Day with friends-November 29, 2013

We drove to Decatur today to have lunch with friends from Ono. They sold their house there, too. We went to a locally owned pizza place downtown. The crust was too thin but the flavor was excellent.

Let me back up a bit and tell you about the drive over there. Not too far out of Red Bay, a pick up truck was pulled off on the shoulder of the road. One would assume they had trouble, but when we got closer we realized one guy was sitting on the tailgate playing a guitar. If we had not been on a schedule I would have stopped and taken a picture. Instead I just sighed and said, "Only in rural northwest Alabama". Then there was a driver in a small blue car in the left lane holding up traffic in Moulton. He had Psalm 27:10 on his back window. I had to wait until I got home to read it. Then I felt awful that I was slightly annoyed at him. That verse says "Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me". I was so sad for him at what he probably missed in life. Bless his heart.

I tried to take picture of Wayne and Barbara's four legged children, but not all would cooperate. Two out of four is all I managed to photograph.

This is Electra. She is Queen Bee in this house.

 

This is their newest addition, Ginger. At first glance she appears to be a Jack Russell,

but her face says she has Beagle in her. She is a young puppy.

 

Jackson and Chi-Chi, the Chihuahua both had white eyes in the flash. That indicates they have cataracts, so I did not post those pictures. Chi-Chi is really feisty. They're all fun.

 

We had heard that XM-Sirius was activating all deactivated radios for free service until Dec. 3rd. So we turned on our radio and there it was. We scanned and found Elvis Radio, live out of Graceland. What a treat! They played songs I have never ever heard. On the way over they played Elvis' American Trilogy. I was driving and I thought I would have to pull over to get past it. I love that trilogy and it really makes me emotional. It makes me realize what a loss it was to lose Elvis at such a young age. On the way back they played Wink Martindale, the game show host, who read a letter he wrote to the people who tried to disparage Elvis' character after his death. I had no idea he was such a good friend of E. It was a fabulous letter which I have never heard or read before. I should try to find a copy of it. It was just excellent. No matter what his life may have ended up being, Elvis was at his core a good and generous man who loved his parents and who believed in God.

 

All in all, it was an almost perfect day and was a joy to experience. 

 

Thanksgiving-November 27, 2013

I managed to get sweet potato pies cooked today. We will put the turkey breast in the crockpot tonight and everything else is planned for tomorrow. It holds promise of being our last bitterly cold day. For that we are very grateful. We have lots of other things to be thankful for, too. While we are not happy about this weather which is colder than Denver, Colorado or Sturgis, South Dakota, we are thankful we can stay warm enough. We are thankful our coach will soon be completed and we can be on the road again. We are thankful we have our health and still appear to be sane. We are really thankful we have had this opportunity to travel. We are thankful for our families. And you know very well we are extremely thankful we have been able to welcome little Hannah into our lives and hearts. The list goes on and on. I hope that tomorrow, either before or after you indulge in delicious food, you take a few minutes to reflect on your life and be thankful for your many blessings. No one's life is perfect, but there are still things to be grateful for.

Enjoy your day. Love your family.


                                     HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Guess what?-November 26, 2013

Guess what these are?

They are called sloggers. They are wonderful water resistant shoes I found at the Ace Hardware here in Red Bay. Trust me, it is all one can wear here. The puddles are humongous and you never know what's in the bottom of them if there is a bottom at all. I saw a lady at Subway who had on a red pair, so I asked where she got them and she said they just got in a shipment at Ace and they had tons of them. I waited about a day and a half and they were almost gone. Cheap and they keep one's feet dry. I know, without a doubt, you were waiting with baited breath for me to share a picture of my new shoes with you. So now you have it. Carry on!

 

 

The coach has been completly serviced, all filters replaced and one leaking air bag repaired. It was actually in really good shape considering that has never been done before. We had the chassis serviced twice but not the generator and transmission. We feel much better now. The people at Bay Diesel were exceptionally nice and we had a great conversation with the owner and his wife. I must admit that while Red Bay is lacking in entertainment there are certainly lots of very nice people here.

