Looking Festive

DeBary, FL.

54 deg light fog, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Fog early. High of 79F. Winds from the North at 10 to 15 mph shifting to the South in the afternoon.

Laura has been very busy lately so she hasn't had time to come over to help decorate the inside of me, but Jim dug out the outside decorations and now has me looking festive. ; )

Also, if you look real close, you may be able to see the Christmas tree on the passengers side of my dash. There's no lights or decorations on it yet, but it's secured in place.

In my last post, I talked about the people here in the park decorating the little "island" in the road. Well, Jim took some photos of some of the decorations so I thought I'd post a few here.

I'm hoping that Jim will go out one of these nights and try to get a few photos of these decorations when they're lit up. If he does, I'll post a few of them.

Not a whole lot going on around here. Except for presents for each other, Jim and Linda have all the Christmas shopping done. Linda has been very busy doing some embroidery work on some of the presents, sewing on some of the others and then wrapping them when she's finished.  And, she and Jim have also ordered a few presents on line and had them shipped directly to the recipients.  (This is the first year that they've done that).

Jim's been riding his bike some, talking to the neighbors and helping Linda when he can.

Did you know that on this date in  1918 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson set sail for France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference? Wilson became the first chief executive to travel to Europe while in office.

I'm Still Here and Some Ranting

DeBary, FL.

58 deg. overcast, N. wind @ 3 mph.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain. High of 77F. Winds from the NNE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%.


I'm still here!!!! Just nothing much to write about.

The weather has been OK, but we've had a few drizzly days where the sun didn't shine and it was almost foggy a good part of the day. The temperature has only been in the 60's, so along with the dampness, it felt pretty chilly. 

Jim has been able to get a short ride in on his bike every day and he says that his legs are getting more used to the peddling. Linda has been working on some embroidery projects and entering data into the Family Tree program. Thursday, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed to DeLand Truck Center to see if they had some tire valve stem extensions to use on my inside dual tires.

They didn't have any, but have some on order, so he'll go back in a week or so to see if they've got anything he can use to make checking and inflating my tires easier.

On the way back here, they stopped at Auto Zone to pick up some new wiper blades for CLT, and then stopped at Gram's Kitchen for breakfast. : )

Yesterday afternoon, Laura and Lindsey stopped by for awhile. The weather was pretty decent so Jim and Lindsey sat outside and talked while Laura and Linda spent time together inside.

Have any of you been bothered by all the Christmas adds that they've had on TV already? They've been running them in this area since before Halloween!! They don't seem to have bothered Linda much, but both Jim and I don't like them this early.

Also, how about some of the major department stores plans to be open on Thanksgiving Day!!!! Some of the store spokespeople are saying that the customers are demanding that they are open so that they can get an early start!!!!

Baloney!!!!! They're just trying to justify opening on a holiday so they can make more money!!! Some of the employees are raising a fuss about working on Thanksgiving and I don't blame them, they want to be home with their families!!!! It's bad enough that the great folks who are Firemen, Policemen, Health Care Providers and others who provide essential services have to work, but they knew that they'd have to work the holidays when they applied for the job.

Well, I guess that's enough Ranting for today. I'll quit before I get myself into too much trouble. ; )

Did you know that on this date in 1913, the steamship Louise became the first ship to travel through the Panama Canal? 

Veterans Day, Groceries, More Set-UP, Laura And Lindsey

DeBary, FL

 Sunday, 11-11-12

57 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind

Forecast = Partly cloudy. High of 81F. Breezy. Winds from the NNW at 10 to 20 mph shifting to the South in the afternoon.


Please take a moment today to honor all the veterans, past and present. If it wasn't for them, our lives would be so much different.

Below you'll find a quick summary of what's been happening since I last posted. Jim and Linda are slowly settling down into normal day to day living, and I'm sure after we've been here even longer, there'll be less and less to write about.

I'm also sure some of what I'll be writing about in the next few months will be very boring, but they want me to keep posting as much as possible so that in the future, they can go back and see what happened while we were here.  

Today, we're looking forward to seeing Ashley and Anna. Anna is here in DeBary for a few days, (She works and lives over by Jacksonville), and yesterday, Laura told Linda that they want to stop by for a little while.

