The Homecoming

Kara came home on Saturday and the kids were so glad to see her. She was feeling a lot better but of course not 100%. The gas was still giving her back pain but she was starting to get relief. She is eating soft foods and liquids and her system is functioning normally. We old folks know how important that is!!

More flowers arrived from her neighbor and her mother-in-law. Ted and I went to church at 4:00 (no dogs or donkeys!) and then Ted fixed Tortellini Soup for dinner.

Pat and Kelly came over for the evening so we had a nice family visit. Kara feels better sleeping in a recliner so they moved the yellow recliner she has in Morgan's room (that she used for nursing when they were babies) into her bedroom. She said she slept fine and I'm sure Allen appreciated sleeping through the night in his own bed.

Kara actually made blueberry pancakes (with blueberries they picked last summer) for everyone. Sam helped her and it was good for her to spend the time with him. Allen has taken them to catechism class while he is attending church and we are babysitting Kara. Another friend has stopped by with chicken pasta salad and is visiting with Kara.

This afternoon Ted, Allen and Sam are going to the Boy Scout Laser Tag outing. I'm sure they will have a really good time. I told Sam that when they are playing a game that includes shooting, Grandpa will be a competitor and will play to win. This should be interesting.

I won't be posting every day anymore since things will settle into a normal routine and there won't be much to write about. I expect to see my friend Barb on Tuesday and we have dinner plans with Gus and Melissa on Wednesday. I think we'll be able to leave on Saturday as planned.

There's no more snow predicted yet so maybe Ted's snowblowing days are over for this trip.

Day #2 - No Mistakes

The kids go to bed so well. At 8:30 last night we told them it was bedtime. They got their PJs on, hopped into bed and that was it. Morgan was up on her own again this morning but we had to wake Sam up. They washed up, brushed their teeth, got dressed, ate their breakfast and had about 10 extra minutes. I told them they could watch TV and Morgan promptly told me "we're not allowed." I didn't want them dressed in snowpants and jackets in the house getting too warm and it was too cold to stand outside. So I told them this was a Grandma Special for just 10 minutes then they could get their outerwear on. This standing outside in the snow, wind and teen temps is for the birds!

I made all the beds, straightened up a bit, did the laundry and straightened up the linen closet on the second floor. Ted used the snowblower to clear the drive and walk then went to Lowe's to get light bulbs for the strip in the kids' bathroom. When he got back, everything was covered in snow again. He said he wouldn't live up here ever again. He intends to live and die in Texas!

Ted was supposed to take Sam to his Cub Scout meeting tonight but it was cancelled because of the weather. We only have one child seat in the car so we really couldn't take them out so Ted went to McDonald's and got fish sandwiches for us and they had McNuggets Happy Meals. Fridays are always a challenge during Lent. I had cabbage soup for lunch!

Kara is doing really well. She is eating cranberry juice and jello. All the tubes have been removed and she is walking around. Allen has stayed with her the entire time. I know the kids will be happy to see them both tomorrow. Flowers arrived from Kara's work and the spring flowers are a nice touch amidst all this winter white we're looking at.

Day #1 - On Our Own with the Kids

Kara had to be at the hospital at 5:30 this morning so when I woke up at 6:30 they were long gone. Morgan woke up on her own so I got her breakfast. When I went upstairs to help her get dressed, Sam woke up on his own also. They brushed their teeth and got dressed. While I was combing Morgan's beautiful long red hair, I sprayed the detangler just as she turned her head and got some in her eye. Whoops! Mistake #1. I washed her eye out and she said it was OK so we finished up. Mistake #2 - I put grape jelly on Sam's toast instead of strawberry. I didn't want a scene so I just started over.

When I went out in the garage to stand with them waiting for the bus, it was 18 degrees and we had a new dusting of snow. They had been riding their scooter on the driveway and must have moved the snow shovel. I couldn't get the garage door to go down. I hollered into Ted and he told me to look more closely at the possibility of something breaking the beam and I found the shovel. Mistake #3 and it was only 8 a.m.