 

The local grocery store is putting hand written thank you notes in the bags with the groceries. The note is written by the owners thanking every one who shopped there this year. It concludes with the fact that they are there if anybody needs them for any reason. I was stunned and touched that any owners would take the time to do that.

 

I will confess I had my first sausage gravy biscuit this morning. I have had biscuits and gravy when I was younger, but never with sausage in it. I don't even like sausage, but I loved that biscuit. The country life of Red Bay must be growing on me.

 

Cold wind and rain continue. At least it's not ice and snow.

 

 

 

 

 



New refrigerator, at last!-November 25, 2013

It was worth getting up at 5:45 AM to get this new residential refrigerator. So much more room, great freezer space and it works very well!! If we were in a house, the old refrigerator would be moved out the door and the new one brought back in. Not in a coach. First the driver's side window is removed.
So, I'll share some pictures that I took today.

Our old refrigerator. It is not unattractive, but it was an RV refrigerator. It

just did not perform to suit us. If this is our home, we want a good refrigerator.

 

The hole left by the old fridge.

 

First, the driver side window was removed.

 

The old fridge is removed. It takes four men on the inside and four men on the outside.

It is extraordinarily heavy. The one we have now fully loaded weighs less than half of the old one when it is empty.

 

The new one goes in. It only takes two men on each side.

 

Voila! Here is the new one. It is much taller so Jerry is now the freezer man. I can only comfortably reach the bottom, but I am so happy to have a normal refrigerator I won't complain.

 

The cold nasty rain has started. We are happy to be settled in and warm and dry. Tomorrow we will have to be at the shop at 8:00 AM to have the chassis serviced, the transmission serviced and the generator serviced. One by one we are clicking off the items that needed attention.

 

The weather is supposed to warm up this weekend so we might have running water back a week from today. That will be a joyous day. 

 

 

 

 

Interesting barn-November 23, 2013

We got the new carpet in the bedroom today. The work had to be done off site, so we met the installer at a gigantic barn on the property of a man who raises horses. As the work began I started walking around the barn. We could have put six or more of our coaches in that barn so there was lots of room to explore. Here are some things that caught my eye.

This bassinette appears to be hand made. It was so sweet. At first glace I ignored the junk inside.

 

Then I saw this.

A very old picture of Shirley Temple. And it's autographed.

 

 

A two burner coal burning stove.

 

 

Jerry had to move an ATV for me to get a picture of this sign.

Apparently Tammy was born in this area.

 

Then I bundled up, gritted my teeth against the nasty cold and went outside to take pictures of the horses. I am not an equine expert, but I can tell you these were some really good looking creatures.

 

 

These horses really are pretty. The little black critter is not a guard dog. 

 

It is an adorable little horse that's not as big as that bale of hay. I am sure

it qualifies to be called a miniature.

 

 

This good looking horse was all alone. It was so gentle and sweet.

Jerry came out and joined me in petting this lovable creature.

We were sorry we didn't have carrots on hand to feed it.

 

We were very late getting home but that's fine. At least the carpet is all done and we are very pleased with it. It is brutally cold so we are just doing our best to stay warm. Wind chills will be in the single digits with sleet falling by Monday. How did we miscalculate this trip so badly? We are fair weather people! It appears that water may be turned back on in this park by Dec 1st. Our pump is working better and we are adjusting to drawing water differently.

 

Enjoy your Sunday. Stay warm and dry. 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

Roughing it-November 22, 2013

We found out quite by accident that the powers who be are shutting off all water to this campground this afternoon at least until the Monday after Thanksgiving. What a shock to us. We now know that if the temps drop to 35° or below the water gets turned off. My, my, we have survived much colder than that. We have places we can go including motels in nearby cities, but we have to be here at night to be sure it stays warm inside so nothing freezes. We said when we bought this coach that we would never dry camp. I guess we are going to eat those words. And we are very unprepared. We are very disappointed that as organized as this operation appears to be that they do not tell people in advance there will be no water. There will be no employees on site Thanksgiving to Monday morning. I hope there isn't a revolt!!! You know I will share with you all the adventures we experience.