I'm really looking forward to their visit! : )
______________

Thursday, 11/8/12

About the only thing worth mentioning on Thursday was that as soon as Linda got up and had her breakfast, she and Jim took CLT and headed to the Winn Dixie Grocery store which is only about a mile from here. They were gone for quite awhile so I figured that they were buying a lot of groceries, and I was right, they brought back all kinds of groceries!!!!  : O

They did get them all stashed away inside of me though, so I guess it's OK. ; )
____________

Friday, 11/9/12

Friday, as soon as it warmed up, (it was 41 degrees at 7:00 AM), Jim went outside and got his bike out of the back of CLT. Then, he put out my awnings and tied the main awning down with the straps and bungee cords. When he was finished with that, he removed the tow bar off of the front of CLT and put it underneath me on some small boards, so it doesn't sit right on the ground.

While he was doing that, Linda was doing laundry and working on her Family Tree Program.

You've probably noticed that I haven't mentioned anything about Laura and Lindsey since we've been here. Well, until Monday, they didn't know that we would be arriving a week earlier than planned, and they had already planned a camping trip for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. So, until Friday afternoon, they were on their camping trip, (with their pop-up trailer), at one of Florida's State Parks.

Friday afternoon, they called and said that they were on their way back home and wanted to know if it would be OK for them to come over around 5:00. They also said that they'd stop by and pick up a pizza for dinner on their way out here to the RV Park.

Well, of course Linda and Jim said that the plan sounded great and told them to come on out here as soon as they could.

So, around 5:00 they pulled up in front of me and then after h and h (hugs and handshakes), they all sat down, enjoyed a very good pizza and talked and talked until around 8:00.

It sure was good to see Laura and Lindsey again. It's been almost a year since we've seen them and a lot of things have happened since then.
_____________

Saturday 11-10-12

After airing his bicycle tires up, Jim took a ride around the park. He hasn't ridden it since we were in Rantoul in September, so he didn't go too far on the first day. He says that he's going to gradually increase the distance to get his legs back in shape again.

In the afternoon, Laura stopped by again. Didn't want anything, just stopped by to chat for awhile. I think she misses her mom.  ; )

For dinner, Jim cooked a couple pork chops on the grill and Linda cooked some cauliflower on my stove. 

A Quick Fact. : Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.

Yesterday's Activities

Rantoul, IL.

64 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = High temp. 92 deg. mostly sunny, SW wind @ 6 mph.


Here's what happened around here yesterday.

Jim got up.

Jim read blogs and surfed the Internet.

Jim went for bike ride.

Jim sat outside and drank coffee.

Linda got up.

Jim renewed my and CLT's registration on the Internet.

Linda made important phone calls.

Both ate lunch.

Both went to a farm stand and the grocery store.

Both put away groceries.

Jim took garbage to dumpster.

Both took naps.

Both watched Olympics on TV.

Linda worked on Family Tree and embroidery project.

Both ate dinner.

Both watched more Olympics on TV.

Linda worked on embroidery project while watching TV.

Both watched news on TV.

Both went to bed.

Did you know that the first Olympic Games in which doves were released to symbolize peace was 1920?

A Rant and Still Hot

Rantoul, IL.

68 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 90s. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.


We have a leak!!!!

That's the excuse that the oil companies are giving to raise the prices as much as 30 cents a gallon for gasoline here in the Midwest!!!

Yep, they're saying that they have to shut down the pipeline coming down here from Canada for repairs, so it's immediately causing the price of gas at the pumps to go up that much!!!

Come on!!!! Do they really think anyone believes that?????  It's just another excuse to raise the prices that are finally down some from their last major "Issue"!!!!!

OK, I got that off of my roof!!! Sorry about the rant..  : { 

Jim took another bike ride yesterday morning. The last time he rode his bike was way back in February, when we were in Florida, so he has been trying to take a longer bike ride each day. He says that he's really out of condition and is trying to build up leg strength and stamina. He still doesn't go very far, but each time out there is an improvement.

By about 10:00, the temperatures were already up into the 80's and by mid-afternoon, the thermometer was reading 95 degrees. : (  So, it was another inside day for most everyone here in the park.

Don't think there's anything planned for today. It's supposed to be hot again. Linda says that one of these days they'll need to go to the grocery store and has started a list, Jim will probably go for another bike ride, and I imagine that both of them will be watching some more of the Olympic Games on TV.

