That's how I feel today. We traveled 380 miles. I know, doesn't seem like a lot to you, but we usually only go about 200 maybe 250 in a day, but we are anxious to get home and see the kiddos.
We went from the Hill Country of Texas to the Wichita Mountains of South Oklahoma. Really the only difference is there are more trees in the Hill Country.
All along the way while we were still in Texas we saw all manner of entrance gates to ranches. From the fairly simple wire fence gates to the elaborate stone and iron gates. Most of them we could see the houses from the road and while some houses seemed to match their gates, others had gates that were a bit pretentious for the size of the mobile home. Some quite stately homes had the simplest gates.
Betty, I thought of you today as we were driving through Scotland, Texas. What a great combo for you! I tried to get a picture of the sign as Dave zoomed through, but I totally missed it. Maybe next time. Have you ever been there? Scotland Texas, not Scotland or Texas. :)
We will continue on our Zoom Zoom course tomorrow until we arrive in Abilene KS sometime in the afternoon. Another 360 miles.
This brings me to the close of the A to Z Challenge. I sure have enjoyed it and I hope it has encouraged me enough to keep going regularly on my own. Thanks to all the great bloggers who organized the challenge this year. I loved visiting all the other blogging participants enabling me to add more to my list of interesting things to read.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Yippee Ky Yay
Bruce Willis. Die Hard. I like Bruce Willis and I liked this movie. Just enough plot to support the action and of course things blowing up. What more could you ask for?
That word, yippee, isn't used much anymore. Although I don't remember using it much, even as a child. You do see it in old movies, usually from children getting something they REALLY wanted.
I do remember using it as a teenager. Usually in reply to something my parents were planning for ALL of us and our response was a sarcastic "yippee" most often accompanied by a twirl of the index finger into the air.
But I found myself thinking this word enthusiastically today as I felt elation at the realization that I would see my kids in 3 short days!
What more could you ask for?
That word, yippee, isn't used much anymore. Although I don't remember using it much, even as a child. You do see it in old movies, usually from children getting something they REALLY wanted.
I do remember using it as a teenager. Usually in reply to something my parents were planning for ALL of us and our response was a sarcastic "yippee" most often accompanied by a twirl of the index finger into the air.
But I found myself thinking this word enthusiastically today as I felt elation at the realization that I would see my kids in 3 short days!
What more could you ask for?
Friday, April 27, 2012
x]
OK, I had to look for this one. It's Internet slang for happy. You know, like :) is a happy face X] means just happy. See here
Since I am X] I figured I could expound on this little Internet slang symbol.
Just living this fulltime RV lifestyle makes me X]. We are more relaxed, we have much, much less stress, we travel the country seeing things we haven't seen before and we have a fun job. This all makes us X].
I wonder if this little symbol and all the other Internet and chat slang symbols is an indication of what our written conversations will all look like in 20 years or more? Doesn't do well for those of us that can't ever remember all those little symbols. Especially as we get older and our memories get worse! Oh boy!
Here's a x] picture for you.
Since I am X] I figured I could expound on this little Internet slang symbol.
Just living this fulltime RV lifestyle makes me X]. We are more relaxed, we have much, much less stress, we travel the country seeing things we haven't seen before and we have a fun job. This all makes us X].
I wonder if this little symbol and all the other Internet and chat slang symbols is an indication of what our written conversations will all look like in 20 years or more? Doesn't do well for those of us that can't ever remember all those little symbols. Especially as we get older and our memories get worse! Oh boy!
Here's a x] picture for you.
 |
| Erica and Papa |
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Way Too Long
We are in our second year of fulltiming and our 1st year of traveling fulltime and we love this lifestyle. We wouldn't go back to a sticks and bricks home even if we had to. There are a few things we would change this 2nd year on the road though.
Financially speaking we will be eating out a whole lot less. We won't be traveling as far to save on fuel and we definitely WON'T be going to Vegas this year.
We'd like to explore more of our surroundings at each stop than we did this year and we'd like to make it home more often. That's where the "Way Too Long" comes in.
Except for our youngest daughter visiting at the holidays, we haven't seen our kids or grandkids in 8 months. That's way too long! It seems from their pictures that the grands have grown soooo much and they have all turned a year older. That's a long time to miss them when at their ages things change so rapidly.
Their ages you ask? Eleven, nine, nine, six and six. We've missed the Holiday programs and the end of year programs. We've missed some baseball games, dance recitals, soccer games, Anniversaries and family get togethers. And we will still miss some of those things, but maybe we'll be at more family gatherings and we have decided we will go home for the Holidays this year. That was a tough one to miss.
So, as we make our way down the road on Monday we will be happier and happier as we get closer and closer to home.
Good night!
Kids - 4 days and a wake up!!
Financially speaking we will be eating out a whole lot less. We won't be traveling as far to save on fuel and we definitely WON'T be going to Vegas this year.
We'd like to explore more of our surroundings at each stop than we did this year and we'd like to make it home more often. That's where the "Way Too Long" comes in.
Except for our youngest daughter visiting at the holidays, we haven't seen our kids or grandkids in 8 months. That's way too long! It seems from their pictures that the grands have grown soooo much and they have all turned a year older. That's a long time to miss them when at their ages things change so rapidly.
Their ages you ask? Eleven, nine, nine, six and six. We've missed the Holiday programs and the end of year programs. We've missed some baseball games, dance recitals, soccer games, Anniversaries and family get togethers. And we will still miss some of those things, but maybe we'll be at more family gatherings and we have decided we will go home for the Holidays this year. That was a tough one to miss.
So, as we make our way down the road on Monday we will be happier and happier as we get closer and closer to home.
Good night!
Kids - 4 days and a wake up!!
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Very Good Day
You know, we have a lot of these now that we are living fulltime in our RV. Life is slower, easier and we meet such nice people.
Day one of the RV-Dreams Rally seminars was fun and informative. Tonight after dinner there there were quite a few people who showed us things gadgets they use in their RV's. A PVC pole to measure the height of underpasses. Walkie Talkies, clothes hangers, chair umbrella, torque wrench, and some other interesting things I can't remember.