We both got dressed and drove down to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. This is the hospital all the Canadians come to for heart surgery they can't get in a reasonable amount of time in Canada. We found a bargain! It was $4 for valet parking. When I take Ted down to the Texas Medical Center it costs $14 for just a few hours. We sat with Allen until we could go to Kara's room. She was pretty uncomfortable and I'm sure it is the inert gas roaming around, looking for a way out. She was leery of the morphine drip but I convinced her to try it. Throwing up pain free is better than just being in pain. After two doses she fell asleep and we left.

We stopped at Wal-Mart before coming home. The phone rang a lot and eventually the kids came home. They didn't have any stories of calamity so I guess we did OK. Then the door bell rang and someone named Theresa brought lasagna, green beans and cherry cheesecake. This was gratefully accepted; however, Lori brought lasagna, salad and berry pie last night!

Ted called Kelly and invited her family over to help us put a dent in all this food that was accumulating. I finally got to see Ally and give her the Valentine card, money and candy we had for her. Pat didn't make it over so I sent him big helpings of everything. We only have so much room in the refrigerator but the garage itself serves as a big one all on its own.

Allen called and talked to the kids. He said Kara walked some and they gave her something for nausea and she was feeling better. We may run downtown tomorrow to visit her if all goes well at the beginning of Day #2.

About the post office. I went online and filed a complaint but I have received neither a phone call nor an e-mail regarding the situation. I'll have to let you know later on if Terry finds anymore delivered mail.

Greetings from the Great Lakes State

We went to church and out to dinner with Terry & Carol on Saturday night. Then we left Sunday morning and drove to just west of Memphis where we spent the night. We took off a little later than we intended Sunday morning. Just south of Elizabethtown, KY the radio announced a truck crash across the highway on I-65 closing access to I-71 for several hours. So we took the Bluegrass Parkway to Lexington instead of going through Louisville. This took us past Keeneland Race Track and many of the beautiful horse farms. It was a route we had never taken and was very enjoyable. We met Karen & Ronnie at Skyline Chili for dinner, stayed the night with them and left Tuesday morning arriving in Michigan mid-afternoon. It was a long haul and Ted drove it all.

We barely got unpacked when Kara and I left to take Morgan to dance class while Ted stayed with Sam. Then Kara left for a support meeting. Allen came home and took Sam to get a hair cut. Ted then came for me and Morgan so we could take her for a hair cut. Ally came in for her classes just as we were leaving so I didn't get to watch her practice at all and barely said more than hello to Patrick.

Wednesday was a little less hectic. I got up with Kara to learn the ropes of getting the kids off to school. Ted and I had dentist appointments at 9:30 and then we went to the grocery and came home for the day. Lori, a friend of both Kara and me, brought dinner over which was a big help. I worked with Morgan on her homework and Ted helped Sam with his reading. The phone keeps ringing with well wishers and I know it will be the same tomorrow with inquiries.

It snowed 8 inches and the kids had a snow day on Monday. They are predicting snow to start tonight and keep up until the weekend! At least they know how to handle it up here and most drivers are OK with driving in it. My car is so dirty from the slush but it's too cold to have it washed.

And then there's the continuing saga of the mail!! The HOLD notice was put into our box and the mail stopped on Friday even though the date listed was Monday. To be on the safe side, I gave a key for the mailbox to Terry & Carol. They have gone over twice and both times there has been mail in the mailbox sitting ON TOP of the piece of paper that says HOLD! They are absolute idiots at the post office. And they want to take care of our health care? Are they nuts???????? I have the Postmaster's cell phone number at home and will be calling her as soon as I get back home. They are 3 for 3 since December in not holding my mail when requested to do so. Anyone have any suggestions?

Packing Again

It's been a busy couple of days getting things finished up from the RGV trip, tending to matters around here and gearing up to take off again. The old mantra "A man may work from sun to sun, but a woman's work is never done" comes to mind. We probably scheduled a bit too much into these few days.