On another note, there is a MiFi in this park labeled as "NSA Surveillance Van". If that's a joke, it's a poor one. And a sick one. It cannot be true, but it's weird to see it every time we turn on our MiFi.

Also, we discovered there is a dog food production plant in town. When the wind is from that direction, it is really quite an experience. I am surprised all the dogs in this park don't howl. Most people here have a minimum of one dog per coach and some have three or four. Maybe they will all get a whiff of that dog food and take off running! At least we don't have to worry about our little Rocky running away.

So, tomorrow another chapter in our travel book begins.

Remote Area-November 20, 2013

So that you will understand what a rural part of northwest Alabama we are in, the closest WalMart is 24 miles away (that's one way) in Russellville. We would not have gone that far but it is easier to get prescriptions filled there. So we made our way there this morning. Then we had lunch at the Speedy Pig. We saw a crowd of cars and they were locals so we knew we'd be safe. We both had barbecue and it was out of this world. The pork was very lean and tender, smoked perfectly. Yummy. We had to change the carpet appointment so the rest of our time is scheduled. Friday is when we get a new refrigerator installed, a residential one. Saturday is the bedroom carpet. Tuesday we get the chassis serviced plus check transmission and some other parts I don't understand. Then we will be ready to be assigned to a bay. We have discovered that only one job can be performed at once. They have to remove the front driver side slide to replace the floor (recall) so it seems it would be easier to put the refrigerator in while that area is open. Nope, the refrigerator will go in and out through the driver's window. Go figure. We might only be here a total of 2 1/2 weeks or so. We just really want to get everything done so perhaps we do not have to return to Red Bay. One thing we do have is free time.

Scheduled-November 18, 2013

We are officially on the schedule. Norris, the man with the cattle prod, came by today and he was gentle with us. We went over our list and then he sat and cracked jokes with us. He said it will be at least 2 weeks before the recalls can be done. In the meantime we can work through the list of everything else. Then Dustin came by and confirmed we do qualify for all three recalls. There's no charge for those. After talking with him we decided to let him put new carpet in the bedroom. We had the option to go with tile but prefer a warmer floor in the bedroom. We went this afternoon and picked it out. It will be installed tomorrow. Putting carpet in a motorhome is nothing like putting a carpet in a house. It will take several hours for just that one little room. We will go tomorrow to see if we can get a new refrigerator put in. Then we can make an appointment to get the chassis serviced. We are going to get everything possible done in the two weeks we have open. Otherwise there is nothing much to do in this town. So we are at least making progress. And we finally saw the sun today. It is quite chilly but we don't mind.

Here, at last!-November 16, 2013

We got up early this morning and made a bee line for Red Bay. We got here before noon and thankfully and fortunately we were blessed to be able to stay in the campground here on site. We registered and we have service #309. Now the waiting begins.

Let me clarify my statement. We are blessed to be here at Tiffin's campground though it is an old airport runway. There are no amenities. The overflow campground is a fenced area with 25 spaces. We passed it coming in and saw it was not full. We just wanted to be here because it is fun and funny to watch these huge coaches being treated like cattle going to slaughter. The service manager is Norris. He holds the cattle prod. He assigns us a time to be in each bay. I am betting if you miss your allotted time you go to the end of the line. We don't intend to try to find out. We will get the recall work done first and then see about some changes we want to make, if possible and if practical.

Now for a couple of pictures.

This is what we found in the space next to ours as we were pulling in. We are unsure if the people croaked while waiting OR if they gave up and left OR if Clint Eastwood brought an extra chair!

It was at least something funny to relieve the tension.

 

Main Street at the Tiffin service center. There's one more street just like this one. It is not a place one would want to come home late at night while intoxicated. They all start to look the same after sundown. I walked to the office and nearly panicked when I headed back to our coach. And I was not intoxicated. Again, we are trying to do all of this with laughter. Otherwise we are going to get very frustrated very quickly.

