December 6, 2015 After Christmas

Well the shopping and wrapping finished on time!!  We went to my sister's in Enid on Christmas Eve after I worked about 5 hours at the hospital.  We even went to a candlelight service at Emmanual Baptist Church. We had a great time visiting, eating and opening presents.

On Christmas day we got up at 7:00 AM and opened presents with the grandkids and Kristi until about 8:00 AM!  It was great!  

I received an induction cooker for the RV, a new iced tea pot, I am getting a Kindle fire also.  I also got two new shirts and gift cards for Apple, Chili's and more!  I got a new book, some Cuddle Duds and even more.  I guess I was a really good girl!  I got Steve a kneeling pad and some better leveling jack pads for the RV.  Also some mechanic gloves.  He got new T-shirts from Kristi and some gift cards also.  He got some candy and wire brushes in his stocking, some movies and all kinds of good stuff! 

The kids loved their stuff!

All in All - it was a lovely Christmas.  We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, crescent rolls and pumpkin pie for Christmas Dinner (lunch).  Then we snacked for our evening meal.  

We napped most of the afternoon and came alive about 6 PM to watch some TV.  When we went to bed, I read the book Kristi got for me and finished it before I went to sleep.

Today is Saturday, the 26th of December and we got up about 8 AM and had breakfast, then I showered.  We cut two more lap boards for me to work on.  I am going to give one of them to Nancy's room mate, Edith  at the Nursing Home.  She is very nice and admired the one I made for Nancy - so I will make her one.  I am trying hard not to do any deep couch sitting today!  We had to go to Walmart also to get wood filler, batteries, a camera card, windshield wiper, and foam plates!

Can't miss a day at Wally World! 

We might play Uno tonight or put a puzzle together, not sure which.  Anyway we are having a good time!  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

November 30,2015 Monday Long Time No Post

I guess when we are home it is very easy to get out of the blogging habit. We haven't done a lot of exciting things.  We have walked at the CCC Lake in Perry a few times, and at the YMCA a few times.  I had a cold for a week and a half. I have been working 3 days a week, including the Friday after Thanksgiving. 

Steve put in new faucets in the kitchen and front bathroom.  We got our Christmas lights up outside.  We have no decorations up in the house yet.  We have not shopped for any Christmas gifts. 

Steve drove my sister Pam and I to Oklahoma City on the 21st of November to see Nancy ( another sisiter) in the nursing home.  I took her some scrub pants, a sweatsuit and some goodies and snacks. Kristi  and the kids have been here for Thanksgiving break.  We all rode over to Paige's for Thanksgiving Dinner and returned the same day since I had to work. 

We have had an ice storm so many places are without power.  El Reno (where the kids live) is out of power and their school is out again to day so they are staying warm with us. 

Today we are doing laundry and a few other odds and ends.

That is about it.

Monday, October 26, 2015 Back in the Groove

Well, since returning to work, life has been a little different. Dogs still like to sleep in.  I started back to work on Tuesday October 13, 2015.

 On Wednesday, Joint Commission showed up at our hospital and inspected it. We didn't have many questions to answer until Friday, when we had to show how we prove our registered dietitians are competent. We did that and satisfied the surveyor. On the week-end we watched football and did some walking. Last week I worked 4 days since one person was off. Plus I completed payroll for our department since the boss took his vacation. We haven't been very busy at the hospital, so on Tuesday I left early. Steve and I have both got our flu shots for this year. We certainly don't want to have to deal with flu. 

 On Thursday we went to Stillwater and had lunch at Schlotzy's, then went to the Iowa Tribe Casino near Perkins and finished with grocery shopping at Walmart. This last Saturday was homecoming at Oklahoma State University (OSU)(my alma mater). There was a tragedy during the homecoming parade. A wreck. A young girl drove a car into some of the parade spectators. Four were killed and 30-40 people were injured. 

 The football game continued and OSU won! So Saturday and Sunday we watched football. Both days this week-end we went to CCC Lake and walked.