Did you know that the first women's swimming gold medal was won by the Australian Sarah 'Fanny' Durack, who won the 100m freestyle in 1912?

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?

No Big Deal

Rantoul, IL.

66 deg clear, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 90s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

I didn't want to make a big deal about it and I don't  want you to think you need to send cards or anything, but yesterday was my birthday. : )  Yep, my Newmar Corporation Label says that I was manufactured on 07/29/99 as a 2000 model, so that makes me 13 years old!!! : (

Wow!!!! I don't feel that old!!!!

Jim and Linda didn't go shopping yesterday. In the morning, Jim got busy changing the tube in his bike tire. It wasn't a job that should have taken very long, but as he was putting the wheel back on the bike, he noticed a problem with the chain and had to work on that before he could put the wheel on.

In the afternoon, both Jim and Linda got interested in the Olympic games on TV and really didn't feel like going shopping, so the decision was made to go today, instead.

We still haven't had any rain here in Central Illinois, and every thing is getting drier and drier. The threat of grass and field fires is climbing and in some areas, there is a ban on any kind of fires, including charcoal grill fires. Of course the crops in the fields are suffering more and more, and if we don't get rain pretty soon, there won't be any crops left to harvest. : (

Did you know that the five Olympic rings represent the five major regions of the world – Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceana, and are interconnected to symbolize the friendship to be gained from these international competitions? The colors were chosen because at least one of them appeared on the flag of every country in the world.

Not Much To Report

Rantoul, IL.

65 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

Not much to report on today. Jim's been keeping busy working on getting tie down straps set up for my main awning, getting his bike out of the back of CLT and getting it ready to ride, (it has a flat tire that won't hold air, so he going to have to repair it),  talking to the neighbors, and just doing "stuff". 

Linda's been working on the computer, (catching up on financial projects), and doing laundry.

Oh, and they've both been watching the Olympic Games on TV from time to time.

For dinner, Jim cooked a steak on the grill, Linda cooked some Kohlrabi on my stove and made some garlic bread.

It sure all smelled good and both of them said it all tasted really good too. ; )

Don't know what's happening today. They may take CLT and head down to Champaign to do a little shopping.

Oh, and I'll bet that they'll be watching some more of the Olympics on TV also. : )

Did you know that 12-year-old Inge Sorensen from Denmark won a bronze medal in the 200-meter breaststroke in 1936, making her the youngest medalist ever in an individual event?

Bicycles and Dinner With Jeff

Portland, OR.

57 deg. rain, SE wind @ 7 mph.

Forecast = Overcast with rain. High of 63F. Winds from the SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 80% with rainfall amounts near 0.3 in. possible.


It drizzled off and on all day yesterday, but at times, the sun almost peeked through the clouds. That didn't stop Jeff from riding his bicycle over here in the afternoon though, and he arrived about 1:30 or so.

You see, he's used to the rain and rides his bike all year long, no matter what the weather is. In fact, Jeff hasn't owned a car since he moved out here in the mid 90's. Heather has an older car that she uses to go to work if the weather is too nasty, but mostly she rides a bike almost every day too.

Anyway, the afternoon was spent talking to Jeff and solving the problems of the world. ; )  Then about 5:30, they all headed over to the Jubitz Travel Center where they had dinner at the Cascade Grill. Both Jim and Linda said that the food was very good and the service was fine, but a little slow.

After they came back here, they talked some more until it was time for Jeff to head back home.

Not an exciting day, but a very good one, visiting with Jeff. : )

Did you know that on this date in 1819 - Bicycles were first seen in the U. S. in New York City? They were originally known as "swift walkers."

Dave and Dee Dee's Fish Fry

Thonotosassa, FL.

61 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 70s near the coast and in the lower 80s inland. East winds around 15 mph.

Yesterday morning, Jim took a bike ride and ended up over at Dave and Dee Dee's site for awhile. Then after lunch, Denny stopped by here to talk. 

After Denny left, Jim took a nap while Linda made a green bean casserole and then, about 3:00 they loaded, chairs, food and drinks into the back of CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over to Dave and Dee Dee's site for a fish fry!!