Jennifer came on Wednesday and we chose fabric for the loveseat and a window treatment. What she drew up was a bit too formal for me so we worked on changing that to better fit my style. Minutes after she left she called on my cell and said my home phone was busy. The deck guy said he had called all week and said the same thing. I checked and the phone had no dial tone. No wonder I only had two messages on the answering machine. So I called the phone company and added that to my list of things to get corrected before we leave again.

Thursday brought the deck guy who repaired, cleaned and stained the deck. Even Ted said it looked a lot better. Mark that one down in my column! Another fellow came and picked up the loveseat so it can be done in our absence. I got a call from the phone technician who said he had found some cables that needed replacing and my phone was OK now. First call - Omaha Steaks - a telemarketer! Our last visitor was a lady who bought our old area rug.

We followed her right out and headed to Rayford to pick up Tommy and Susan. Tommy had invited us to dinner if we came into Rayford Tuesday night before putting the trailer away. We went right to storage so we didn't do that. We went to Cheddar's in Spring and it was every bit as good (and crowded) as the one in the valley. We made plans to go back to the RGV with them in September between the Labor Day 10th anniversary Boomer rally in Boerne, TX and the mid-October Hitchhiker rally being held in Montgomery, TX. I'm looking forward to showing them around down there.

Friday I got my winter clothes out, got a hair cut, manicure and pedicure. I don't think I'll have time for such things over the next few weeks in Michigan. I went to the bank and the grocery to get things for an appetizer for Wind Down last night. I popped a cheese pizza (it's Lent) into the oven and got dressed while it baked. I'm not good at all this rushing around anymore.

There was a big turnout at Wind Down and we saw many of our friends. Ted was able to spend time with Terry but I don't think I said more than "hello" to either him or Carol all night. We are going to church at 5:00 today and then out to dinner with them afterwards. We want to take off early tomorrow morning.

Marcia called and said Bill has moved his motorhome into a new spot so we can push the trailer back the extra five feet. We'll do that today.

The saga of the post office continues. I went on line to stop the mail starting Monday. Ted went to get Friday's mail and there is a sign saying "hold." If we want yesterday and today's mail, we'll have to go pick it up at the post office. Do these people not know how to read or don't they have a calendar?

Next posting will be from the frozen tundra!!!!!!

Back Home

Bill and Ornell arrived at Mission West in the afternoon and after setting up and taking a short rest, they came over with Jay and Stella to see our new rig. They liked it and the park we were in. After a couple glasses of wine and some good conversation we went to dinner. We had to say goodbye in the parking lot of the restaurant afterwards because we were heading out the next morning and wouldn't see them again.

We hooked up and drove to Victoria to spend the night at the Lazy Longhorn again. We unhooked and went into town for fuel and to eat. No reason to break my "no cooking" streak on the last day! The next morning was cool but sunny and we drove home without incident.

We didn't know exactly what we were going to do about parking the trailer because we had not heard from Marcia who owns the storage lot. She finally called and said she is switching the person in back of us so we will have 40 feet and the new person will have 30 instead of the current 35/35 split. However, it couldn't be done until Friday.

We were able to put it away in the 35 feet with some hanging out. We are as close to Bill behind us as we can get so we're a bit into his space. He's OK with that. I wouldn't want to leave it like that because of the exposure to rain and sun so we'll be glad when Ted can push it back the additional 5 feet for protection. I did notice one of the tail lights was not working and it had been, so he'll have to look into that. We went over some awful potholes and railroad tracks so it could be a loose bulb or burned out bulb.

I'm always amazed at how we can mess up 2300 sq. ft. in the house with the contents from an RV of about 300 sq. ft. But it happens every time. Even though we leave most of our things in the RV, we still have to bring laundry, clean clothes we need at home, perishable groceries, refrigerator/freezer contents and toiletries/medicine back.

This morning I worked on the mail (which I think WAS NOT held again) but I can't prove it wasn't delivered earlier in the day ahead of the regular mail which we received later. I have bills to pay, checks to deposit, etc. We also received two more tax items so I put those into my Tax Cut software. So far we're still ahead and I try to be as close to the bone as I can when I pay our estimated taxes so I'm feeling good.

