LIFE AND TIMES AFTER RETIREMENT

May..what happened to April?

2011-05-07T13:22:00.002-05:00

I thought I would post an update since it has been a month. No rain to speak of. April netted very little and May has seen about half inch so far. Dry as popcorn around here.

We have not traveled but have had some jaunts to local casinos across the state line. Mostly we spent the month in the yard and visiting friends in the area. We are both getting the itch and will escape soon I am sure.

Take care until next time. Photo is me holding a sprig on our "Seven Sisters" Rose bush.

The flowers are doing their thing again!

2011-04-10T13:06:00.005-05:00

Sorry, I could not resist posting again today. We were out grilling and noticed that the flowers were sneaking up on us. I have not even fed the yard or gardens yet. Better get moving eh?

The white Cherokee Rose is about 1/3 bloomed, I included a closeup of the tiny flowers.

Click this link for the "Legend of the Cherokee Rose"

Enjoy!

Where Is The Time Going?

2011-04-09T12:22:00.003-05:00

Wow, where is the time going. It seems that two retired people could find the time to get stuff done....NOT! Anyway, we are alive and well and having said that, are planning a fun Summer. We are planning a road trip or three for May/June/July (not all 12 weeks, at least that is not the plan).

Included will be a trek to the Hill Country, our annual trip to the Alabama-Coushatta Pow-Wow near Livingston and I may work in a trip to North TX if things work out.

Now however we are looking at about 37 acres of clover that was cut last week and should be ready to bale on Monday. This could be a record since it is so wide spread and thick this year. Ray's clover is a big winner in the Tri-County Hay Show each year and we expect this year to repeat the performance. Winter was good to the grass and the cows are happy.

I have ordered a muffler for the generator. The end with the tail pipe rusted out, (seems like they could make this out of a little better metal than they do, knowing this is a weak point). Anyway, that will be done soon and then will move to Galveston Bay, most likely the RV Park at Stingaree Restaurant in Crystal Beach TX a fine place to dine while enjoying the view from your table.

The RV spots are across the slip and great for camping, fishing or just enjoying the view, enjoy the sunsets over the water and watch the boats and barges pass just outside your window. With Flounder season in full swing it is a favorite spot.

Enjoy, until next time.

Spring

2011-03-20T08:02:00.002-05:00

Spring is here, mostly in my nose and chest. It is a ritual that I experience each year as the oak, ash and s dozen other fine trees begin to "green up". It is a curse. Shari and I have been down and out for over a week now. Shari with two respiratory infections and me with my usual bronchial disorder only worse this year.

Our trip to Dallas to visit "FC" & Camy who are here with a group at an FCRV planning meeting. Or plan was to drive up and have a nice Sunday with them and our iRV2 chat friends who live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Perhaps next time.

It has been boring here, and our main activities have been medications, sneezing, sore throat and coughing my insides out. The good news is that we may live.

I hate Spring!

The beach is buzzing with the annual migration of the birds and students on Spring Break....both in equal quantities but the birds make much less noise and those watching them are spending their dollars in our little community. We welcome each of them.

Until next time.

Not much to report here.

2011-02-21T21:09:00.003-06:00

It has been routine here. We have made a couple of short trips (90 miles) just to keep things moving. We plan a trip to Dallas in March and perhaps the Hill Country if time permits. There is much to do at our Stick House and work will start this weekend. I have a couple of flower gardens to put in and some exterior work to get done. Mostly catch up on yard work since the yard is a disaster.

We both have a bit of hay fever or whatever you call it. No fever but post nasal drip, burning throat and sneezing. It is a seasonal thing for us and "tis the season".

Have fun until next time.

Winterized Motor Home Chapter One

2011-02-03T08:12:00.003-06:00

This week I had a first. I winterized the motor home for the first time since 2003......sort of. With temps forecast to be 25 for three to four days I decided rather than blow away some propane I would simply winterize....the big issue was "where did I put that Newmar book?".

1. Turn off the hot water heater and water supply. DUH

2. Drain the hot water heater using the exterior plug (see photo)

3. Open the "Hot/Red" and "Black/Cold" water line lowest point drains.

4. Open each tap in the coach to allow water to drain.

I blew air into the kitchen & bath sinks, shower hose and outside water connection and shower to clear the lines. I set my compressor at about 5 lbs to prevent blowing up the lines.

I did not use any pink stuff. I did have the heater and water bay vent fan on set at about 45 degrees. I hope nothing gets damaged. Temps were very low Tuesday night and low was near 20. Last night and the rest of the week will be between 25 and 30 at night.