At each seminar and at dinner we sit with different people each time so we meet more people each day. I'm horrible with names and faces so it's a good thing everyone is wearing name tags!
At lunch break I had to run into town to pick up some prescriptions and took a back road rather than the highway. It was winding and pretty. I finally saw lots of Bluebonnets and there were several farms with lots of little goats on them. Before I knew it I was in town and had no trouble finding the Walmart. After I was done I hit the Mickey D's drive thru and headed back for the afternoon seminars.
We had a good dinner of pizza, salad and cinnamon rolls for dessert. After show and tell it was time for the girls to get a walk. Took a little more time tonight because we had to stop and talk to people we have met and the girls had to say hi to everyone too.
Well, that's the first day down and another packed day tomorrow. I'm sending Dave to the morning seminar on weight and tire maintenance while I clean up the house, then we'll hit the afternoon seminars. Potluck for dinner tomorrow and I'm looking forward to that!
Goodnight all!
To my kids: 5 days and a wake up!!
Day one of the RV-Dreams Rally seminars was fun and informative. Tonight after dinner there there were quite a few people who showed us things gadgets they use in their RV's. A PVC pole to measure the height of underpasses. Walkie Talkies, clothes hangers, chair umbrella, torque wrench, and some other interesting things I can't remember.
At each seminar and at dinner we sit with different people each time so we meet more people each day. I'm horrible with names and faces so it's a good thing everyone is wearing name tags!
At lunch break I had to run into town to pick up some prescriptions and took a back road rather than the highway. It was winding and pretty. I finally saw lots of Bluebonnets and there were several farms with lots of little goats on them. Before I knew it I was in town and had no trouble finding the Walmart. After I was done I hit the Mickey D's drive thru and headed back for the afternoon seminars.
We had a good dinner of pizza, salad and cinnamon rolls for dessert. After show and tell it was time for the girls to get a walk. Took a little more time tonight because we had to stop and talk to people we have met and the girls had to say hi to everyone too.
Well, that's the first day down and another packed day tomorrow. I'm sending Dave to the morning seminar on weight and tire maintenance while I clean up the house, then we'll hit the afternoon seminars. Potluck for dinner tomorrow and I'm looking forward to that!
Goodnight all!
To my kids: 5 days and a wake up!!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Under the Twilight Sky
I rarely had time to sit outside at night when we lived in the sticks and bricks and worked 9 to 5 jobs and had a myriad of things to take care of, but I always loved the time of night just after the sun goes down and the stars are popping out. Now that we live a life where we have time to smell the roses (instead of running them over) I enjoy this time even more.
We sit outside rocking and talking, or not talking, and watch the sky and the world go by. It's relaxing and puts things in perspective for me. We are a tiny speck in the sky. The earth and planets revolve around our sun and our little system moves around our galaxy and the galaxy wanders around the universe. And here we are wandering around our little piece of the world as if that's the way it should be. As it should be. It feels right.
Nuff said. Goodnight.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Travel Day Today
For those of you reading my blog that are not fulltime RVers, we have a lot of travel days. Last summer we traveled to 12 states in 7 months. Some of those states twice!
Hmmm, I just noticed this map includes North Dakota. That's a mistake, we haven't been there yet. Oooops. But the rest are correct.
Anyway, we try not to travel more than 300 miles a day and most travel days we are right between 250 and 300. Today we went a whopping 70 miles. We were staying at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio for the last week cleaning out all the dust from the oilfield. Cleaned the inside and outside of the 5er, cleaned inside and outside the truck, dogs had a beauty parlor day and I finally got my much anticipated pedi/mani! It is so nice to have a clean home that stays clean for more than an hour!
We traveled to Kerrville, TX where we are attending the RV Dreams Rally at Buckhorn Lake Resort. I found this website and forum about 3 years ago when we were first talking about going fulltime in our RV. GREAT bunch of people. Be sure and check it out.
When we are on a travel day it takes us about 1 hour to get everything ready to go. That's if we have set an early departure time. If we haven't and we aren't going far, like today, then we take our time and take about 2 hours to get ready to go.
We get everything put away inside that is breakable, would move or is in the way of the slides being brought in. On the outside Dave gets all our patio and yard stuff put away, empties and flushes the black tank, unhooks the water hose and makes sure the truck is ready to go.
When all is ready inside and out we bring the slides in and raise the jacks. Dave backs the truck up to the hitch, I raise the front of the 5er and he slides the truck under the tongue and into the hitch in the bed of the truck. He plugs in the cord for the running/brake lights and trailer brakes and then I raise the jacks on the front end and the truck now has the load.
As he is winding up the electrical cord and putting it away I am making sure we both have drinks and my purse, nook and our phones are in the truck. He does a final walk around locking all the storage doors and making sure the lights all work.
By this time the dogs are already in the back seat area of the truck. They know the routine and as soon as we start it they are anxious not to be left behind! We bring along a bowl and bottles of water for the trip for them. We have a crew cab on the truck and with the seats folded up there is plenty of room for them. We bought cushions at Petco that makes that whole floor area comfy for them.
We hit the road at about 1045 and had a very easy drive once we got out of San Antonio. We arrived here about 1230, got all set up and are enjoying the evening.
See you tomorrow for "U"!
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| Snickers |
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| Skittles |
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Shit Happens
I had such fun with this when I originally posted it back in February that I thought I would use it for "S". Enjoy
Shit Happens
Good shit. Bad shit. Crazy shit. Stupid shit. Awful shit. Funny shit. No the universe is not deciding you need bad shit anymore than it is gracing you with the good shit. Shit just happens.
You make your plans and prepare for life's happenings as best you can and ... shit still happens. That's life.
Bad shit is not there to teach you a lesson, although most of us do learn one. This goes for stupid shit too. Not having a plan B is a great way for anything but good shit to happen.
Life has cycles just like anything else. Right now we are in a "Good Shit" cycle. You may be in a "Bad Shit" cycle. As they say, this too will pass. But usually you find out who your real friends are during the bad shit. Hell, sometimes your "friends" even cause the bad shit. Instead of a BFF you have a BSF. (see, stupid shit). I think we ALL have one of those at one time or another.