The deck guy came and is returning Thursday to repair, clean and stain our deck. Ted was against having it stained because of the need to keep doing it but even though it is pressure treated wood, the sun is causing the boards to crack and if we don't protect it we'll be replacing the deck not just staining it. It's been a 7 year battle but I finally won.

Jennifer the decorator is coming today to discuss reupholstering the Lazy Boy loveseat double recliner, a new valance for the family room and new carpet for our bedroom. Next up will probably be having the trim painted on the house. It's always something with a house but it's an investment and needs to be maintained. I've always looked at it like this - my Procter & Gamble stock is self-insurance against the first of us to need long term care and the house proceeds are the self-insurance for the second one. If we're lucky enough never to need that care, the kids will benefit in the end. Of course, a long term care insurance policy would do the same thing but you can't live in an insurance policy and instead of receiving a stock dividend check you would be paying a premium.

The Green Up guy just arrived to fertilize the grass and I'm not dressed so I better head to the shower. The weather is still crazy and we're watching to see what we'll be driving into next week. I wrote to all my relatives on Facebook (192 of them -- really) to get rid of the white stuff before we arrive. I'm sure they would love to.

Back to 80s and Sunshine Here in Mission

I don't know if I can remember what we did over the last couple of days. Time just keeps running together into a big blur.

Ted returned home from Fort Worth on Wednesday, right before the 12 inches of snow fell there. He would have been stuck for sure if he had scheduled that visit later in the week.

On Thursday he took the McAllen folks out to lunch and was gone until about 3:30. Then we left to meet up with Jay and Stella who were checking out other parks. We would like to be near Donna, TX since it is really in the middle of the valley and is a great location. I mean with a name like Donna, it has to be good, right?

We/they managed to check out about 8 parks so far and only one has possibilities. Some parks are grass sites which we don't want. Others are parked like you are in storage. Others have many permanent residents and some times they cop an attitude toward "visitors" so we don't want that either. I like the park we are in but it is as far west in the valley as you can get and is one of the more expensive parks down here. The other one we like is Llano Grande in Mercedes near Donna but it is even more expensive than this one. We have to be considerate of the people we are camping with as far as expenses go and I always want value for my money. It got late so we came home so I could watch the first week of Survivor.

Friday we hung around because the fellows came to wash and wax our RV. They did a really good job and now Ted is happy. Of course once we drive it home, especially if it rains, he'll be wanting to wash it again. We decided to go to Cheddar's for dinner since we knew we would be early and could beat the crowd. The Rayford people keep raving about one south of The Woodlands but I've never seen it nor eaten there. It's really good and I'll be checking it out back home. We intended to go to a show at Mission West that started at 7:00 but it was after 7 when we left the restaurant so we decided not to. The fellow was on the program for Saturday night so we knew we would see him then.

Saturday was Gonzales Burger day. This is a little hole in the wall that sells nothing but hamburgers, french fries and onion rings. The burgers are fresh meat, never frozen and about 7 inches across when they start cooking them. I always end up giving Ted at least a quarter of mine. People start arriving around 10:30 so when they start cooking at 11:00 their orders will be first up. It was about 11:30 when we got ours. You don't have to eat for the rest of the day after that.

From there we went to the Don-Wes (Donna, Weslaco) flea market. Ted wanted some oranges and grapefruits and for some reason, he forget to buy the grapefruit! I wanted a kitchen towel with a crocheted end to button onto my oven handle to dry my hands. I found one and that's all we bought.

We came back to our park and decided to go to church at 4:00. It was as crowded as the week before on Sunday and the brown dog followed the priest right up the aisle again. The country western song during collection this week was a 1940 song "Remember Me, I'm the One Who Loves You." I'm pretty sure the writer and singer didn't have God in mind but if you think about it ... it works! No dancing this time but it did turn into a sing along on the chorus. Church back home is going to be a bit boring next week.