Time will tell.

Life On The Upper Texas Coast

2011-01-22T21:44:00.004-06:00

Photo is out our front door of the moon next to the cell tower which is loaded with Buzzard's every day.

We have had a nice start to the New Year. Early in January we both had our scheduled blood tests and I think we passed even if we did not score an A+ .

The Impala is doing well and the motor home is too. I have to take it into Winnie, about 2o miles North for a donut in the exhaust, otherwise it is doing well for a 2002 model. Our travel plans are not set in stone but if we decide to get out of here we will just go.

My forum page on Jatexas.com is doing well with 44 members mostly from Irv2. I had to block a few "members" from Russia as my rule is if you don't chat on an RV site the forum is not for you. I put it up so friends can post where they are and are heading in a secure section of the forums with special password that opens those sections. If I don't know who you are....sorry! I may contact you by email if I don't remember who you are.

Things are really doing well on the beach, construction is up and the road is being elevated as a temporary fix until engineering can relocate it. It still may flood during high South winds but it is on the mend. There are still only a few of the restaurants open, many less than pre-Ike years but those that are open are sure to do well this summer if they survive the winter months.

We will start to clear the fence around our house, stuff grows fast when neglected but we will catch up soon. If the burn ban is lifted long enough that is. It is difficult here since the nearest county dump is about 55 miles from here across the ferry and our trash company only picks up bagged household trash.

We hope to take a few days on the road soon if we can get caught up.

Until Next Time

Happy New Year Y'all!

2011-01-01T17:48:00.002-06:00

Well it is finally 2011. I say finally because last year was a real roller coaster ride for us. Starting with Shari's heart attack, January 2 at about 3 AM...Happy New Year!.

Then it was months of rehab and getting adjusted to the new lifestyle for both of us. About April, we had considered ourselves adjusted to our new lifestyle. We had a new doctor as ours flew the coop for greener pastures. She has proven to be a Gem among physicians. Young, smart, up on the latest and not afraid to guide us to better health. This in the midst of a medical center nearly destroyed by hurricane Ike and only back to about 60% of it's pre-Ike status..if that much.

Next came the big surprise at the Isle of Capri Casino in Lake Charles... "the winner of our grand prize is Shari Angelo"....a 2011 Harley-Davidson "Fat Boy" motorcycle. We were excited to say the least. Shari sold it the next day and purchased a very nice 2008 Chevrolet Impala almost for the same amount as the profit from the bike within $30 bucks. What luck.

The rest of the year was kind of normal until I got pinned between a tractor and a truckload of hay. A freak accident to say the least which took me out of commission for a week or so but no major issues according to the CAT scan and x-rays. Another positive outcome for sure.

Now, we are faced with 2011 and the fun things it will bring. I expect to win the $189 million Texas lottery next week so stay tuned. Or perhaps God and our Guardian Angel will simply guide us through another good year on this Earth before our time is up.

Happy New Year and BE SAFE.

Christmas Was Excellent

2010-12-26T07:11:00.004-06:00

We celebrated the birth of Christ in accordance with family tradition. Blessed again with the whole family together, laughing, playing, crying and of course eating together. There were gifts, cookies, memories of days gone but not forgotten, movies that we love and each other.

Shari, me, son Bryan, Daughter Sara and her friend and business partner Felton, Lucy and her husband Miguel and their son Lance plus my sisters and their families at the ranch on Friday night.

It was perfect. God has been good to us!

Today I awoke first to a nippy 32 F temperature, crisp for the beach but expected and it will only warm to the mid 40's today higher tomorrow. Today Sara heads back to Houston, Bryan on Tuesday back to Rhode Island and Lucy's family are home in Winnie only 20 miles North of here.

I will try to con Bryan, who is attending Johnson & Wales University in R.I. to make a steak and egg scramble with the left over rib eye from yesterday....it will be good.

By the way my SKYPE name is ja-texas if anyone cares.

Until Next Time

Santa is Pressing his Coat

2010-12-22T10:30:00.002-06:00

Greetings from muggy Texas. Temps are in the upper 60's low 70's with fog and humidities in the 90's......so it "ain't" all perfect but it it Texas.

Family is gathering for Christmas. It has been busy here and to boot I got hurt last week, pinned between a tractor and a truckload of hay. It hurt like heck, but no internal damage or broken bones. God watches over fools, children and foolish children. (I fit the last group). My bruising is almost gone and the pain is tolerable allowing me to wear real pants for most of the day but still sore.