I believe we all create our own kind of shit, be it good or bad. AND, we can all turn bad shit into good. I used to tell my daughter that her attitude was all up to her, so if she wanted to wallow she just needed to know that was her choice.
So, shit happens. No reason. Plan your life. Live your life. Roll with the punches. Educate yourself. Be prepared. Shit just happens.
Readjustment
Being back in the real world is taking some readjustment. There are actually other people in the world and it seems like they are all on the roads. I'd almost forgotten what a "pleasure" it is to drive in a big city!
Things we are readjusting to:
Sleeping together
Sleeping for more than 6 hours and with no interruptions
Restaurants that are not fast food
Grocery stores that have lots of choices
Grocery stores that are right around the corner. Hell ANY store that is right around the corner
Realizing that the diesel truck driving by does not require jumping up and running outside to sign it in
Not having to have dinner at 5:00 so Dave can be in bed by 7:00
Eating ALL our meals together
Watching an entire TV program or movie without having to put it on pause
Neighbors
Traffic noise
Someone else's dog barking
Walking 50 ft to the trash container instead of driving a mile
Taking walks with the dogs and not having to worry about snakes
Not having to wear rubber boots when it rains
Not having to dust all the time
A clean house that stays clean
Sweet smelling dogs (they had a beauty parlor appt this week)
How much quieter it is without a generator 5 feet from the trailer
That when we turn out the lights to go to bed, it's dark inside
Blazing fast consistently working internet :)
NO kamikaze beetles!
When it storms I have someplace to hide
Riding in the passenger seat
OK, I'm sure there are more, but that's enough!
See you for S tomorrow!
Things we are readjusting to:
Sleeping together
Sleeping for more than 6 hours and with no interruptions
Restaurants that are not fast food
Grocery stores that have lots of choices
Grocery stores that are right around the corner. Hell ANY store that is right around the corner
Realizing that the diesel truck driving by does not require jumping up and running outside to sign it in
Not having to have dinner at 5:00 so Dave can be in bed by 7:00
Eating ALL our meals together
Watching an entire TV program or movie without having to put it on pause
Neighbors
Traffic noise
Someone else's dog barking
Walking 50 ft to the trash container instead of driving a mile
Taking walks with the dogs and not having to worry about snakes
Not having to wear rubber boots when it rains
Not having to dust all the time
A clean house that stays clean
Sweet smelling dogs (they had a beauty parlor appt this week)
How much quieter it is without a generator 5 feet from the trailer
That when we turn out the lights to go to bed, it's dark inside
Blazing fast consistently working internet :)
NO kamikaze beetles!
When it storms I have someplace to hide
Riding in the passenger seat
OK, I'm sure there are more, but that's enough!
See you for S tomorrow!
Friday, April 20, 2012
Q
Quality, Antiques, Dairy Queen. Besides the letter Q what can these things have in common?
Before the invention of the hand held video game, before the invention of the portable DVD player there was The Alphabet game! We had to find ways for our kids to be entertained in the car on long trips. Short of stopping more often to let them burn off energy and carrying snacks and drinks in the car in a cooler, we played games.
Everyone kept an eye out for billboards and road signs. You started with A and whoever said the word and the letter first got that letter. My kids were always trying to beat me at it. Sometimes I would almost let them win and then slaughter them in the end with a Z word. Of course as they got older they got better at it and sometimes I even lost for real.
Q was the first letter that we always got stuck on. Not that many Q words on the highway. You had to look for Quality Automotive or maybe Quality Inn. Roadside antique stores and the occasional Dairy Queen. Being stuck on Q pretty much allowed everyone to catch up and sit on the edge of their seats to be the first one to see the Q word.
Then there was V closely followed by Z as the next hard letters to find. V's were usually found in city or county names, where Z sometimes only came in big cities with Zoos or truck Plazas. We could play about 6 or 7 games before the kids got bored with that one.
In the sparsely populated parts of the country was the game of Cows and Horses.
Cows are worth 1 point and horses 2. The very scarce goat was 3 points. Each kid would take their side of the road and every time they saw one of these farm animals they had to count, out loud, how many they saw until they were out of site. Cows were 1, 2, 3 etc. Horses were 2, 4, 6, etc and of course goats were counted by 3's. Whoever had the most points at the end of the designated time or miles won. Or whoever reached 500 first won. Now, if you passed a graveyard on your side of the car you lost ALL your points. Listening to them count as fast as their mouths could go when we passed a large herd of cattle was cause for lots of giggles.
And of course there was always the popular "I spy". I spy....something green (or whatever color the object was, inside or outside the car) and then the guessing would begin. Sometimes the object was guessed and sometimes there was giving up. And of course each kid wanted to be the "I spyer". If you guessed you got to be next. If everyone gave up then you got to be the "I spyer" again.
So, if you remember these car games then I would imagine you are older than 25 or 30. If you don't, then you are either too young or you didn't take very many long trips as a kid. Either way you missed out. Try it next time you are in the car for a long trip and want to turn off the electronics. You might find it's fun.
Before the invention of the hand held video game, before the invention of the portable DVD player there was The Alphabet game! We had to find ways for our kids to be entertained in the car on long trips. Short of stopping more often to let them burn off energy and carrying snacks and drinks in the car in a cooler, we played games.
Everyone kept an eye out for billboards and road signs. You started with A and whoever said the word and the letter first got that letter. My kids were always trying to beat me at it. Sometimes I would almost let them win and then slaughter them in the end with a Z word. Of course as they got older they got better at it and sometimes I even lost for real.
Q was the first letter that we always got stuck on. Not that many Q words on the highway. You had to look for Quality Automotive or maybe Quality Inn. Roadside antique stores and the occasional Dairy Queen. Being stuck on Q pretty much allowed everyone to catch up and sit on the edge of their seats to be the first one to see the Q word.
Then there was V closely followed by Z as the next hard letters to find. V's were usually found in city or county names, where Z sometimes only came in big cities with Zoos or truck Plazas. We could play about 6 or 7 games before the kids got bored with that one.
In the sparsely populated parts of the country was the game of Cows and Horses.