 

 

As soon as we know our schedule we might be able to play tourist in this area. But if we are on call, we will be stuck here for a very long and boring time. Right now, we are just happy to be here safely. We will wait our turn and hope for the best. 

 

Tupelo, MS-November 15, 2013

The weatherman said last night that there might be a few sprinkles today but certainly no big rain and that it would be warm this afternoon. Dummy. It rained on us all day and we were very cold. We are now parked and have warmed the coach up so we are comfy. We'll get to Tiffin as early in the morning as possible so we can get in line. We are praying they will have a space for us to park. I understand we are about to face organized chaos, so we are trying to prepare ourselves.

We have been to Tupelo before and we have stayed in this park. It is a really pretty park, but it is so hilly and tight that it is a relief when you get in your space. We have played tourists in this city before so we won't be doing that again on this trip. We did enjoy our time here last time through.

This is what we are looking at right now. I reminded Jerry that many parts of the country do not have leaves on their trees at all and here we are looking at this pretty sight. What a treat!

 

The saga begins tomorrow.

 

 

Sunset on the Mississippi-November 14, 2013

Today was a busy but fun day. We knew we had been to the Civil War battlefield before. It took almost an entire day to go through it, so we were not up to doing that again. So, we made our first stop a Kroger store for some fruit. And guess what we found there? BUNNY BREAD!! Oh my we were dancing in the aisle! We were so excited we actually drove back to the coach and ate a piece of fresh, soft delicious Bunny bread. In the middle of the morning. Plain bread. And we just loved it. Then we decided to see where a new road went. Somehow we ended up on the opposite end of town which was fun. We knew they have revitalized downtown. New streets, new store fronts, etc. Sadly it appeared to be a failure because almost all of the stores were empty and/or boarded up. Then we drove around looking for the Annabelle Bed and Breakfast where we stayed once several years ago. We found it and it is still in business. We had a really fun time exploring. There's a lot of history to explore here.

Now changing the subject, I could not resist yet another sunset picture. There is such beauty in a sunset over the Mississippi River. It's just special.

The American flag is just the frosting on the cake for me. I think I probably posted exactly the same picture last year, but I can't help it. I love this sunset.

 

 

And changing the subject one more time, I want to share a picture Derrick texted to me last night.

 

This is him helping his crew. They are so far behind and he needs to learn about the gigantic turbines, so he rode up in one and got into the hub. That's the room that holds the engine. It's about the size of half of Derrick's house. The person taking the picture is actually inside the hub and Derrick is between two of the blades. After I got beyond the nausea caused by this picture I realized how brave he is. He has never liked heights though it was a part of his previous job also. While this is not part of his job description I am proud he was willing to help. It does make for an interesting picture but still strikes fear in my heart. However, he is really happy so that helps me a lot.

 

We have decided on our route and should be in Red Bay on Saturday morning "The Good Lord willin' and the Creek don't rise" as the old saying goes. I always thought that the word creek meant water but it actually referred to the Creek Indians. I'll keep you posted. 

Vicksburg, MS-Novermber 13, 2013

It was not a long drive to Vicksburg, but it was certainly rough. Several parts of the interstate were single lane only. That's a real treat with all the trucks that are on the road. We arrived to quite chilly weather which we expected. There is a freeze warning here tonight which we also expected. We'll survive knowing tomorrow should be a beautiful day. This is another short stop.

I know you should not take pictures facing into the sun. However, crossing the Mississippi River I had no choice.

A barge headed south on the Mighty Mississippi. It is a magnificent and very powerful river.

 

We don't know what's on tap for tomorrow except that we'll be making plans for what we do when we leave here.

Shreveport, LA-November 11, 2013

First, please accept my apologies for not posting a blog this morning regarding Veteran's Day. I am most appreciative for all who have served in our military. Many have returned home and continued to serve this country. Bless them all. Happy Veteran's Day. As Lee Greenwood sings, "God Bless the U.S.A."