We went to Mission West for the "People's Choice" show. Eight acts that perform around the valley were featured and we were asked to vote on our favorite. The winner received $1500, 2nd and 3rd $500 and the others $150. The last act, The Link Family, were sensational. There was a fiddle, bass, mandolin, guitar and banjo with everyone singing. That's who we all voted for, and that's who won.

This morning we went to the breakfast buffet because it is Valentine's Day. One reason is as good as the next. I still haven't cooked anything in the new RV. Bill and Ornell are on their way down and we'll all get together tonight. It's a shame we are leaving tomorrow just as they arrive. I have a load of clothes in the washer so I have to scoot.

Happy Valentine's Day to all. May all your communication today be love notes.

Well, The Cold Front Is Here ... And The Rain

Tuesday morning was jacket weather. Not only had the temperature dropped but the wind was down right chilly. Ted packed his suitcase and left for the McAllen airport and I had the RV all to myself. Around noon Jay and Stella came by to pick me up and we went to find the ropa nuevas. I'll explain what these are a bit later. We were "close but no cigar" in our quest. We called Ted and he sent us in a completely different direction which was even further off than we were originally. We stopped at the Don-Wes fruit market and I bought some grapefruit, oranges and onions. We decided to have a late lunch and were able to find Gonzales Burgers but decided to wait for Ted to eat there so we went to Martha's Restaurant which is right outside the park we were at last year in Donna, TX. On the way home we stopped to pick up Jay's computer that needed a repair. I spent the evening alone with my books, TV, cell phone and computer.

This morning Jay and Stella picked me up and with directions in hand, we found the ropa nuevas. This translates New Clothes. There are ropa usadas, Used Clothes, too but we weren't interested in them. We found the stores we shopped in last year and found lots of bargains. Because Jay had driven us around for two days, I invited them to lunch at Furr's Buffet. I have yet to cook anything in the new RV. I did heat a cup of coffee in the microwave but that hardly counts.

They dropped me off and I waited for Ted to return. At 5 o'clock we all went to the clubhouse here at Bentsen Palms Village for a margarita hour. There were a couple tables of snacks and plenty of free margaritas. Then they had their last night of Bentsen Palm Village Has Talent. There were about a dozen performers who were all pretty good. Some of them were very funny. It was a most enjoyable evening.

Plans for tomorrow are up in the air. Jay & Stella want to go to Mexico for their "drug run" but if it rains they don't want to walk across the bridge in the rain. And Ted is supposed to take the McAllen Monitor people to lunch if they can get away. So right now none of us know exactly what tomorrow will bring.

The weather is supposed to get worse before it gets better but we're in much better shape than a lot of the country so we're not going to complain. Before long we'll be complaining about how hot it is. I hope all that white stuff is gone by the time we go to Michigan later this month.

83 in Mission, TX and the Sun is Shining

We were expecting a cool front and rain but instead are enjoying today's weather. We went to the Hitchhiker luncheon and had a good time. People from Louisiana recognized us as the buyers of the 2008 Champagne that was featured on the NuWa Owners Forum. I didn't know how they knew that but Ted said they met us in Shawnee, OK at one of the HH rallies and knew he was Skeetshooter on the forum. Guess I better mind my p's and q's while I'm down here.

We're headed to Mission West where Jay and Stella are staying for a Bluegrass Jam session. It is their burger night but we're still full from our lunch and passed on the eating part.

That cold front is still headed this way. But it isn't snow and that's good. Stay warm and dry wherever you are.

Greetings from Mission, Texas

We arrived in Mission to 74 degrees and sunshine. It was a welcome change from the cool temps and rainy weather we've had most of this winter. We got set up and called Jay and Stella to let them know we were in town. They came by to see our new trailer. By this time it was 4:30 and Ted and I had not eaten all day. They suggested we go to Tio Chuy restaurant because it was close by. If you want authentic Mexican food, this is the area to find it in.

We had a nice dinner and turned down an invitation to attend a dance at the park where they are staying. Ted has been fighting a cold and was ready to just put his feet up. In fact, he was sleeping by 7:30 in his new electric leather theater recliner.