Cows are worth 1 point and horses 2. The very scarce goat was 3 points. Each kid would take their side of the road and every time they saw one of these farm animals they had to count, out loud, how many they saw until they were out of site. Cows were 1, 2, 3 etc. Horses were 2, 4, 6, etc and of course goats were counted by 3's. Whoever had the most points at the end of the designated time or miles won. Or whoever reached 500 first won. Now, if you passed a graveyard on your side of the car you lost ALL your points. Listening to them count as fast as their mouths could go when we passed a large herd of cattle was cause for lots of giggles.
And of course there was always the popular "I spy". I spy....something green (or whatever color the object was, inside or outside the car) and then the guessing would begin. Sometimes the object was guessed and sometimes there was giving up. And of course each kid wanted to be the "I spyer". If you guessed you got to be next. If everyone gave up then you got to be the "I spyer" again.
So, if you remember these car games then I would imagine you are older than 25 or 30. If you don't, then you are either too young or you didn't take very many long trips as a kid. Either way you missed out. Try it next time you are in the car for a long trip and want to turn off the electronics. You might find it's fun.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Photos
I like taking photos. I like taking pictures of colorful things. Flowers. Birds. Sunsets. I always seem to gravitate to the things that have bright colors. In pictures anyway.
I try to compose the picture but sometimes things just don't cooperate.
And sometimes I take pictures of things for no good reason.
I try to compose the picture but sometimes things just don't cooperate.
I try to get a good picture of the puppies, but they don't cooperate either.
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| DON'T take my picture! |
I've been trying to take some night pictures, but they aren't working out so good either.
OK, still working on those.
I guess I have enough successes to keep me taking more pictures.
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| Texas Wildflowers |
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| International Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque, NM |
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| Ditto |
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| Nebraskaland Days Rodeo, North Platte NE - Just because the clouds looked cool |
And sometimes they are just too cute to pass up!
See you for "Q". Believe it or not I already have it planned!
Oh What A Beautiful Morning
Oh, what a beautiful day
I've got a wonderful feeling
Every thing's going my way!
Waking up after sleeping 8 hours uninterrupted was absolutely wonderful. Sitting outside as the Sun makes it's way to early morning, beautiful!
After 6 months of not getting anymore than 5 or 6 hours of sleep at a time it was so nice to be able to sleep so long, To wake up when my body says it's time instead of when the gate says it's time, priceless!
I had forgotten how much I enjoy my first waking moments. Just to sit, drink a morning beverage, enjoy the slow awakening of my senses and to listen to the world wake up is so relaxing.
It all reminded me of that old song I quoted above. It runs around in my head like a pleasant old memory. It is so true that a good night's sleep and waking up well rested makes the rest of the day look like anything is possible.
That's all I have for you today. Just to share that my mornings are enjoyable again.
"P" will be coming up later today. Enjoy your day!
I've got a wonderful feeling
Every thing's going my way!
Waking up after sleeping 8 hours uninterrupted was absolutely wonderful. Sitting outside as the Sun makes it's way to early morning, beautiful!
After 6 months of not getting anymore than 5 or 6 hours of sleep at a time it was so nice to be able to sleep so long, To wake up when my body says it's time instead of when the gate says it's time, priceless!
I had forgotten how much I enjoy my first waking moments. Just to sit, drink a morning beverage, enjoy the slow awakening of my senses and to listen to the world wake up is so relaxing.
It all reminded me of that old song I quoted above. It runs around in my head like a pleasant old memory. It is so true that a good night's sleep and waking up well rested makes the rest of the day look like anything is possible.
That's all I have for you today. Just to share that my mornings are enjoyable again.
"P" will be coming up later today. Enjoy your day!
Monday, April 16, 2012
No More
No more dirt, no more dust, no more mud, no more staying up until 3 am, no more generator lullaby, no more 3 mile dirt road and 12 mile paved bumpy road just to pick up some milk or mail, no more smelly water.
But, no more friendly neighbors, no more close up wildlife, no more wonderful gate guard community, no more friendly oil patch workers and truck drivers, no more friendly and helpful small town Texas people.
Yesterday morning after we briefed our replacements on everything gate guard (they are newbies) we departed our little patch of paradise and headed for San Antonio. It was bittersweet to leave. Yes we were glad to be heading back to civilization, but we were also sad to leave new found friends behind and surprisingly, we were also sad to leave our little patch of paradise.
It's noisy here, but a different sort of noise. We've traded the generator and big rigs for trains, airplanes and freeways. We've also traded our private piece of land for an RV park full of other people. But, we've also traded the long trip into town to one small expensive grocery store for any store we could want within a 5 to 10 minute drive. That comment could be positive both ways. :) AND, we have traded only one of us leaving the site at a time for going everywhere together. Once more being a couple together and doing couple things. Together.
We have enjoyed our work in the oil patch and plans are to come back next fall. We plan on keeping in touch with the friends we have made and hope to see again.
If you are thinking about gate guarding consider LOMA as the company to work for. They have been good to us and we look forward to working for them again next fall. Ken Robison is the contact and can be reached at 817-247-3080.
As we say goodbye to South Texas and head north to our kids and grandkids, we go knowing we have done something new and we did it well.
"N" brings us to the halfway point in the A to Z Challenge. See you tomorrow for "O".
To our kids and friends back home - 15 days and a wake up!
But, no more friendly neighbors, no more close up wildlife, no more wonderful gate guard community, no more friendly oil patch workers and truck drivers, no more friendly and helpful small town Texas people.
Yesterday morning after we briefed our replacements on everything gate guard (they are newbies) we departed our little patch of paradise and headed for San Antonio. It was bittersweet to leave. Yes we were glad to be heading back to civilization, but we were also sad to leave new found friends behind and surprisingly, we were also sad to leave our little patch of paradise.
It's noisy here, but a different sort of noise. We've traded the generator and big rigs for trains, airplanes and freeways. We've also traded our private piece of land for an RV park full of other people. But, we've also traded the long trip into town to one small expensive grocery store for any store we could want within a 5 to 10 minute drive. That comment could be positive both ways. :) AND, we have traded only one of us leaving the site at a time for going everywhere together. Once more being a couple together and doing couple things. Together.
We have enjoyed our work in the oil patch and plans are to come back next fall. We plan on keeping in touch with the friends we have made and hope to see again.
