Between Holidays

Well, we find ourselves once again between Thanksgiving and Christmas / New Year. The weather is "mood making". Temps in the upper 30's in the early hours before sun up and in the upper 50's to 70's in the daytime. We have had little rain. I am waiting for the snow......this could a record year if it snows having three snowfalls in the same decade. Time will tell.

We are cyber shopping and enjoying decorating and planning the Christmas dinner. We try to change the menu every year and this Christmas it will be Shrimip Gumbo and crab legs from Alaska with a steak or two on the grill to balance out the meal. Lots of veggies, salads and of course the required sweets.

The RV is ready to roll but we are not sure if we will get out in December except perhaps to overnight someplace for New Years Eve. We have been to the casino a few times this month and done well. Delta Downs Racetrack and Casino is just 4 miles across the TX/LA line so we hit that often. We get free rooms there when I remember to make reservations and when I do not, or we go on a moment's notice we either dry camp just off the track or simply play until breakfast and come home. I winterized the rig by turning off the AC, shutting down the fridge and filling the propane tank in case the temps drop below freezing so I can fire up the furnace to keep the water bays warmer. I have found that the Newmar ductwork which forces inside coach air into the water bays will keep the temps in the water and waste tanks about 40 F when the temps outside drop into the low 20's with the thermostat set at about 50 in the rig. The process is to watch the weather and turn on the heat, set to 50 or 60 depending on the forecast, about two days before the weather gets cold. This gives the system time to warm the spaces. It has worked for several years.

I expect that all of the children will be home for Christmas, not sure about our son who just moved to Rhode Island and is attending Johnson and Wales University in Providence RI and he just took a new part time job nearby. Time will tell. We will simply divide up his portion between the attendees.

Our annual Christmas Coffee blend was squashed this year due to a lack of one of the ingredients. The recipe calls for 2 parts Frangelica Coffee, One part each of Vanilla Nut Cream and Cafe Cinnamon. Frangellica is no longer available from our vendor of choice. I found substitutes which are close....but not close enough for us. The flavors are OK but not great. The original coffee is like "Christmas in a Cup". We will get over it.

Enough for now....and Please take a peak at our "Christmas 2010" web page on our Web Site... (This is the only Christmas Card we send....enjoy)

Until next time.