IT’S SPRINGTIME IN TEXAS

 

We decided to take a drive on Saturday to see all the Bluebonnets and other springtime flowers.  It was a beautiful day.

 

        

 

Most of you know that the drought here is Texas is very bad.  The following pictures were taken at Lake Medina.

 

            

This lake is only 3.3% of what it should be.  Most of the homes are no longer considered “lake front” property as there is no lake left!  It would take a lot of rain to get this lake back to capacity.

 

Yes, we did see some wildlife this trip……….

 

Take care and love to all…..

Linda and Jim

DAY TRIP

 

 

We decided that it was time to take a day trip so this morning we took off around 10 a.m. for a 226 mile “scenic” drive.  Jim had mapped out our route taking us up into Texas hill country on the 3 sisters highways………which are FM335, FM336 and FM337.  This took us through the small towns of Vanderpool, Utopia and Leakey.  We stopped at a small antique shop in Utopia (no purchases).  In Leakey, we stopped at Mama Chloe’s Mexican Restaurant for lunch.  A very small, friendly restaurant  with good food. Then it was back on the road.  For those of you that think Texas is flat, were are a couple of pictures we took today.

 

   

Most of you know that Jim and I have a standard joke about never seeing any wildlife on all of these remote trips we have taken over the years…..well today we hit the JACKPOT.  We saw deer, antelope, fox, bobcat, mountain lion, armadillo and coyote………just kidding although we did see deer and antelope.

We finally arrived back home at 4:30 p.m…….having enjoyed our day of bouncing around on Texas roads.

 

Take care and love to all……..

Linda and Jim

UPDATE

 

 

We have been enjoying our time here in Hondo….although we did end the month of January on a bad note.  I stepped off our patio and twisted my ankle.  I thought I could walk it off but as the day progressed it got worse and we ended up in the emergency room,  After taking a x-ray, they confirmed that I had just twisted it and put me in a boot for a week.

 

It has been almost two weeks and I am out of the boot.  My ankle is still swollen and hurts but I am able to walk on it.  It will just take a while to heal.

We have been busy working on cleaning up our lot.  Jim decided he wanted to spruce up the interior of the shed and took out the closet that was in there and replaced it with shelves, painted all the paneling and put down a new floor.  He did this all on his own while I was laid up with my ankle.  Here are a few pictures.

His hobby area           

 

We finally had a load of stone delivered this week and just finished refreshing our landscaping.

       

This is my meditation area

I have had Jim busy with a “few” projects:

   This is a table I had him make for the patio.

   This one was his own idea…..a butterfly which will eventually be a part of our landscaping

I still have one more project for him which will be a couple of small benches for the patio.

Our daughter-in-law, Lorie, has requested some pictures of the park…..these are for her:

       Clubhouse      

       

We have been enjoying the activities here……I play cards Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.  Jim plays poker a couple nights a week.  We volunteered to help with the Valentine dinner on Saturday and today I went to the women’s luncheon…….We are staying busy.

Take care and love to all

Linda and Jim

BACK ON OUR LOT IN HONDO

 

 

We were going to leave Saturday morning and head down to the gate guard yard….but, after closing everything up and hooking up to the truck, I did my last walk around and discovered that the satellite dish had not stowed.  So, we plugged back into the electric and tried again…..no luck.  We were getting an error message and the dish would not stow.  Okay…..unhooked from the truck and set everything back up…..we were going to stay here are the RV facility until Monday morning when we would be able to get a hold of someone at Winegard (the manufacturer of the dish) and see what the problem was!  We contacted our gate guard company and told them that we would not be down as thought and that we would give them a call Monday morning.

Monday morning Jim got a hold of Winegard and they were able to talk him through all the steps required to reset the dish and get it to stow……problem solved.  Contacted the gate guard company and…..guess what….the lot was now full.  Okay……Linda is now in melt-down mode……..    Decision made…..forget the gate guarding for this season and head back to our lot in Hondo until it is time to leave for the summer.

We are now sitting on our lot in Hondo and glad to be home.  January was not a good month for us but we are planning on enjoying the rest of the winter here in Hondo.

Take care and love to all……

 

Linda and Jim

WORK CONTINUES

 

The work continues on the RV and we are slowly getting everything back together.  It was thought that everything would be completed on Monday, January 19th, so we checked out of the motel.  Unfortunately, as with everything RV related, things did not go as smoothly as they had hoped with getting everything installed back on the roof.  Let’s see if I can remember everything:

--first of all, the spray on roof looks great.  Such an improvement over the old rubber one.  That all went according to plan…..no problems.

--the problems started when they started to re-install the vents, air conditioner, skylight and satellite dish.  The fantastic fan in our living room area would not work……after a lot of troubleshooting it was discovered that the remote was not communicating with the fan and needed to be re-calibrated…..problem solved.  The max fan in the bedroom would not work….apparently it just stopped working as it was not damaged in the accident….we had to purchase a new fan to be installed.  A new skylight had to be fabricated for over the shower and modified to fit the opening…..looks good.  The biggest problem has been the satellite dish.  The model that we had was no longer available (they had upgraded it to a new and improved dish…so they say).  So, obviously it was not just a case of hooking the dish up to the existing cables……….no….it required new cables.  They worked on it all day yesterday and finally got it hooked up and the TV’s working.  But, today, we discovered that we are not getting a good signal strength on all satellites and they will have to do some re-calibrating which cannot be done until the weather breaks (we are getting a deluge of rain today and we are sitting outside).  So, here we sit…..it will probably be this weekend before we get out of here.  But, on a good note….we are not sitting in a hotel room any longer.