This morning we went to church and it was an experience to say the least. As we approached church I noticed speakers instead of bells in the tower. They were playing a song about "the child in the manger" which I thought unusual for February. Imagine my shock when we found two Christmas trees (with cowboy hats as some of the ornaments) and a manger still up in the church. According to the church calendar we are in what they call Ordinary Time until we start the season of Lent.

Next the priest walked up the aisle with his dog! The first thing he said was he realized this is the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time but he chose to celebrate the Presentation of Our Lord in the temple 40 days after Christmas. This is the story of Simeon and Anna in the Bible.

When it was time for the reading of the gospel story of the Presentation, Jesus, Mary and Joseph walked up the aisle ... with a live donkey! On the altar Simeon and Anna joined the play. After the homily they played a country music song about a dirt poor farm family and their son. The lady in front of me was doing an in-place two step! Then another dog walked right up the aisle to the altar. By the time church was over there were three dogs on the altar. I guess this is one of those "whatever floats your boat" occasions. It was certainly different.

We stopped at Home Depot and Wal-Mart before returning to the park. We stopped to get the gate code and Jay pulled in right behind us. We went next door to Retama Village to take pictures of the homes with the RV ports attached to show Susan and Tommy. Then we visited for awhile with their friend Kathy. She owns a Super RV Site that consists of a large concrete patio to park your RV, your vehicle, have a patio and a shed. She turned the 12 x 20 "shed" into an entire apartment with LR, kitchen, bath including a washer & dryer in a closet! It was amazing. Then we decided to go to the flea market over in Weslaco. I bought valentines for the grandkids, a rug for the RV and Ted bought two pineapples. We had to get back because we had signed up to attend the BBQ and Super Bowl party at our park.

We had another good meal and watched the game on the big screen TV. Stella was rooting for the Colts and Jay for the Saints. Ted and I had "no horse in this race" and just enjoyed a really good game.

We are attending the Hitchhiker Owners monthly luncheon tomorrow. Jay and Stella are waiting to hear from an installer so we don't know what plans, if any, we'll have for tomorrow.

Ted is flying to Fort Worth Tuesday and back Wednesday. He'll also take the McAllen paper people to lunch on Thursday or Friday. So Jay and Stella are going to babysit me while he's gone. We usually stay down here longer than the 10 days we'll be here this year. But we need to get ready for our trip to Michigan.

More later ...

Whew! Lots to Accomplish

Our new rig was delivered at our storage place around noon on Thursday. I had boxed up as much as I could get to with the slides opened just a little. Once Ted pulled it out of its spot and we could open it up fully, Rick and I worked for three hours moving things. He did most of the carrying as I put things away just as quickly as I could. Ted was doing paperwork, finding a notary, getting instructed on the rig and moving his stuff into the basement so he wasn't able to help us much. Finally our old rig pulled out and I felt like an old friend was saying goodbye. But just as quickly Ted pulled out with our new one heading for Rayford and I followed in the Expedition.

Much to our surprise, Tommy was standing at our site at Rayford with his new Flip video camera heralding our arrival with the new Hitchhiker. It was a misty, nasty day and the ground was saturated so we quickly emptied the Expedition and moved inside to finish up getting things in order. It took about another two hours to finish up.

When Susan arrived home from work we all went to Willie's Ice House for dinner. Ted called Rick and invited him and Brenda to join us. Tommy took another Flip video of all of us and e-mailed it to Jay and Stella who are awaiting our arrival in the Rio Grande valley. We had a great meal but I was the only one who indulged in a margarita. I needed it! We dropped off the Expedition and all rode in the truck back to Rayford.

Since the books that accompany the RV have been sent next day mail to our house, we had a fun time trying to get things working. We watched the bedroom TV because we couldn't figure out the LR one. Then in the morning, Ted got it working. We're still trying to figure out light switches. All the drains were opened when they blew the lines so it took Tommy and Ted awhile to figure out what to close and where. The toilet works differently so that was a bit of trial and error. The dealer in Arizona has been very responsive to our inquiries and difficulties.

Ted loves how it pulls. He said he doesn't know if it's the disc brakes or the different type hitch, but he can tell a big difference. The truck did fine on our trip today.