You see, Dave likes to fish and their house in Illinois is located right on a lake. So, all summer, Dave catches fish and then freezes them they so that they can bring them down here to Florida to have a fish fry for all of their friends here at Southern Aire.

All the people who are invited also bring food, so it ends up kind of like a pot-luck.

Jim took a bunch of photos, so I've picked out a few to show you.

Everyone sets their lawn chairs up in a big circle.

From where Jim and Linda were sitting, a view to the right.

Looking to the left.

This is what everyone is waiting for. ; )

The above photo is of John who volunteers to fry the fish.

All the food that the other people brought.

A special thanks to Dave, (in the center of this photo), for catching all the fish.

and to Dee Dee (in pink), for putting the whole thing together.

By all accounts, the fish and everything else was delicious and if you didn't get enough to eat, it was your own fault! : )

When Jim and Linda came back here, they were still stuffed and were talking about how good everything was.

Thanks, Dave and Dee Dee. : )

Did you know that the average American ate 15.8 pounds of fish and shellfish in 2009?

Just About Ready

DeBary, FL.

65 deg. 45 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny. Patchy fog in the morning. Highs in the upper 70s. East winds 5 to 10 mph.


Not a whole lot to blog about this morning. Jim and Linda have me just about ready to travel, but other than getting me ready, not much else has happened.

Linda did another load of laundry, Jim put his bicycle in the back of CLT, and they both went to Walgreen's to pick up a few items and then to the grocery store to stock up for the next week or so.

Oh, I've been able to get another photo loaded with the very slow Internet connection that I have here. Jim took this one a few days ago. It's a shot taken from the Marina here at the Campground looking across the St. John's River.

I thought it was a kind of neat shot of the river, so I thought I'd share it with you.

Did you know that the St. John's River is 310 miles long and is one of only a few rivers in the United States that runs North?

A Little Work, A Little Rain and A Little Visit

DeBary, FL.

48 deg. clear, light NW breeze.

Forecast = Partly sunny in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 60s. North winds 5 to 10 mph becoming northeast in the afternoon.


It was sunny most of the morning here in DeBary yesterday, but in the afternoon, it started clouding up and then we had some rain later in the day.

Jim spent some of the day straightening up CLT's pick-up truck bed. After almost 2 months, everything in there had gotten scrambled around. That was OK, but now, there has to be room to put Jim's bicycle in there before we leave, so they had to be put back where they belonged.

While he was doing that, Linda was reading, watching some TV and working on a new embroidery project.

Like I said, in the afternoon it started to rain, so Jim took a little nap and did some reading too. Then, about 4:30, Laura stopped by to say "hi". She had been out to lunch with a friend of hers that she hadn't seen for quite awhile.

It sounded like she had a good time visiting and catching up on what her friend had been doing lately. : )

For dinner, Linda heated up a couple TV dinners and made some biscuits to have with them. Then, as usual, the evening was spent watching TV and reading.

A Point to Ponder : What is a male ladybug called?

Kinda Slow Here

DeBary, FL.

62 deg. clear, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Highs around 80. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.


Been kinda slow here the last few days. Lina's been baking some cookies and decorating them, making more TV mix / "doctoring" up what she made the other day and doing laundry. Jim's been dumping my tanks, finishing up that LED light wiring for CLT, (yes, he finally found the wire he needed), talking to the neighbors, taking trash to the dumpster and riding his bike.

Oh, and they've both been taking naps. ; )

Sunday, (Christmas Day), Jim and Linda will be going over to Laura and Lindsey's house to exchange presents around 10:00 or 11:00. Then, later in the day, they've been invited to come over to Marv and Inez's house in Deland for dinner.  Normally they would have stayed at Laura's, but since she has to work 12 hour shifts at the hospital today, tomorrow and Monday, she won't have time to prepare a meal.

She'll probably be pretty tired the way it is.

Today, Jim wants to fill up CLT's gas tank and Linda needs some lunch meat and a few other items from the grocery store, (to take to Laura's Christmas Day), so they'll be doing that. Then because it's been awhile and there has been a lot of baking and cooking in my kitchen, I need a good cleaning inside of me.

Oh, Jim went to the park office yesterday and paid another months rent for my site. Can you believe we've been here a whole month already?

