. You see, the way the desk is set up, (being fastened to the wall), you have to run the cables around the end to get them up to the monitor. Well the cable wasn't long enough, so he had to get a longer one out of his car.

This new computer also has a wi-fi card with an antenna attached to it. The cable going to the antenna is only about 3 feet long so it's too short to allow the antenna to be up in front of the window, where the reception should be much better.  Greg didn't have an extension for this cable, so as of right now, the antenna is sitting under the desk, until he brings one.

The computer seems to be working well. It's picking up the CG's wi-fi, Linda can use her Family Tree program, and in fact, has already started entering information that she got from Jim's cousin Adeline, when they visited her a few weeks ago. : )  Of course the new computer has Window's 7 installed on it and Jim is having a little trouble getting it to do what he wants, but I'm sure he'll get it figured out.

This morning, Jim has an appointment to go back to the eye doctor. I can tell he's not looking forward to going, but like some of my followers have said, "the eyes are nothing to fool around with". 

If everything goes well, he and Linda should be back here before noon.

Did you know that the first online version of an encyclopedia and the first one on CD was Grolier?

Eyes, Another New Plan and The CG Is Filling Up.

Rantoul, IL.

69 deg. clear, S. wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast = Hot. Sunny. Highs in the upper 90s. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.


I'll bet you thought I fell into a pothole or something, didn't you? Well, I didn't. I've been just waiting to find out what is going on with Jim's eyes.

If you remember, Jim went to the eye doctor on Tuesday and he found, by doing a scan of the back of the eye, what he thought may be some serious problems. An appointment was made with another eye doctor for yesterday, and so yesterday afternoon, Jim and Linda went to see her.

After an inspection of Jim's eyes and more tests, it was determined that there were no serious problems at this time and that what problems there were should be able to be taken care of my medication.

Whew!!!! : )

What the first doctor saw was, what looked like, damage from someone who has glaucoma, but Jim didn't have high eye pressures or any other signs of the disease. There is however, a type of glaucoma where the eye pressure does not raise significantly but the same damage occurs, only at a slower rate.

This is what the first doctor thought may be going on.

Anyway, if there is any glaucoma damage at all, it's very slight and by using medication, Jim should have good vision for many years to come. : )  Jim still has to go back for a follow-up appointment on the 16th of this month but the eye doctor said that she saw no reason why we wouldn't be able to head out of here right after that.

So, . . . . .the big eraser came out again and now, as plan "E" shows, we'll be leaving here on Monday, the 19th. A few days later than was originally planned, but still very do-able without too many changes.

What has been going on around here the last few days? Nothing!!! The temperatures have been in the upper 90's every day, there has been no activity here in the CG, and to be honest, Jim didn't feel like doing anything because he was quite worried about his eyes and what it could mean as far as his and Linda's future as far as full-timing.

Yesterday, quite a few RVs came into the CG and today there should be a lot more. Louise says that every site is booked for the Labor Day weekend. Tonight they are forecasting storms and then cooler temperatures after that. I don't like the idea of storms but I hope they're right about the cooler temps because the "Illinois Bunch" will be coming to see me next week and it would be good if the weather co-operated so everyone can enjoy being outdoors. : )

Did you know that the first big Labor Day in the United States was observed on September 5, 1882?

A Slow Morning and Eye Doctor Visits In The Afternoon

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. mostly cloudy, SE wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Partly sunny with isolated showers in the morning...then mostly sunny in the afternoon. Highs around 90. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.


Not much going on around here yesterday, the CG is really quiet. Neither Jim or Linda seemed to have much ambition and I think part of the problem was that they knew they had to go to the eye doctor in the afternoon.

I don't know what it is about appointments in the afternoon, but it seems like you don't want to get started doing anything because you know you'll have to quit what you are doing to go to the appointment. If the appointment is in the morning, you can go, get it over with and do what you want to do without having to stop in the middle of something.

Well, anyway, about 2:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed down to Champaign to see the retinaologist.
CLT said that there was all kinds of construction on I-57 and he was almost late getting them there. Once there, it didn't take too long until they were being examined.

The examinations consisted of a scan of the retina and a complete check of the eyes. I'm happy to report that Linda's eyes are doing fine and she's good to go for another year. : )  Jim, however, has some problems. : (  In fact, the doctor wants him to see another eye doctor before we leave here and his receptionist even called the other eye doctor and set up an appointment for this Friday.

Needless to say, Jim is not a happy camper about this. Now, he's worried that we won't be able to leave here on the 15th of September like planned. He also isn't fond of going to doctors in general, so this is adding to his apprehension.

I don't think he's going to be in a very good mood the next few days. : (

Did you know that the eye can process 36,000 bits of information every hour?

