Welcome Back, Chris!

It took awhile to get all the bed linens stripped, laundered and back onto the beds but once that was done things were pretty much back to normal. Kara had given us a new mattress pad, among other things, so our bed got a complete overhaul.

I worked four hours at the thrift shop on Tuesday and found a WDW sweatshirt for Sam and a silk Ann Taylor sweater for Kara. Junior Forum is collecting women and children PJs at this week's meeting for the Women's Shelter and I came across a girl's size 8 brand new pair with tags still attached so I bought them too and asked Donna to take them to the meeting for me. I don't rummage looking for things but sometimes nice, new articles pop up.

Our neighborhood luncheon was Thursday and we had a nice turnout at the new Mexican restaurant near the house. It is the second time I have been there and I didn't care for it either time. There are too many to choose from to go to one that isn't real good. But I enjoyed the company and wrote it off as one of thousands of meals I will eat in my lifetime.

We spent the rest of our time getting ready to take off. A lot goes on in two months and you have to be prepared so things don't fall through the cracks. At least we are going to be in one spot with a mailbox so Chris can send things to us if necessary.

Ted went to fill both tanks on the truck to use his 30 cent discount at Krogers. He was so pleased to announce it only cost $372! Now isn't that special! The cost of fuel is what it is. You either pay it and use your unit or you may as well sell it. Our space rent went up again too. Between the capital outlay for the truck and trailer, the insurance, space rent, fuel costs and camping fees don't think for a minute that RVing is an inexpensive way to travel! But it is our choice versus a vacation home. We can move our "vacation home" to where we want or need to be.

We were happy to see Chris since we hadn't seen him since we came back in August. His parents are settled in their new home but his mother has been diagnosed with dementia. Rebecca had suspected this. But when her mother-in-law called me about my cataract surgery doctor she seemed fine to me. This is a really hard thing for everyone. Chris will only be 10 minutes from them but let's hope nothing comes up while we are gone.

We drove to Victoria yesterday but it is cold. It was 47 degrees inside the trailer when we parked. I turned the propane furnace on and once it warmed up turned the fireplace on and the furnace off. Since we have to pay for our electric in Mission we will need to determine if the propane furnace is better than the fireplace and/or portable electric heater.

We are passing through Refugio, birthplace of Nolan Ryan. It is no warmer, overcast and sprinkling a bit. Karen and Dave said she would have dinner for us today so we have that to look forward to. Tomorrow will be the Don-Wes flea market for fruits, vegetables and some card holders, shufflers and domino holders to fill requests from family and friends. I also promised someone a microwave potato baker but I can't remember who!