We left Rayford mid morning and drove to Victoria, TX. We are at Lazy Longhorn RV Park which is an OK overnight park. The turns are tight but it's convenient as a mid point stop between home and Mission, TX where we are ultimately headed. Of course Ted had to wash the front and back because it is really dirty from traveling. However, we have someone lined up in the valley to wash and wax it once we arrive there. Sometimes it's best to just let them do whatever it is they insist on doing.

We unhitched and went for fuel, a late lunch and a few groceries. We've had no new issues today but this will be a great shake down trip. I'm sure there will be more over the next 10 days but with the excellent response we have had from the dealer and Ted's great relationship with the Hitchhiker factory in Chanute, KS, we don't expect to have too much to check out in the books when we get home.

We've had a quiet evening with the fireplace going, the TV on and sitting in our new electric theater seating recliners. We'll be leaving in the morning and should arrive at Bentsen Palms mid day tomorrow. Ted will be a much happier camper when our trailer is all washed and waxed.

More from Mission on the banks of the Rio Grande River with Mexico on the opposite shore next time.

And I thought maybe I'd get bored this week!

I attended Rosalie's funeral Mass Tuesday and helped at the luncheon afterwards. As usual, I brought all the round tablecloths home to launder. I hate to admit I still have them. They are clean and folded but I've not gotten them back up to church. I plan to do that tomorrow. I also need to deliver the Bunco Bag to Elaine's since I'll be down in the Rio Grande Valley next time they meet.

On Thursday I went to a Junior Forum information tea. I'm going to join this organization that helps out all around the community. Newcomers has run its course and church activities are mostly tied to young families so this is a different avenue I want to pursue. Susan, Teri and I had a nice lunch afterwards.

Susan mentioned they had to go to a consignment shop that was closing to pick up their Oriental rugs they had for sale because the shop was closing. When we got to her house I looked at the big one and decided it would go in my family room. So on Friday we went to get it and they invited us to the Friday buffet at the club. Terry & Carol and Jody & Dave were there so we all sat together.

We asked Terry & Carol if they wanted to go to church in Magnolia, eat at Las Fuentes and then go to the Texas Opry Saturday night. They did so that's exactly how we spent our late afternoon and evening.

Sunday Ted called me to look at something on the computer. To make a long story short, by Monday afternoon we were the proud owners of a 2008 Nuwa Hitchhiker Champagne 5th wheel. It was ordered but couldn't be financed at Vacation Station in California which went bankrupt. A bank in Las Vegas then had it and shipped it to Mesa, AZ where a lot of buyers are spending the winter. So despite its being over a year old, it has never been titled.

Today was spent doing paperwork, making copies, faxing and dealing with lots and lots of phone calls. The RV should be leaving Arizona tomorrow morning and arriving here on Thursday, just in time for us to take it to the valley. And I'll have you know there was no migraine, tossing cookies, or any other kinds of stress when I called Morgan Stanley and told them to wire the money. I don't know if I'm getting better or realize that there's no infinite amount of time promised so we may as well go for the gusto.

This afternoon we went out to start getting things together. We are filling bags and boxes so we can transfer "stuff" in bulk. The driver will be taking our old trailer back to Arizona on trade.

Ted has to go to Denver tomorrow and come back late Wednesday so most of the grunt work will be left to me. Rick said he would come help us move. Ted had helped him when they bought their new motorhome.

We just didn't know what we wanted to do when this unit became available. It is exactly what Ted wanted and we got such a good deal we couldn't pass it up. The lower portion is laid out exactly like our current one except the couch and chairs are switched. Ted wanted the leather theater seats and likes not having to turn the recliners at the back when we bring in the slides. The fireplace is nice but I'm not sure I would have ordered a new one with it. The sink is all one piece with the Corian and it extends over the stove which are nice touches. The refrigerator is 4-door versus our present 2-door. The bath is totally enclosed in one room and we have two full length wardrobes with mirrored doors. This RV is two feet longer than our old one.

Here are some pictures.