We arrived in Shreveport to gorgeous weather. We deliberately avoided Dallas so we saw some beautiful parts of Texas we would have missed. Last year's trip through Dallas about did us both in. When a UPS truck nearly wiped out the side of the coach, missing us by less than the thickness of a sheet of paper, we knew we could not go that way again for a very long time. We felt like he should have offered to at least buy us dinner after he got so close!

After we had connected and put everything inside in order, we got out our computers. I connected to their WiFi in this park. I've never had a problem with anybody's WiFi except sometimes the computer can run slowly but nothing serious. But this time my computer has ceased to work. Therefore I have borrowed one of Jerry's so I could let you know where we are. However, I cannot post any pictures I took today. The pictures today were mainly of the beautiful trees. They are still in full color. I suspect the storm coming in tomorrow will change those colors drastically.

I will post what pictures I can as soon as I get my computer back in working order. We'll only be here two days so it is not a serious issue.

Again, Happy Veteran's Day to all our military personnel.

Catching up-November 9, 2013

We did not realize how far behind we were on every day things that needed to be done. Our first and foremost thing to do while at Derrick's was play with Hannah and enjoy every minute. Trust me, we did that. So, housecleaning and clothes washing was so far behind it was unreal. Today was the start of "catch up" time. I was able to get all of our clothes washed before we headed to Gainesville. I am sure you are delighted to read about this. Not every day is a day of tourism. We need one more day to get the coach itself back in order. In the future any time we get an opportunity to spend time with Hannah we will put everything else on the back burner and never regret it. She is the pot of gold at the end of our rainbow. I also realize that I have pictures still on my phone that have to be transferred and I have pictures on my computer that I have not shared. Please allow me to share just one now. Well, maybe two.

After Derrick spent a week in Arkansas for training he began his new career in the wind industry. It snowed his second day on the job at the wind farm. That was the snow we were trying to avoid. So, he decided to go up a 30 story elevator inside the base of a turbine to the top to see what was going on. This is one of those ultra huge turbines. I think I'm too claustrophobic for this. But he was fine. Here is what he saw from the top.

300 feet in the air. I would not want to be a technician working on one of these things.

And I am glad Derrick is not a technician working on one of these things!

 

This is one of the engines with the top flipped open. This really means nothing to me except that there are men who have to work on these things. This would not be a line of work I would choose.

 

 

I hope you have a wonderfully blessed day tomorrow.

We are going to rest and prepare to move on down the road.

 

Gainesville-November 8, 2013

We made it to Gainesville today. So far we have only found the old part of the city. It is interesting but there are lots of stores missing from that part of town. We need to go back to find the new part of the city. The wind moved in here today. The man next door blamed us for it. It does seem to follow us around. Still it was a pleasant day.

I have been meaning to share with you a plaque on the entrance of the Win Star complex. I love this sign.

Call me weird (and I don't mind) but this sign really affects me. I can feel the pride in these people that this sign reflects. They are the most polite and welcoming people anyone can encounter anywhere. They work hard and are happy to do so. They are extremely proud of their heritage.

 

We are sure that this Chickasaw nation is one of many reasons that Terry Bradshaw settled here. Plus the fact they leave him alone. We feel comfortable here, too. 

A long walk-November 7, 2013

We went to the hotel/casino/gift shops complex today. It is a mere 500,000 square feet and we walked ALL of it. It seems so much easier because the entire place is carpeted with very nice carpet and padding. What a great walk. This building is furnished as nicely as anything in Las Vegas. The statues and artwork are as stunning as what you see there. I noticed that no one was taking pictures though there are no signs warning not to take them. So, I tried one picture with my iPhone. It does not do this item justice.

I can't even describe this to you, but I can tell you there are a number of them inside the building.

And all have water fountains. The colors are outstanding. I meant to take a picture of the gold lion they have here. It is at least as large as the one in the MGM Grand in Vegas. Very nice. I wish everyone could see this complex. It is extraordinary and very impressive.