If you are thinking about gate guarding consider LOMA as the company to work for. They have been good to us and we look forward to working for them again next fall. Ken Robison is the contact and can be reached at 817-247-3080.
As we say goodbye to South Texas and head north to our kids and grandkids, we go knowing we have done something new and we did it well.
"N" brings us to the halfway point in the A to Z Challenge. See you tomorrow for "O".
To our kids and friends back home - 15 days and a wake up!
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Manhattan, Kansas HERE WE COME
Our oldest daughter and her family live there. Our Son and his family are a short drive away in Abilene, Kansas. Our youngest daughter and the granddog, Hugo are in Kansas City, Kansas. Except for a visit from the youngest at Christmas we haven't seen them in 8 months. EIGHT MONTHS! 17 days and a wake up! We sure do miss them and now that we are getting close to seeing them again we are anxious to get there. These are the 10 most important people in our lives.
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| EmmaRae, Jared, Adrienne and Jaxson Hayes |
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| Caitlin Arnold |
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| Jennifer, Sean, Destiny, Jacob and Erica Arnold |
We leave here sometime tomorrow morning and will spend a week in San Antonio at Fort Sam FamCamp cleaning the 5er inside and out. Get rid of all that south Texas red dirt. Then on the 23rd heading out to Kerrville, Texas for an RV Rally with the RV-Dreams crew for a week. Then on April 30th we are on the way out of Texas and on to Kansas! Hug our kids and grandkids, see friends, medical appointments, go see my favorite beautician Holly and just some general hanging out at home. Can't wait!
Leaving LaSalle
Man! I didn't realize I was late for "L" day. So this is the first of two related posts for today.
If you have been reading my blog you will already know that we are gate guarding in the Eagle Ford shale oil patch. You may not know that we are in LaSalle County in south Texas. 11.2 miles West of Cotulla off of hwy 468. Then another 3 miles in on dirt roads to our little spot.
This is our second gate and we have been here since late November. Our time here at the Circle Y ranch has been very enjoyable. We had a few slow months when we first got here, but it has since picked up quite a bit. We're now on the leaving track as of today. We said goodbye to all the pipeline guys, all the guys on both pads, our regulars and Mary and Jack Neal, our new good friends.
We've hitched the 5er to the truck, put most of everything away in their traveling places and just have to wait for our replacements to show up tomorrow morning. I hear they are two young women whose parents also have been gate guarding for awhile. We will give them an orientation - how the generator works, how to fill out the logs, who's on what pad, what the pipeline guys are doing and how nice the ranch owner is.
He in particular has made our stay here pretty damn good. He and his friends who were usually here every weekend have become our friends. We will be having dinner at his house with his wife and "the guys" next week. It will be hard to say goodbye to them, but if all goes well we will be right back here next November.
So as we say goodbye to the Circle Y, Cotulla and LaSalle county we will take away good memories, new friends and a big desire to come back next fall.
If you have been reading my blog you will already know that we are gate guarding in the Eagle Ford shale oil patch. You may not know that we are in LaSalle County in south Texas. 11.2 miles West of Cotulla off of hwy 468. Then another 3 miles in on dirt roads to our little spot.
This is our second gate and we have been here since late November. Our time here at the Circle Y ranch has been very enjoyable. We had a few slow months when we first got here, but it has since picked up quite a bit. We're now on the leaving track as of today. We said goodbye to all the pipeline guys, all the guys on both pads, our regulars and Mary and Jack Neal, our new good friends.
We've hitched the 5er to the truck, put most of everything away in their traveling places and just have to wait for our replacements to show up tomorrow morning. I hear they are two young women whose parents also have been gate guarding for awhile. We will give them an orientation - how the generator works, how to fill out the logs, who's on what pad, what the pipeline guys are doing and how nice the ranch owner is.
He in particular has made our stay here pretty damn good. He and his friends who were usually here every weekend have become our friends. We will be having dinner at his house with his wife and "the guys" next week. It will be hard to say goodbye to them, but if all goes well we will be right back here next November.
So as we say goodbye to the Circle Y, Cotulla and LaSalle county we will take away good memories, new friends and a big desire to come back next fall.
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Kindergarten
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ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN". I don't know if that's true or not, although we did learn some very valuable lessons. Sharing, take your turn, no fighting on the playground, be nice to your classmates, naps are good.
I was thinking more along the lines of what was different about my kindergarten, my kids kindergarten and the grandkids' kindergarten.
I had a wonderful experience for kindergarten. Some of my first memories involve that year. When I was 5 kindergarten was not something that was included in school. Elementary school was 1st through 5th grade. Preschool? Not heard of.
My kindergarten was on a farm. There were horses, cows, goats, chickens and hay rides once a week. We went half days on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It might have been the other way around. Anyway it was fun. I remember I took my little sister Catherine for show and tell once. She even got to bring her own blankie for nap time.
Kindergarten was used as the place to get kids used to being social and to learn the rules and it was not required to enter 1st grade. I don't remember if we learned our alphabet, but I imagine we did.
By the time my oldest daughter was 5 kindergarten was part of elementary school, but was still used as a vehicle to get children ready for "real" school and had to be completed before entering 1st grade. When she was 4 I learned about preschool. We were stationed in Wiesbaden Germany and the church on the small base we were on offered it. Being the oldest child she really hadn't had a chance to learn how to play well with other children, so I signed her up. It was free and she thrived there.
I don't really remember why but my second child, our son, didn't go to preschool. It wasn't a mandatory thing and for some reason I decided he didn't need to go. Perhaps because he was the 2nd child.
The third child? No preschool for her either, but she had her Grandma living with us and she loved spending time with her. It never appeared to have hurt either one of them to go directly to Kindergarten with no preschool.
Skip to the grand kids. I really can't tell you if preschool is mandatory, but I know of no child their age that didn't go. A majority of the preschools are at the elementary schools. Even if they are not mandatory, socially speaking it would seem it would be.
And kindergarten is different now. What we as children learned in 1st grade they are now teaching in kindergarten. It's no longer a school prep, it IS school. Now you have preschool for the school prep. I expect that in the next few years it will be widely accepted that preschool is mandatory and must be completed prior to entering Kindergarten. I would even imagine there will be children deemed not ready for Kindergarten and "held back" in preschool for one more year.