 Today, we drove to Ponca City for my 6 month doctor visit. After that we went to Lake Ponca and walked. It was a nice morning for walking. 

 We checked out the RV park there and it would be OK for a night or two. We may be back. I enjoyed the walk. When I worked in Ponca City, my friend Kellie and I used to go and walk there also. Ponca City has a lot of pretty places in the residential area to walk.

A little waterfall with stepping stones. 

 Well back to work tomorrow. 

Probably won't be too busy, so I may come home early.

Steve found a very large acorn!

What Have We Been Doing Since We Got Home

We arrived home on Tuesday, September 29, 2015.  When we got to Perry, we stopped at Walmart and unhooked the pickup and took the tow bar off.  Next we drove to the house and got the RV situated just right and Steve took off the satellite dish, so the RV would fit in the RV carport. 

We basically just unloaded a few necessary items and then rested. 

I started going through the mail and found papers from Oklahoma Publici Safety about Steve's Driver's License.  The doctor has to fill out papers each year since he has MS in order for him to continue to drive.  Well we didn't get them in time - so we were in a panic.  We called them and they said just get it done and turned in.   So while I was working on the mail, Steve cleaned the refrigerator again (we had cleaned it before we left).  It seems that while we were gone, some mice took up residence and made themselves a happy home here.

The next day, we started cleaning the kitchen and all the cabinets and dishes, and swept the floors all over the house.  I also tried to get an appointment at the VA for Steve to get his drivers license paper completed.  Well no one returned our call - even after leaving 2 messages.  So I called again the next day, and finally called the patient advocate and got a return call to set the appointment.

On Friday Oct. 2, 2015 I got a perm and haircut, Steve also got a haircut.  We also did laundry.

Saturday, Oct 3, 2015 - we watched Football. On Sunday - we drove to Oklahoma City and watched Logan play soccer and visited Nancy at Southpoint Rehab.  We took the kids to lunch at Charleston's - it was a little expensive-not sure we will return there. When we got home - we watched more football.

On Monday, October 5th - we celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary with a trip to the VA for two doctor appointments.  We also stopped at Walmart in Edmond and got groceries.  When we got home we were pooped - so we didn't do much else except watch TV.

On Tuesday, October 6th we hauled off branches and some other stuff to the junk yard.  This kept us busy. Wednesday - I got my hair colored and when I got home Steve had raked the yard.  I helped him bag all the stuff up and we got rid of that.  Thursday found us mowing the yard in front.

Friday it rained in the morning and Steve cleared some weeds in the back yard. We updated Quicken with all of Steve's bank statements. 

Ok now we are back to the week-end and time for more Football!  On Saturday, Steve did work on his pickup brakes, checking to see if they needed new pads.  They didn't but he did clean the ones on the back and they stopped squealing.  We did 2 months of my bank statements in Quicken also today.  We did not do much on Sunday except watch football and do some minimal chores.

Today - Monday, October 12, 2015 - I sorted a whole bunch of clothes out of my closet and took them to the Salvation Army at Stillwater.  We also did our grocery shopping and called it a day.

Wow! Where does the time go when you are having fun.

On Tuesday, October 13, 2015 - I will return to my regular job.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday September 27, 28, 29,2015 Taking It Easy and getting home

Sunday -

Got up a little late and took care of the morning routine.  Then we had showers.  Next up:  Watching the Dallas Cowboy Football Game.  Dallas Lost.

We went out and visited with Steve's sister and then returned to the RV.  We walked the dogs in the park twice today.  They really enjoyed that.  

We got salads at Wendy's and returned to watch the finale of CSI and the end of the Denver Bronos game.

That about finishes this day.

We did watch the moon a little - but did not try to get pictures. 

Monday-

We left Amarillo by morning!  We stopped and got gas then headed east on I-40.  There was some construction, but little else of note.  We got to El Reno about 2:45 PM and set up.  We notified Kristi and the kids we were at El Reno Lake and they picked us up for supper.  We ate at Abuelo's in Yukon for supper.  The food was great!

