UPDATE

 

OH MY….it has been a while!!!!!

We arrived in Hondo, Texas on October 9th and it was really nice to be “home”.  Jim and I are so happy that we bought into Lone Star Corral (LSC)….and so enjoy being there.  The people are so friendly and so inclusive….you never feel like a visitor at LSC.  We got set up and the first thing Jim did was go out to the shed and start unloading it.  I think he was anxious to get to his “hobby area”.

We contacted the local service guy and after a few days of troubleshooting discovered that our electrical problem was tied into the ceiling fan that we installed in the bedroom….some crossed wires.

After relaxing for a few days, out next project was to get some of the landscaping cleaned up.  So, it was out with the garden tools and away we went.  Bushes were cut down, new planter boxes were built and that huge agave plant was removed.  The only thing left is to being in some fresh stone and that will be done this spring.  All and all, the lot looks good.

   

We left on November 10th and headed down to the oil fields to earn some much needed money.  Things seem to be a little slow this year and we have spent more time in the yard than we have in the past and in the month and a half that we have been here, we have been on 4 different gates.  We are hoping that after the holidays, we will get a gate that will last for a few months.  We have had to extend our working schedule into April as we have had some unexpected expenses for Walker.  We had a very bad scare earlier this month and thought we were going to lose him.  We noticed that his stomach was quite distended and took him to the vet.  After running blood tests and an ultra sound he was diagnosed with Intestinal Protein Enteropathy.  This is an abnormal condition of the intestines where more protein leaks out of the intestines than the body can replace.  There is no cure for this disease only maintenance.  It was touch and go for a while, but a very good vet, Dr. Trial, put him on an antibiotic and steroid for 4 weeks and a vitamin B12 shot once a week for 4 weeks, plus a special dog food.  On our last visit to the vet on Saturday, the blood test indicated that his protein levels were back to normal and there wasn’t any fluid in his stomach.  His medication was reduced to just one steroid tablet once a day and 2 more vitamin B12 shots over the next 4 weeks.  He goes back for another blood test on January 6th and, if his levels are still normal, we will probably be able to reduce his medication.  But, he will more than likely have to be on some type of medication for the rest of his life, along with the special dog food which is a prescription food and only available from a vet.  All and all, he is doing good considering how sick he was…….Jim and I are very thankful to Dr. Trial for getting Walker through this.  We would have been devastated if we had lost him!!!!!!!

That brings us up to date again…….

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year…..

Love to all…….

Linda and Jim

TIME FOR AN UPDATE

 

We left South Bend on September 29th with plans to go to Nashville, Indiana, Metropolis, Illinois, Eureka Springs, Arkansas, Tahlequah, Oklahoma, Thackerville, Oklahoma and finally to Hondo, Texas.  What do they say about “best laid plans”.  We made it to Nashville and spent a couple of days at Brown County State Park.  Nashville is a “crafty/artsy” little town which we had visited many years ago and is still that way.  We wondered around the shops and had lunch and enjoyed a beautiful fall day.  The state park is very nice and if we had been a couple of weeks later, the fall colors would have been beautiful.

    

Our next stop was Metropolis, Illinois to meet up with our friends LeRoy and Rose who were on their way back home to Illinois….but we had few days to kill and spent 4 days at Kentucky Dam Village State Park just east of Paducah, Kentucky.  We went into Paducah and wondered around the historic district and had lunch at a very nice Mexican restaurant down there.

We left there Sunday, October 5th with plans on meeting LeRoy and Rose at Fort Massac State Park in Metropolis.  We arrived at the park, pulled into a site, got set up, plugged in the electric and…..no power.  Okay…..we moved to three different sites…..no power. We kept tripping the ground fault on the electric pedestal..  Okaaaay……now what to do!  Leroy and Rose were on their way so we called them and told them we were having problems and to just meet us at the Casino there in Metropolis (oh yeah…..forgot to tell you that we were meeting them to do a little gambling).  So, we drove to the Casino and dry camped in the parking lot.  LeRoy and Rose got there and we did a little catching up before heading over to the Casino.  Had dinner at one of the worst buffets we had ever eaten at, did some gambling (I won $24 and Jim won $85) went back to the trailer and Jim and LeRoy started checking the electric.  This is were I will let Jim take over as I still don’t understand what the  issue is:

“Leroy and I did a lot of checking for continuity and grounds and could find no issues. Something is causing the ground fault to trip but it is going to take someone with more skills than Leroy and I to find it. Hopefully the rv repair guy at our campground will have better luck.”