I'm not against all this, just noticing the difference. It has been a natural progression I suppose. More parents both being in the workforce and those out of the home working parents wanting child care where their children also learned something. I like the idea. I probably would have jumped all over it when my kids were young if it had been more widely available.
Anyway, just one of those things that has changed over the years. The thing I always wanted when my kids were young was year around school. But that's another subject.
I was thinking more along the lines of what was different about my kindergarten, my kids kindergarten and the grandkids' kindergarten.
I had a wonderful experience for kindergarten. Some of my first memories involve that year. When I was 5 kindergarten was not something that was included in school. Elementary school was 1st through 5th grade. Preschool? Not heard of.
My kindergarten was on a farm. There were horses, cows, goats, chickens and hay rides once a week. We went half days on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and full days on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It might have been the other way around. Anyway it was fun. I remember I took my little sister Catherine for show and tell once. She even got to bring her own blankie for nap time.
Kindergarten was used as the place to get kids used to being social and to learn the rules and it was not required to enter 1st grade. I don't remember if we learned our alphabet, but I imagine we did.
By the time my oldest daughter was 5 kindergarten was part of elementary school, but was still used as a vehicle to get children ready for "real" school and had to be completed before entering 1st grade. When she was 4 I learned about preschool. We were stationed in Wiesbaden Germany and the church on the small base we were on offered it. Being the oldest child she really hadn't had a chance to learn how to play well with other children, so I signed her up. It was free and she thrived there.
I don't really remember why but my second child, our son, didn't go to preschool. It wasn't a mandatory thing and for some reason I decided he didn't need to go. Perhaps because he was the 2nd child.
The third child? No preschool for her either, but she had her Grandma living with us and she loved spending time with her. It never appeared to have hurt either one of them to go directly to Kindergarten with no preschool.
Skip to the grand kids. I really can't tell you if preschool is mandatory, but I know of no child their age that didn't go. A majority of the preschools are at the elementary schools. Even if they are not mandatory, socially speaking it would seem it would be.
And kindergarten is different now. What we as children learned in 1st grade they are now teaching in kindergarten. It's no longer a school prep, it IS school. Now you have preschool for the school prep. I expect that in the next few years it will be widely accepted that preschool is mandatory and must be completed prior to entering Kindergarten. I would even imagine there will be children deemed not ready for Kindergarten and "held back" in preschool for one more year.
I'm not against all this, just noticing the difference. It has been a natural progression I suppose. More parents both being in the workforce and those out of the home working parents wanting child care where their children also learned something. I like the idea. I probably would have jumped all over it when my kids were young if it had been more widely available.
Anyway, just one of those things that has changed over the years. The thing I always wanted when my kids were young was year around school. But that's another subject.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Just Another Day In the Oil Patch
It was a beautiful day today, as it has been all week. Temps in the high 80's or low 90's, blue sky with some big white puffy clouds traveling lazily across the sky. Look at all those wildflowers! I didn't realize South Texas could be so beautiful in the springtime.
I realized as I was sitting down to type my J subject that I haven't written about our daily life in a while. I know some of you are curious about it because you have asked.
In our sticks & bricks house our days were filled with 8 to 5 jobs, fixing dinner, cleaning up, yard work, fixing whatever needed it, laundry and getting ready for the next day of work. It's not much different living full time in an RV and being gate guards. We still have all the usual chores; dishes, cleaning up, vacuuming, dusting, fixing 3 meals a day and fixing whatever needs it. The biggest difference is 300 sq ft takes a lot less time and NO yard work.
Instead of spending so much time on work or chores, we spend more time in each others' company, reading, chatting with neighboring RVers, blogging and computer stuff. We do all the other leisure traps too; TV, napping, snacking, playing computer games. We also do things more slowly. We don't usually have to hurry to do anything. The stress level is almost nil and the contentment level is maxed out.
We still work. But the work is not hard or demanding. A vehicle pulls up to the gate and you sign them in, then sign them out when they leave. Simplified description, but doesn't get too much more complicated then that.
The hard part is the hours. This is a 24 hour gate, as most of them are. Dave goes to bed at 7 or 8 pm while I work the night shift. He gets up at 2:30 am and I hit the sack until about 9 or 10. Or at least that's the plan. I've been having trouble sleeping past 7 or 8. If I get up too early, I'll go doze in the chair for awhile. I take a shower, eat breakfast and then I am ready to take over while Dave takes a nap. He never naps for longer than an hour and around 3 I take a nap to get me through until 3 am.
He fixes himself some breakfast before I get up. I fix my breakfast after my shower and then he'll have some lunch. We eat dinner together (my lunch)and then around midnight I'll fix myself some dinner. Somewhere in there one of us will do the dishes, or dust or clean off the counters.
We have to dust quite often. When it's not raining the dust is everywhere. When it is raining it's hard to keep the mud out. These caliche roads are sticky sucky mud when it rains!
We'll be leaving the oil patch next Monday, but before we do we'll have to clean as much as we can, inside and out. We'll need to make sure everything is secure again for traveling and make sure the mechanical and hydraulic systems for the slides and jacks work. But, with our life being slow we get a little done each day.
Until tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Indigo Bunting
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| Indigo Buntings are small (roughly sparrow-sized), stocky birds with short tails and short, thick, conical bills. |
This is my all time favorite bird. Partly because I am partial to blue and partly because when we owned the sticks and bricks house in Kansas I only saw them in the spring on their migration to the North.
I didn't start birdwatching until we built a screen porch on the front of our house off of the kitchen. Just outside the South side was a small patch of woods and this made us feel just a little isolated in our little porch. I put a couple of bird feeders out and right away attracted all the usual suspects. Sparrows of all sorts, Gold Finches, House Finches and the scourge of bird feeders, Cowbirds.
Right below the bird feeders was a patch of Honeysuckle that attracted the occasional Oriole. What a beautiful and distinctive song they have.
We also quite often had Downy Woodpeckers and Yellow Bellied Woodpeckers. Attracting those soon bit us in the butt, as one of them decided the high eave of our house would be a great place to peck out a hole and build a home.