An Empty Campground, Batteries and A Little Shopping

Rantoul, IL.

59 deg. clear, N wind @ 4 mph.

Forecast = Increasing clouds. Highs in the lower 80s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.


The Campground is empty!!!  : o

Well, not really, but it sure seems like it is after all those RV left the last couple days. There's probably about a dozen or so RVs here and it's just about like it was before the Farm Show, but it sure seems empty.

It's not going to stay that way for long though, the CG is completely booked for the Labor Day weekend, (only 1 RV to a site), so by the end of the week it'll be pretty busy around here again. ; )

Jim checked the electrolyte level  in my batteries yesterday morning and added some distilled water to the cells that were low. Then he sprayed some yellow stuff on the batteries that turned pink wherever there was acid and finally hosed off the batteries to wash away all the yucky stuff. Now except for a visual inspection once in awhile, they should be good to go for a couple months.

After that, he tackled a little problem I was having inside. One of the fluorescent lights in my bathroom quit working so he took it apart and decided that it was one of the bulbs that had burned out.

Now, he knew he had a couple new bulbs someplace, but he couldn't remember where he put them when he moved them from Myrddin into me. He looked in quite a few of my cabinets and went through a few tote boxes in my basement, but couldn't find them. : (  So, he decided that it would be easier to take CLT and go over to Rural King and buy some, rather than to keep digging through boxes.

I'm sure he'll come across them one of these days.

So, off to Rural King he and CLT went. He found the bulbs he needed and then because it was time to pick up the mail at the post office, they swung past there. Then as long as he was out, he went to the County Market grocery store and bought a few groceries he and Linda were out of.

All of this only took a little over an hour and soon he was back here and installing the new bulbs in my bathroom fixture. : )

While he was gone, Linda was cleaning up, putting away pots, pans and dishes that had been used when Mike and Jodi were here and eating breakfast.

Not much happened during the afternoon and then about 5:00 Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Pizza Hut for dinner.

Oh, I made a mistake yesterday when I told you that Linda and Jim were going to go to the eye doctor this morning. The appointment is actually this afternoon.

Hmmm! I could have sworn that it was this morning. : (

Did you know that in 1748 Benjamin Franklin first coined the word "battery" to describe an array of charged glass plates?

Good To Go and The Illinois Bunch Is Coming

Rantoul, IL

66 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny with isolated showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. Light west winds. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.


By 9:00 Jim and Linda were out of the door and on their way to her doctors appointment in Fisher, IL where the doctor has an office.

After examining Linda the doctor told her she was good to go for another year, wrote up new prescriptions and wished her safe travels. : )

From the doctor's office CLT took them to the Village Garden Restaurant, (in Fisher), where Linda and Jim had breakfast before returning back here to the CG.

The rest of the day was spent doing normal day to day living.

Oh, Jim got a phone call from the last of the Illinois Bunch. Bev had been trying to contact Jim by e-mail, but as you know, Jim's Hotmail account is not available to him. Anyway, all of the Illinois Bunch will be coming, (some on the 7th of Sept. and some on the 8th), and they will be here until the 11th.

That should be long enough for me to get to know them and their RV's!! ; )

Today, Jim and Linda are planning on going to the grocery store. I saw the grocery list and it's pretty long so it's going to be a pretty big project.

 A Point to Ponder :  If a stealth bomber crashes in a forest, will it make a sound?

Feeling Better, Hotmail Problem and Dr. Appointment

Rantoul, IL.

61 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny. A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon. Highs in the mid 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.


Jim felt much better yesterday so he headed down to Urbana to the Farm & Fleet store. It's not very far down there so it didn't take long before he was back here with all the things he was looking for.

Once back here, he did a little more rearranging of a couple of my basement compartments, (this will be an ongoing thing for awhile), and then came inside and helped Linda with a few things.

Oh, if any of you have been trying to e-mail Jim using Hotmail, there's a problem. After Greg got rid of the virus that was on this computer, all the passwords had to be used to get back into the various web sites and e-mail accounts. Well, Hotmail has decided that the password that Jim is using is not right and refuses to let him have access to his account. This means that, for right now, all the cards that Jim and Linda have given people throughout the years with that e-mail address on them will not let the people contact him, all the contacts that Jim had on that account are no longer accessible, and the MSN home page that Jim has had for years is no longer available to him.

He has filled out a questionnaire to try to gain access, but has not received a reply as of yet. If he doesn't get a reply soon, he says he'll set up a new account and try to let everyone know the new address.

Today Linda has to go see her doctor. She's dreading going there and I'm sure will be happy when it's over.

Did you know that the world's first Skyscraper was built in Chicago, 1885?