The next morning we got up and went to breakfast at Huddle House, said our good-byes and this is where the plan changed. Neither one of us felt comfortable knowing that we had some sort of electrical problem with the trailer so we decided to just head straight to Hondo and hopefully our local repair guy will be able to figure out what is wrong.  We should be in Hondo by Thursday…..get everything checked out…..and head down to Whitsitt to do some gate guarding by the 1st of November.

The ups and downs of living on the road…….

Take care and love to all……

 

Linda and Jim

BEEN A QUIET FEW WEEKS

 

We left our son’s on August 30th and headed over to South Bend, Indiana to visit with the rest of the family before heading south for the winter.  I always hate “good-byes” knowing that we will not be seeing Jeff, Lorie and the boys until next year.

So, we have been parked in Jim’s brother’s front yard and are having a nice visit with family on this side of the lake.  My sister-in-law, Peggy, has wanted to remodel one of their bathrooms for a couple of years now and is taking advantage of Jim being here to help.  They gutted the bathroom on Sunday and are now in the process of putting it all back together……and, as any of you who have done remodeling work before, you know that everything does not run smoothly…….this is no exception. They had to re-plumb the tub as the old one had a center drain and the new one does not.  Jim HATES plumbing!!!!!  But, hopefully, they will have it finished in a few days and I know it will look great.

Jim also took on another project while we were here.  He had already revised most of the draws in the kitchen by extending them but there was one that he had not done.  I guess he was bored and needed something to do……

      

I’m not sure you can tell from the pictures but this was a deep draw and he not only extended the length but added two sliding compartments to the inside.  It works great and gives us a lot more storage for all the cooking utensils.

Not much else has been happening here…..the weather is starting to turn……we have had a few nights in the mid 40’s.  We will be leaving here on the 29th to start our journey to Texas with a stop in Eureka Springs, and a couple in Oklahoma to visit the casino and our friends Bob and BJ.  After that it is back to Texas and a few months of gate guarding (have to make up for all the money we spent this summer!!!!!).  We will probably spend February thru middle of May on our lot in Hondo and then our plans are to go to Colorado for June and July and then back to Illinois/Indiana for the fall months.  But, as we all know, plans can change!!!!!

Take care and love to all……

Linda and Jim

WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO………

 

Well, here we are already thinking about heading south for the winter.  The summer has just flown by!

After our trip to French Lick, Indiana we stayed in Michigan/Indiana for another couple of weeks.  My brother and sister-in-law, Danny and Dee Dee came up from Virginia for a couple of days and we go to have a nice visit with them.  We then headed back to Illinois and Jim had his knee surgery on July 21st.  They actually had to do more “repair” work than what was originally anticipated but all went well.  He spent 3 days in the hospital and then one week at a re-hab facility.  He is now doing out-patient therapy and will continue with than thru the end of the month.  His goal is to be able to go up and down steps without needing to pull himself up…..otherwise, like a normal person.  So far…..so good…..  He also paid a visit to a gastroenterologist because he was having some stomach issues.  After having a endoscopy it was determined that he has GERDS (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) which has developed into Barrett’s Esophagus and his stomach lining was inflamed due to the acid reflux.  Treatment for this is a daily pill which controls the acid reflux.  There is not a cure but it can be treated with medication and watching his diet.

Even with Jim’s surgery, we ended up with a major project on the RV. Our son, Jeff, was out visiting with us one evening (for those of you that don’t know, we park in their driveway when we are in Illinois) and noticed that there was a lot of give in our floor.  The consensus was to pull up the floor and see what the problem was.  So, Jeff started in on what turned into a lot of work for him!  The complete floor, carpet and wood, was pulled up and screws were installed to pull the sub-floor down and attached back to the frame work under the trailer.

     

We decided not to put carpet back in and do wood laminate flooring throughout, with the exception of the slide which we ordered new carpeting for.  As you can see, Jeff did a beautiful job and we love our new floors.  We can’t thank you enough sweetheart for all your work….YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!!

      

Since we were doing all new floors, we also had to re-build the stairs which was Jim’s project and they turned out beautiful also.  It looks and feels like we have a new rig!!!!

     

And after adding a area rug…..this is the final result

  

A lot on my time this summer was spent with our grandsons, Jamie and Jordan.  We all love to play miniature golf so we did that and just hung out together.  I so enjoy my time with them…..they are so much fun……

We are planning on leaving here as soon as Jim finishes physical therapy and go back to Michigan/Indiana for a few weeks and then eventually back to our lot in Hondo, Texas for a few weeks before heading back to the gate guarding for a couple of months.