We saw Kristi's new apartment and came back to the RV so the dogs could get their children fix.  Then we watched some football and NCIS.

Bed next!

Tuesday - 

We got up and unhooked the utilities and headed home.  After arriving in Perry, we unhooked the pickup and drove home.  Steve had to get ontop of huge RV and take the satellite dish off because it won't fit under the RV port.  This took awhile, and it was hot, of course.  We stayed gone almost 6 months and it is still hot at home!  We got the essentials out of the RVs and took it easy for awhile.

Friday, September 25, 2015 Camping World & Refrigerator

We got up at 6:30 AM - very early for us!  We got the dogs walked, had some breakfast and tucked away the slides & jacks.  

We got a picture of this van that was parked right next to us before we left!  They did not look like hippies- they looked too young, about 40ish and too clean cut for hippies!  

Then we disconnected the utilities and drove over to Camping World. They did not want us to make an appointment, just show up at 8:00 AM.  So we did and still had to wait for them to write up the service order. Anyway they took the RV back about 9:00 AM - by 11:00 AM we had not heard a thing.  So I went in and talked to the guy - they had done something to the board and the refrigerator was cooling - but they did not know how long it would take to get it to operating temperature to see if it needed a cooling unit.  I told him, if it needed a new cooling unit - we would probably just replace the whole refrigerator - and if it did - we would do that in Oklahoma.  So he said he would finish the paperwork and get us out.  Great!  It cost us $99.50 and we left about noon.

Therefore a late start on driving.  

We headed east on I-40 and by the time we got to Tucumcari, NM - we were tired from the early morning and the waiting around so we stopped and got a spot for the night.  We stayed in a Passport America park for $19.25 and it was an East Indian lady who checked us in.  I guess they have the convenience stores, motels, and now RV Parks!  She was nice and showed us to the spot and told us a great place to eat.

The refrigerator seems to be working!  Yea! It cooled down from 70 degrees to less than 60 degrees - so we will watch it.  By later in the evening it was at 50 degrees and so I put our drinks in it to cool down.

We ate at Del's Restaurant, which has been in business since 1934.  The food was very good.  Then we returned to the RV, walked the dogs a couple of times and watched TV.

This was across the street from the restaurant where we ate.

Saturday, September 26, 2015 Heading East Again

This was a motel (or apartments) at one time. I wondered if me and my family stayed here on our trip when I was 12?  Inside this open area was where the RV park was located. Cactus RV Park. Not sure we would stay here again-maybe. The old motel had definitely seen better times!

Well we slept in this morning. Athough I did the hear the deisel engine of the RV next to us start about 8 AM - thanks, neighbor. But it didn't bother me too bad, cause I went back to sleep.  Then did the usual morning routine.  We had a decent place to walk the dogs - so they got a longer walk yesterday and today.  Nice.

Buster got up on the dash of the RV this morning -he looked so cute!  This is the first time on the trip he has done that!  Our Tazzy 2 used to do that, but Zoey has never tried and Buster didn't do it all this time until today!  Funny!

We headed toward Amarillo - about 100 miles away. 

 We got to Amarillo about 1:30.  We set up quickly and got the satellite antenna up and changed the local stations so I could watch OSU play football.

We watched the game and it was exciting.  OSU won!  Woo Hoo!  Pistols Firing!

We took the dogs for a nice walk at Thompson Park.  We are staying near it at Wonderland RV Park.  We have stayed here before, many years ago.  It has gone downhill a lot since then.  The roads around the RV park are Horrible!  You can only drive about 2-3 mph.  The site is not level and the front of the RV is still going downhill even though the jacks are up and we tried our best to get level.  Oh Well.

We ate at Schlotzky's and stopped by United to get a few groceries.  

We noticed the beautiful moon also!

Then just chillin in the RV!