Anyway, the first time I saw a flash of blue I had to know what it was I was almost seeing. I pulled out my field guide and started flipping. When I came across the Indigo Bunting I was just thrilled. What a beautiful little bird. I had no problem sitting for long periods of time just waiting for them at the feeder, then I started noticing them in the trees. The bright blue was quite easy to spot in the green leaves.
I wish I could say I had a picture of my own, but with moving everything around in computers, I can't find them. Suffice it to say, you should keep an eye out for these very pretty little birds. This is the time of year they start migrating from Central America to North America.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Happily Ever After
What does that mean? Happily ever after. When we were kids it was the princess and the prince falling in love at first site and then living happily ever after.
As teens we all had our dreams and our crushes and had our lives all planned out.
Now as I am at the beginning of the second half of my life (or more :) ) I'm wondering about it.
Life tends to get in the way. Our plans rarely play out like we thought. Some good, some bad. We all live through the ups, downs and tragedies of life. But on the way most of us do find the happily ever after, even if it's not what we planned on.
I feel I'm in that place. We are living the dream we talked about in our 20's. Traveling in our RV and taking life slow and easy. Our kids are all grown and well on the way to living their happily ever after. Their kids are the age just before the dreaming of what can be. We have life long friends as well as new found "old friends" We've joined some online and RV communities that are some of the nicest people we've ever not met. (but someday we will)
I leave you with the wish that you are living your Happily Ever After and if not yet, soon.
Saturday, April 7, 2012
"Google It"
Just Google it. I used to look up things the old fashioned way. The phone book. 411 information. Paper instruction manuals. Call a company and ask questions. Go to the reference section in the library. Hell, just ask a friend.
I'm not computer illiterate. I learned most of my computer stuff on the job as I went. I had my first PC on my desk at work in 1987. Ordered three of them for the department I worked in at a postgraduate school. I had to research which ones to buy, what kind of hardware was required, what kind of software to include and then had to teach my boss how to use it. Email was on a DOS screen and you had to know the codes. After that, every newest thing that came out was of interest to me. Had to learn it, had to have it.
My kids grew up in the Nintendo age and were of the first generation for computers to become normal school equipment, but I was still the one they asked when they had computer questions or problems. I had a hard time understanding why other people my age weren't jumping on the band wagon or did not want to learn how to use them.
Jump to the last few years. I still try to keep up. I still want the new stuff. (I see an Ipad in my future) But for some reason it took me longer to realize I could answer any question by just Googling it. Didn't always get the RIGHT answer, but it always gave me an answer.
Now I have embraced Googling. I rely on whitepages.com. I got rid of my paper dictionary for an online one. Calculator? Google it. Capital of Croatia? Google it. Restaurants in any city? Google it. Google it, Google it, Google it.
I have Googled my name, my family's names and names of old friends. I've Googled obituaries, dog names and appliances. The most useful google? Error messages on my computer and software.
So, is googling in the dictionary? Yep! http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/google?s=t
Do you have a question? Google it. But take everything with a grain of salt because not everything you read on the Internet is helpful or true.
Wait, wait! Still need a picture!
I know, totally unrelated, but I liked it. Besides now you can Google the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta!
I'm not computer illiterate. I learned most of my computer stuff on the job as I went. I had my first PC on my desk at work in 1987. Ordered three of them for the department I worked in at a postgraduate school. I had to research which ones to buy, what kind of hardware was required, what kind of software to include and then had to teach my boss how to use it. Email was on a DOS screen and you had to know the codes. After that, every newest thing that came out was of interest to me. Had to learn it, had to have it.
My kids grew up in the Nintendo age and were of the first generation for computers to become normal school equipment, but I was still the one they asked when they had computer questions or problems. I had a hard time understanding why other people my age weren't jumping on the band wagon or did not want to learn how to use them.
Jump to the last few years. I still try to keep up. I still want the new stuff. (I see an Ipad in my future) But for some reason it took me longer to realize I could answer any question by just Googling it. Didn't always get the RIGHT answer, but it always gave me an answer.
Now I have embraced Googling. I rely on whitepages.com. I got rid of my paper dictionary for an online one. Calculator? Google it. Capital of Croatia? Google it. Restaurants in any city? Google it. Google it, Google it, Google it.
I have Googled my name, my family's names and names of old friends. I've Googled obituaries, dog names and appliances. The most useful google? Error messages on my computer and software.
So, is googling in the dictionary? Yep! http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/google?s=t
Do you have a question? Google it. But take everything with a grain of salt because not everything you read on the Internet is helpful or true.
Wait, wait! Still need a picture!
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| Balloon Fiesta, Albuquerque, NM 2011 |
Friday, April 6, 2012
Flowers
I love them. I love taking pictures of them. The more colorful the better.
These are all Texas wildflowers. I'm so glad we were here long enough to see all the varieties bloom. Although I have yet to see the famous Texas Bluebonnets. We'll be in the Hill Country in a few weeks so maybe we'll see them there.
See you tomorrow for "G".
See you tomorrow for "G".
Thursday, April 5, 2012
E is for ....hmmm...ummm...hmmmm
Well. I had some thoughts about E. I had some suggestions about E. I had some false starts with E. I had a few more thoughts about E. My friend Eleanor suggested I don't use her name or Else. She also suggested Easter bunnies, Eyes, Eagles (the band), Everybody, and Eggs.
My oldest daughter, Adrienne suggested I be Excited. My Sister-in-law, Janet, suggested I talk about something Eventful and Eventually get to the point.
When I asked Dave he just said "Eh?". Problem with the Ears I suppose.
I thought about writing about the Evening, my favorite part of the day. I also thought about some really easy ones. Elephants, Eskimos, Elbows. Nah.
I could tell you all about two of my grandchildren, EmmaRae and Erica, but that wouldn't be fair to the other 3 grand kids; Destiny, Jaxson or Jacob. I could tell you Everything you Ever wanted to know about my youngest daughter, Caitlin Elaine. No, that would leave out everything about Adrienne Cathleen or my son, Sean Austin, Adrienne's husband Jared or Sean's wife Jennifer.