That brings us up to date……

remember you can click on the pictures to enlarge.

 

Take care and love to all…..

Linda and Jim

FRENCH LICK, INDIANA JUNE 23RD THRU 25TH, 2014

A few months ago we decided to do a little mini-trip with Jim’s brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Peggy to French Lick, Indiana.  We arrived back in South Bend on Friday, June 20th and left Monday, June 23rd for our five hour drive south.  Our thoughts were that this would be a little resort town with cute shops and eateries as there are two huge resorts in the area:  French Lick Resort and West Baden Springs Resort.  Well, much to our dismay, this was not the case.  The only draw to this little town are the resorts!!!  We did manage to find a pizza place on Monday night for dinner and then we drove over to the West Baden Springs Resort, which was definitely worth seeing….this place was beautiful (although, according to Tom, who did not appreciate the architecture, opulence and grandeur, it was, in his words “a dump”).  I will let you all form your own opinions:

                         

                                                                                                         This is the ceiling of the atrium

 

Now you all tell me what your thoughts are……….

After that we drove over to the French Lick Resort, which is also quite beautiful, and while Peggy and I wondered around the resort, Jim and Tom headed to the casino.

  

There was a Model “A” Restoration Convention in town and it was quite a sight to see all these old cars driving around town with their owners dressed appropriately for the era.

  

We met a gentlemen at our hotel who was there for the convention and he offered to take Tom for a ride in his car……Tom was very excited about that…..

     

Tuesday morning we got up and were wondering what we were going to do for the whole day.  Oh, I forgot to tell you that it rained off and on the whole time were were there.  But, we decided we would drive down to Corydon, Indiana and tour the Indiana Caves.  The tour was nice and for Tom, who had never been on a cave tour before, it was interesting.

     

Tuesday evening we were going to go miniature golfing but, unfortunately, it rained again….so we ended up back at the casino and deposited some more of our money.

Wednesday morning we go up and, of course, since this was the day that we were to leave, it was beautiful.   But, we did not waste the day…..on our way out of town we followed the signs for Lark Valley Zip Lines…..it was the highlight of our trip!!!!  All four of us went…..yes, even Jim with his bad knees…..and we had a blast as the pictures will show.  I cannot thank our guides, George and Garrett, enough.  They were wonderful and we would all go back and do it again……

                         We could not post the videos, but they are on Facebook

Remember you can click to enlarge.

Take care and love to all

Linda and Jim

IT’S BEEN A WHILE

 

 

We arrived in Woodstock, Illinois on May 21st, got the trailer set up here at our son’s house, packed up our Grandsons, Jamie and Jordan, and headed to my brother’s in Washington, DC.  This was the second trip to the DC area for the boys and they had specific things they wanted to see this time around.  They both wanted to tour the Pentagon and my brother was able to get us tickets for that.  Unfortunately, no photos at the Pentagon but we were able to take some in the 9/11 Memorial Garden:

Jamie wanted to go back to the National Archives

    Jordan did not get to go up in the Washington Monument on his last trip as the earthquake damage was being repaired.  Fortunately, they had just re-opened and we were able to in this time    

Jordan also wanted to see the Iwo Jima Memorial

We had contacted our State Representative back in January requesting White House tour tickets……..and, just before we left, we got them

     

We also went to the zoo, the Library of Congress, the Air and Space  Museum (Dulles annex) and had a picnic at Great Falls National Park

             

The boys patiently waiting for the Metro

Cooling their feet      

All and all we had a great time and it all would not have been possible without our wonderful tour guides…….my brother, Danny, and my sister-in-law, Dee Dee……..thank you guys so very much………we love you.

Since we have been back, it has been a lot of doctor appointments for Jim……he went to the orthopedic surgeon about his knees and he will be having some minor surgery done….basically they will be re-positioning his knee caps which should help him getting up and down steps.  One of his pre-surgery tests was a nerve test which indicates that he does have polyneuropathy which we have since discovered is the cause of the tingling and numbness in his feet.  He will have to go to a neurologist to see if there are any meds that might help him.  He is going to go and get another opinion on his spinal stenosis.  And, right now he is on his way to Washington state for new hearing aids!!!!  Maybe when all this medical “stuff” is over I’ll have a brand new husband??!!

So, I think that just about bring us up to date……

Take care and love to all…….

Linda