Thursday, September 24, 2015 Short Drive

Today we slept in again.  About 9:00 when we got up.  We debated about whether to move on or sit around for the day.  Finally I remember that I was going to call Camping World in Albuquerque to see if they could look at our RV Refrigerator. They said we could be placed on the list to look at it Friday - try to get there by 8:00 AM.  OK, we decided to pack up and move to Albuquerque.  We can still move fast if needed.  

I got a reservation at Enchanted Trails, since it is right next door to Camping World.  We hit the road about 11:00 AM and had a fairly easy drive.

We got settled in and walked the dogs some and had a little lunch.

Next we had a nap!

Later we unhooked the pickup and went a got supper.

After that it was time to watch some football and do a little banking.  I also did a jigsaw puzzle on the iPad.  I have been enjoying doing them this summer.  

Not too exciting!  I talked to Marsha and Pam today, they are good. 

We have some vintage cars and camping trailers here.

Wednesday, Sept 23, 2015 On the Road Again

Steve woke up early -about 5:30, because Zoey needed a drink of water.  So he stayed up, he was pretty sore.  I got up about 7:00 AM and we decided to call the other Mobil Repair guy we had looked up.  He was very agreeable to doing the work and said he would be at the RV in 45 minutes.  He was right on time!

The dogs and I sat in the pickup -so they would be quiet and let the man work.  Steve thought one of the pulleys was bad also, so he replaced that.  Everything went good.

We went and put gas in the RV before hooking up the pickup because all the gas stations looked difficult to get in and out of --tight.

Back to the pickup and we hooked up and started heading south.  Again the day was very nice, cool about 70 degrees and light wind.  Great driving day.  

We went through Shiprock, then Farmington.

We drove down New Mexico Highway 371.  It was a pretty rough and bumpy road with very little traffic.  We some some pretty and interesting sites.

We stopped at Grants, New Mexico- Lavaland RV Park - started to stop at Blue Spruce RV Park - but the sites were way too close together.  This site was $25.00 plus tax per night, some of the least expensive we have had on this return trip.  The RV sites in Utah average about $40.00 per night.  They are really proud of them.  Utah is beautiful, but expensive.

We really were glad to leave Moab - it was just too packed with tourists. 

Anyway we are glad to be settled down for the night.  This place is making improvements and we had a good place to walk the dogs.  You do have to watch out for goatheads and red ants though.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

We got up in pretty good time.  We got around and filled the RV up at the gas station before we hooked the pickup to it. 

 We were off to a good start.  The weather was cool and overcast a nice travel day.  We were happier with our site at this RV Park (Spanish Trails RV Park - Moab, UT), but it was crowded and many people kept their dogs outside the RV without being on a leash.  With our two crazy dogs this can be quite a challenge. 

We continued to see pretty sites on our route. 

Hole in the Rock

Wilson's Arch

The scenery can change within a few miles. Sometimes this is amazing.

Then we crossed into Colorado!

Still a very nice travel day and it was cool. We arrived at Cortez, CO and went to Walmart to get my medication from the pharmacy.  I had called it in on Monday, so there were no problems picking it up.  Then we got a sandwich at Subway in Walmart and picked up some groceries.  We got back in the RV and started to head south out of town. We heard a strange noise, I thought that we had just ran over the rumble strip.  Soon though, Steve lost power steering and could barely steer.  Luckily we were right near a huge parking lot in front of Redburn Tire Company and the Antique Corral.  We were right near the south edge of Cortez.  Steve got it steered in and found out it was the serpentine belt.  

We went in and talked to the tire shop guys- and told him we would need to park there for awhile, he said no problem.  He even gave us the number of a mobil repair guy.

We called him and he didn't seem too interested in fixing it, so Steve started to work on it.  First of all we had to go to the part store to get some allen wrenches to get the doghouse cover off.  A real pain! We searched the internet on my phone for the correct belt and along with a few trips to Napa and Car Quest we finally got the right belt. Steve worked hard but could not get the belt on right, since we could not find a diagram.  Finally he wore himself out and we went to Sonic and got a burger.

What a rough ending.  But we were fortunate that it happened where it did.  We considered ourselves very lucky.