I could add a picture of my Entire family.
But, no.
I could mention that my mother and my youngest sister have the same name. Elizabeth Ann. AND my other sister has the middle name of Elizabeth. AND my name is Doris ANN. AND I was named after my father's sister, Doris Ann.
I could mention my mother-in-law's name is Eleanore Gertrude or that her birth name was Amelia Eleanora.
I could tell you all of that, but then my life would no longer be such an Enigma.
Cue the obligatory Essential photo....
My oldest daughter, Adrienne suggested I be Excited. My Sister-in-law, Janet, suggested I talk about something Eventful and Eventually get to the point.
When I asked Dave he just said "Eh?". Problem with the Ears I suppose.
I thought about writing about the Evening, my favorite part of the day. I also thought about some really easy ones. Elephants, Eskimos, Elbows. Nah.
I could tell you all about two of my grandchildren, EmmaRae and Erica, but that wouldn't be fair to the other 3 grand kids; Destiny, Jaxson or Jacob. I could tell you Everything you Ever wanted to know about my youngest daughter, Caitlin Elaine. No, that would leave out everything about Adrienne Cathleen or my son, Sean Austin, Adrienne's husband Jared or Sean's wife Jennifer.
I could add a picture of my Entire family.
But, no.
I could mention that my mother and my youngest sister have the same name. Elizabeth Ann. AND my other sister has the middle name of Elizabeth. AND my name is Doris ANN. AND I was named after my father's sister, Doris Ann.
I could mention my mother-in-law's name is Eleanore Gertrude or that her birth name was Amelia Eleanora.
I could tell you all of that, but then my life would no longer be such an Enigma.
Cue the obligatory Essential photo....
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| Earth mover. Hah! |
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Dirt and Dust
Wet dirt.
This was me coming back from San Antonio after picking up our youngest at the airport. This road up to our gate is about a mile long. A mile of mud! It doesn't take much rain to turn the road into this morass. But on the other hand it only takes a day or two of sun to turn it back in to a hard packed, pockmarked, rough riding road again.
Then it gets windy and you have 200 gravel trucks coming and going on the road and the dust just hangs in the air.
That's dust not fog.
It gets in everything. We have an old tablecloth we use to put over the dishes in the drainer to keep them from getting dusty before we put them away. I also have an old hand towel we put over the cooking utensil pot on the counter to keep the dust off of those.
We'll probably be cleaning dust out of cracks and crevices for months!
Ok, I'll leave you with a nice picture of a red dirt country road.
See ya on "E" day!
Then it gets windy and you have 200 gravel trucks coming and going on the road and the dust just hangs in the air.
It gets in everything. We have an old tablecloth we use to put over the dishes in the drainer to keep them from getting dusty before we put them away. I also have an old hand towel we put over the cooking utensil pot on the counter to keep the dust off of those.
We'll probably be cleaning dust out of cracks and crevices for months!
Ok, I'll leave you with a nice picture of a red dirt country road.
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| Spring in South Texas |
See ya on "E" day!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Clever and Creative
Well, I've never considered myself either one of those adjectives. I'm not crafty and my ventures into them have had decidely unmixed results of not being well finished. When I think of those two words, that's what I think of, crafts. The only one I have been successful at is matting and framing pictures.
I took a class, oh about 14 years ago, on Fort Riley. I didn't use that instruction for a long time. When I finally started going to the frame shop regularly I found I not only enjoyed it but it was relaxing and I was pretty good at it. I've framed things for myself, my kids, my friends and even a few pieces for pay.
My two favorite things I matted and framed were 2 pictures my youngest children did in grade school. The obligatory paint hands of my son from kindergarten and an alphabet picture from my youngest daughter. Childrens artwork is fun to mat and frame because of the bright colors and no matter how you mat them or frame them they look wonderful. They looked great hanging in my stairwell, reminding me of them as children and when we sold the house the kids loved having them to hang in their own houses.
Other than that I don't think I have ever felt particularly clever or creative. I'm not saying that to be negative, just how I am. I'm like Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail". I can never think of clever comebacks at the time needed. Only later do I think of the good ones and then never an occasion to use them again. I was always the person to do the job, get things done, take care of the problems and I suppose in those capacities I had to be a little of both.
I've never really felt creative in my writing, I just write what I'm thinking about. I usually have to search for something to write about and writing about our days on our journey has made it easier. With this A to Z Challenge I'm pushing myself more trying to be clever and come up with more creative subjects. So far so good, I think, although we are only on the third letter. Hmmmm, I guess we'll see if I can go 23 more letters and I don't repeat myself.
Gotta add a picture. I never feel a post is complete without one, so here ya go.
I took a class, oh about 14 years ago, on Fort Riley. I didn't use that instruction for a long time. When I finally started going to the frame shop regularly I found I not only enjoyed it but it was relaxing and I was pretty good at it. I've framed things for myself, my kids, my friends and even a few pieces for pay.
My two favorite things I matted and framed were 2 pictures my youngest children did in grade school. The obligatory paint hands of my son from kindergarten and an alphabet picture from my youngest daughter. Childrens artwork is fun to mat and frame because of the bright colors and no matter how you mat them or frame them they look wonderful. They looked great hanging in my stairwell, reminding me of them as children and when we sold the house the kids loved having them to hang in their own houses.
Other than that I don't think I have ever felt particularly clever or creative. I'm not saying that to be negative, just how I am. I'm like Meg Ryan in "You've Got Mail". I can never think of clever comebacks at the time needed. Only later do I think of the good ones and then never an occasion to use them again. I was always the person to do the job, get things done, take care of the problems and I suppose in those capacities I had to be a little of both.
I've never really felt creative in my writing, I just write what I'm thinking about. I usually have to search for something to write about and writing about our days on our journey has made it easier. With this A to Z Challenge I'm pushing myself more trying to be clever and come up with more creative subjects. So far so good, I think, although we are only on the third letter. Hmmmm, I guess we'll see if I can go 23 more letters and I don't repeat myself.
Gotta add a picture. I never feel a post is complete without one, so here ya go.
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| Carnival at Sunset - Nebraskaland Days 2011, North Platte, NE |
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