 

We were fortunate enough to eat at our favorite fish restaurant today. It was out of this world. We have missed this excellent food so much. We justified eating a nice meal like that by doing all that walking. We have to drive to Gainesville, TX tomorrow for some shopping. We have to replace that splitter, remember? I suggest we buy 3 or 4. Gainesville is the closest big city. It's very close, just over the state line. It will be fun.

 

 



Thackerville, OK-November 6, 2013

We had a nice trip to Thackerville, Oklahoma, home of Terry Bradshaw and the Win Star World hotel/casino/resort/RV park. It's now the largest one in the United States. After I posted this blog last night, it started raining and we thought we needed to start building an ark. It poured. So what did I do first thing this morning? On my way to the Cute Red Vehicle I took a big step and thought it was just green grass. It was actually a puddle that went to my ankles. So I put the car through its paces so we could connect it to the coach and I grumbled the entire time. That water was really cold. Then after we paid our toll and got on the turnpike Jerry confessed he had left the splitter on the water faucet, the very splitter we bought yesterday to replace the one we left at Derrick's house. Now we are splitter-less! It did not end there. While he was backing up into space 157 in this really nice RV park he decided to wipe out the sign for space 155. Now the ding on the right front panel matches the ding on the back where he tried to park the coach on top of a picnic table in South Carolina. It's best to  be balanced, don't you think? All of that takes second place to our journey here. Oklahoma was as pretty as we have ever seen it. We have driven this route through rain, snow, sleet, fog, ice and wind but it was full sunshine today. Most of the trees are still wearing their summer green and the farm fields are beautiful. For the record: Jerry pounded out the sign with a mallet and I put duct tape on the back and put it on the post where it was originally. Looks fine.

I believe this is a wheat field. Love that color of green.

 

This leads to a very high point on this interstate. We figured out a long time ago that if you go up one side of a mountain you have to drop back down on the other side. No exception here. At the top they have parking places so you can take in the view. It's that pretty.

 

 



I was dreading going through Moore, Oklahoma because of the tornado. But the buildings by the interstate were still in tact. However, there were hoards of those big electrical trucks everywhere. Obviously they are still trying to put things back together. So glad we did not have to see the damage. Even the water tower that reads "Moore, Home of Toby Keith" is still standing. What a relief.

 

 

We could not get connected fast enough in this park to get to the hotel/casino so we could eat at El Fenix. They have such good Mexican food. A great ending to an interesting day. We like it here so much we think we will stay a few days. 

 

 

 

Rain and horses-November 5, 2013

The rain from Colorado did indeed catch up with us today. But it was not a storm, just nice rain. The bad part is that the humidity rises considerably when it rains. The good part is that it is washing the bugs off the windshield! You have to take the good with the bad. Since there was not too much to do today we went to Kansas Star hotel/casino/etc. In 99% of the cases you can be assured of excellent food at a hotel/casino. The Kansas Star did not disappoint. Plus you can walk for a very long time in clean air, without getting wet or cold. We had a late buffet lunch, went for a long walk and came "home". We stopped at a locally owned hardware store (I absolutely LOVE hardware stores) and found two extremely unique Christmas gifts. So, we had a great day. We are about to decide where we go from here. The ultimate goal still remains Red Bay, Alabama but we have different routes available to get there. You know I will keep you posted.

I did forget to post pictures of Hannah from last Saturday. She loves the horses that belong to their next door neighbors. She is not afraid to be close to them. The white one is her favorite. Please allow me to share these last pictures of her until we return next year.

 

Love that little girl. How we are going to miss her!

Wellington, KS-November 4, 2013

The wind was a battle today, but the sky was clear and there was lots of sunshine. We will stay here a couple of days. That Colorado front we were trying to outrun will catch up with us tomorrow but it will only be rain. We went through one of my favorite parts of the country as far as history goes. It's Post Rock country. I have blogged about it every time we have been through here, but I never grow tired of it. These post rocks were carved out of rock quarries by the first settlers. They are very heavy and have survived all these years. I love that these post rocks are mentioned in the Bible in Proverbs 22:28 which reads "Do not move an ancient boundary stone set up by your forefathers." These are clearly boundary stones. I'll just post one picture to spare all of you who have seen the pictures before.