Here are a few pictures:

           

We do have pictures of the damage done to the roof but, unfortunately, are unable to upload them to the blog If you would like to see the damage send us an email and we will send you the pictures.

Update:  They were able to get the satellite dish working this afternoon.  We will settle our bill in the morning and, after contacting our guarding company this afternoon, will be heading to the yard sometime tomorrow.  They have actually sent a few people out and, hopefully, we will not have to wait too long.

 

Take care and love to all……..

 

Linda and Jim

KING WILLIAM HISTORIC DISTRICT

 

They started working on the RV Monday morning and we moved into the La Quinta Inns and Suites for the next few days.

We decided that we needed something to do, so Tuesday we drove into San Antonio to the King William Historical District.  In the mid-nineteenth century many Germans, who had immigrated to Texas, began to settle in this San Antonio area and it became known as “Sauerkraut Bend”.  The area developed into a beautiful neighborhood of large, impressive homes designed in the Greek Revival, Victorian and Italianate styles.  The main street was named King William in honor of King Wilhelm I, King of Prussia in the 1870s.  By the 1920s many of the original homeowners had died and their children moved away from the area.  By the 1930-40s many of these stately homes had been converted to apartment buildings.  But, by the 1950s, the area began to attract people who recognized the potential of this area and started restoring these beautiful homes.  In 1972, the King William districted was listed a National Historic District.  Here are a few pictures of the homes:

 

       

 

         

 

 

Not sure what else we are going to do to pass the time.  The weather is still cold, although it is suppose to start warming up into the 60’s in the next couple of days.  That will feel like a heat wave in comparison to the last couple of weeks!

 

Love to all……

Linda and Jim

WHEN IT RAINS……IT POURS

 

This year has not started out good for the us.  We were released from our gate on Saturday, January 3rd with no prospects for another gate and no room in the yard so we decided we might as well head back to our lot in Hondo.  Prior to doing that, we drove into Whitsett to see the Chapman’s (who were parked in the yard waiting for a gate) and while there Bobbie suggested we contact another guard service based out of San Antonio that a friend of hers works for.  So, we did and were able to set up an interview for Wednesday, January 7th.  Also, while there, Jim and Bobbie decided that they had had enough and were going to come with us to Hondo for a few days before heading on to Arizona.  Off to Hondo we went……we were actually looking forward to staying there for a while……….but, as Rver’s say……our plans are always written in jello. We received a call from the guard company we were to interview with on Wednesday and they said to just bring the rig and come down as they would have an assignment for us within a few days.

Wednesday morning we said our goodbyes to the Chapman’s…which was sad as we don’t know when we will see them again….and off we went to San Antonio.  We arrived at the facility, completed our interview and, as we getting ready to move the RV to their lot, I looked up and noticed that our A/C unit was damaged.  Well, how the hell did that happen!!!!!  We got the rigged moved and set up in their yard and Jim climbed up on the roof to access the damage.  It was not good…the a/C unit was demolished, the sat. dish damaged and the skylight over the shower damaged….and that was just what Jim could see.  Needless to say……we were devastated.  We did discover how it happened……just as you pull into the facility, there is a very, very huge low hanging branch across the road.  Jim was concentratied on getting us into this facility and did not see the branch.

Now what to do,……..contacted the insurance company, found a RV repair facility in San Antonio, Iron Horse RV, and they told us to come on in and they would take a look and get an estimate for the insurance company and advised the guard company that we would not be able to go to work until we got the repairs done to the RV.

We packed everything up Thursday morning and headed to Iron Horse RV.  After arriving and checking in they came out and took the required photos of the damage for the insurance company and inspected the roof for further damage……and found that in addition to the damaged we saw, the actual roof was also damaged and needed to be replaced!!!!  An estimated was done, over $13,700, and submitted to the insurance company Thursday afternoon.  Luckily Iron Horse has RV hookups and we are able to stay here, so we got the RV hooked up and settled in for the evening.

 

This morning around 8:30, we heard back from the insurance company and they are going to cover everything….our out of pocket will be less that $1,000 (which includes our $500 deductible).  What a relief!!!!!!  The repairs will take 2 weeks as it will take 1 week to just do the roof and we will have to stay in a hotel/motel while that is being done (which is also covered by the insurance).

I contacted the guard company that we want to work for and told them it would be a couple of weeks before we would be available and they said not to worry, just call when we were ready.  Hopefully,, there will be some work available at that time.

Update on Walker…..he was back to the vet on January 5th for another blood test……everything is normal and he does not have to go back for 3 weeks.

And that brings us up to date…….

 

Love to all……

Linda and Jim

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