Did you know that In 1947, Toys for Tots started making the holidays a little happier for children by organizing its first Christmas toy drive for needy youngsters?

Linda's "Famous TV Mix" and Anna And Laura Come To Visit

DeBary, FL.

58 deg. some fog, no wind.

Forecast = Partly cloudy. Areas of fog through mid morning. Increasing cloudiness by late afternoon. Highs in the upper 70s. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph.


Jim spent quite a bit of time on this computer yesterday morning and then went outside for awhile. While outside, he took the garbage down to the dumpster, rode his bike all around the park, and talked to the neighbors.

By 11:00 or so, he came inside and gave Linda a hand getting stuff out so that she could make her "Famous TV Mix".  Now, last year, Myrddin mentioned the TV mix on this blog and some of his followers wanted the recipe.

Well, I went back and copied it from his post, and I'm including it here for you to try if you'd like.

Linda's Famous TV Mix

4 sticks butter or margarine.
¼ cup Worcestershire
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp. onion salt
2 tbsp. garlic salt
½ box Crispix
½ box Cheerios
½ box Kix
½ box Chex (any kind)
1 bag pretzels (any shape)
½ can cashews
Walnuts, pecans, etc.

1. Melt butter, sauces, and salts in microwave together. Stir.
2. Mix all other ingredients in a large roaster.
3. Pour about ¼ of butter mixture over top of cereal mixture.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 250 for 20 minutes.
5. Stir thoroughly but gently. Pour next ¼ of butter over cereal.
6. Bake another 20 minutes.
7. Repeat twice more. Taste. If it needs more pizzazz, add more onion salt and Worcestershire directly from bottles and cook another 20 minutes. Stir and taste again. Then look for another volunteer to taste it.
8. When it tastes right, turn off oven and leave Mix in oven as it cools.

Now, from what I understand the family calls it her famous TV mix because when someone else makes it, it never tastes like it does when she makes it and they all think hers tastes the best.

Most people seem to think that it's step #7 that makes the difference because she seems to know just how much extra ingredients is needed.

I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and I'll tell you one more thing, it sure makes your RV/home smell good while it's cooking! ; )

Just as the TV Mix was finished, Laura and Anna came over for a visit.

You remember Anna. She's Laura's daughter and we stopped at an RV park in Yemassee, SC on our way down here from Virginia back in November, so that Jim and Linda could go to Beaufort SC to have dinner with her.

Well, anyway, she drove down here for the week-end so that she could be here for a pre-Christmas dinner today with Lindsey's parents, Marv and Inez. She got here late Thursday and had some time to come and visit me yesterday. : )

It was really good to see her again as I hadn't seen her since she, Ashley and Laura came up to Wisconsin in July for the family reunion.

Anyway, they stayed for about an hour to talk and enjoy some of that "hot out of the oven TV mix". : )

I guess I'd better quit for now, this post is getting pretty long. I don't think anything is planned for today except maybe to clean me up a little inside. : )

Did you know that according to the National Christmas Tree Association, Americans buy 37.1 million real Christmas trees each year?

Not Much Happening

DeBary, FL.

60 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.

Forecast = Partly sunny. Highs around 80. East winds 10 to 15 mph.


Not much happened around here yesterday. Laura stopped by for a couple hours to visit. The weather was so nice that she, Linda and Jim sat out under my awning the whole time she was here. ; )

Jim dug his bicycle out of the back of CLT, put the front wheel on and pumped up the tires. He and Linda were trying to figure out when he last rode it, and they came to the conclusion that it may have been last winter when they were here at this park!

Then, he took it for a little ride around the park. When he came back, he said that he was really out of shape and needed to gradually get back into riding it and also needed to do some work on the bike's shifter so the gears would work properly.

After that, he got out the plastic rain gutter that he uses to support the sewer hose when parked for an extended time at a park. Using it keeps the hose up off of the ground and also keeps it at a slight slope so that the waste water drains better.

While he was doing that, Linda did a load of laundry and worked some more on her embroidery project.

For dinner, Jim cooked pork chops on the grill and Linda cooked some corn and got out some of the left-over Arctic Salad, that she had taken over to Marv and Inez's the day before.

After that, it was TV again until bedtime.

Did you know that in 1942 - The motion picture "Casablanca" had its world premiere at the Hollywood Theater in New York City?