Those post rocks are solid stone which were originally moved by horse and buggy from the quarry to the location where they were needed. I have no idea how many of these were originally placed, mainly in Russell County, Kansas but it appears there are still many hundreds left, maybe more.

 

 

Then immediately you run into the Smoky Hill wind farm. It is owned by an Italian company. These are small turbines but there are so many (and growing daily) it must produce massive amounts of electricity. We noticed these many years before Derrick started working in the wind industry. These have Vestas engines which weigh 180,000 pounds each.

 

 

Yes, I know you have seen tons of these but I needed to post a picture to show you we drove through this area. We drove for 23 miles down through the center of the wind farm so it is a huge operation.

 

We look forward to a day of rest and possible exploration tomorrow. And we don't mind the rain.

 

Sad note: We just read about a house fire in Loveland where a man was killed. Without a name provided, we know we know the man. I used to work for his brother who was a dentist. I am sorry to hear about this. My sympathies to the family. 



Oakley, KS-November 3, 2013

It was easier to get back in the grove of packing up and leaving than we thought it would be. The hard part of driving away was leaving Hannah. I cannot make any comments yet about that. We are in a park in Oakley, KS. We have been here before. It is not the worst place we have ever stayed but since it's only a one night stop that's immaterial. We'll stay longer at tomorrow night's stop since that front from Colorado will catch up with us there. It will only be rain, no snow. It is windy here but so much warmer. We are grateful for a safe journey. None of the pictures I took today were worth anything. I think Jerry must be driving faster!

Last day in the cold-November 2, 2013

I have no idea what the name of this shrub is, but it is really pretty. They are all over the place here. I wonder if they are only grown in this part of the country? In bright sun they appear to glow. We've noticed some people let them get very tall and others keep them small like this one. I could not resist sharing this pretty color.

 

 

We are absolutely frozen this morning. It was only supposed to drop to 30° but as I type this it is 24 and the sun is shining! We got up at 2:00 AM and started the water dripping in the kitchen sink because it was way too cold to go out and disconnect the water hose. As much as we hate to leave precious Hannah we will be happy to leave here tomorrow morning to get to warmer weather. Now we remember why we moved south in the first place. Normally we do not travel on Sunday. It is our day of rest. But Derrick will be home tonight and we want to see him before we go. We will have a little time to talk to him tonight hopefully. The next storm, the worst so far, is due here on Monday. That leaves Sunday for us to hit the road. And prayerfully we shall do that.

 

 

REMEMBER DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS AT 2:00 AM TOMORROW.



                              SET YOUR CLOCKS BACK BEFORE YOU GO TO BED TONIGHT!

Time is flying by-November 1, 2013

This is what we saw on Monday, Tuesday, half of Wednesday and some of Thursday.

Today is too windy for it to be cloudy and gloomy. We should have 30-35 mph winds

for most of today. Last night they named three cities that will have bad winds longer than the

rest of the state. We are so fortunate to be in one of those cities! This was the view out of the windshield of the coach.

 

 

Jerry has been putting child safety locks on the cabinets in the house. He has only one bathroom left and that task is finished. He had a helper in the kitchen. I'm telling you this little girl thinks her granddaddy hung the moon. This is what it looked like to me.

 

Granddaddy, what are you doing?

 

Well, Hannah, I'm putting safety locks on the doors so you can't get hurt.

 

Let me help you with that screwdriver so we can hurry up and play!

 

 

We know we must move on by Sunday. The weather coming in on Monday afternoon will not be tolerable to us. Right now it appears the night temps will be in the teens. As much as we hate to leave this adorable little girl, we simply must. So we have lots of last minute things to do. Today and tomorrow will be busy.