We will pick up our seafood tomorrow, Thursday, for the gumbo and Snow Crab legs feast. We will throw in a few steaks for those who are not big fans of seafood, you know who you are! I will donate most of my crab since we get them at the casino for free every Friday.

Quiet here today. It is kind of a gloomy, damp day. Shorts and shirtsleeves for sure.

Anyway, all is well. Shari is doing fine and I will be very soon. Please visit my web site to see our holiday page which will include Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's photos.

Be safe and enjoy the season!

Between Holidays

2010-12-08T19:39:00.002-06:00

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.

Our Thanksgiving Gathering Begins

2010-11-22T18:15:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that I remember well from my youth. My dad and mom would do the traditional dinner, family would gather and share stories from the past year of our simple lives. Not much changes.

Our son Bryan arrived last night (he is here from Houston and moving to Rhode Island on the 28th) and daughter Sara will be here from Houston Tuesday for a few days. Lucy & Miguel and our grandson Lance will be here off and on, cooking and spending Thursday with us as they live the closest. Our dear friend Naomi, who teaches at the local school will join us for a visit on Thursday. It will be a grand day.

It is our wish that each of you enjoy this week and stop to give thanks for all that you have to share.

Until next time.

Casino's , Harley-Davidson's and Chevrolets

2010-11-18T08:02:00.002-06:00

For those of you who may not have gotten word, my bride, Shari, won a 2011 Harley-Davidson "FatBoy" motorcycle at the Isle of Capri Casino Halloween weekend. Not being bike fans, she looked at the bike and saw a car. Once the paperwork, taxes and etc were completed she sold it to a friend of ours who rides. Oddly enough it was almost to the penny of what our used Chevrolet Impala cost. We found a one owner, 2008 Impala, excellent condition and low miles so she is no longer a "biker momma" but a sedan owner.

It has been a wild few weeks here. Shari was scheduled for knee surgery the week after the motorcycle windfall but 24 hours before the surgery they took her off the schedule for some un-explained reason. They refunded our co-pay. The good news is that her knee is getting better and we visit our family doctor on Friday for more on that story.

I have been catching up on some chores around the house, getting the Workhorse brake recall done and will pick it up today from the shop in Pasadena TX. If you are in that area and need chassis work I recommend Monument Chevrolet which has a large truck center and they do a fantastic job. They are open until midnight and really do work that late. Amazing place.

We may dry camp at our favorite parking lot at Delta Downs Racetrack and Casino, Vinton LA this weekend since the temps are in the mid 50's at night and comfortable for this type of activity.

The barns are full of hay and Ray has sold all of the round bales he will let go this time of year saving the rest for his herd this winter. I am spending little time at the ranch, mostly to help catch up on maintenance items. I think I am done there for November and will see about December when it arrives. I am getting lots done around home and we do plan to take a couple of RV trips before the end of this year.

I hope everyone has a nice Thanksgiving and we will see you along the road.

Until next time.

Working and Playing in North TX

2010-10-23T08:45:00.003-05:00

I had a chance to do some "field" work at some medical clinics and took the opportunity. The trip started over the weekend with a trip to Alto, TX which is on the way to Tyler from here and visit friends Chris and Brenda who recently finished their new home there. It is a beautiful place on 70 or so acres. We stayed at their RV visitor spot and it was grand. We were so happy to be able to spend time with them and Brenda's mother and dad once again.

Sunday we were on our way to the first clinic and got stuck in Tyler due to problems at the clinic with the telephone company working on the network connection. This took a day and a half.

We moved our next reservation which was at Vineyards RV Resort in Grapevine which is about 20 minutes from the other clinics I had to visit. It is a really fine park that just finished a 1.6 million dollar upgrade to the spots which were not the most level in the world. Now is it great and the lake is second to none. We shall return there. The only problem is that the Rangers were playing at home on Friday and we planned to extend our stay until next week....NOT!
The place was booked up Fri-Sunday...so we headed home. While we were there we did cram in two visits with friends Linda and then John & Doretta who live in the area. It was a nice and much overdo visit. While there we ate on "Main" street which is THE place to visit and enjoyed the talents of the artist at http://vetroartglass.com/
Like a "dummy" we watched them making Christmas ornaments for an hour and thought of getting a photo just after they left for lunch. So, we did also.

Friday, we headed home after checking out early (checkout at Vineyards is 1:30 PM) and arrived before dark back in High Island.

I did trash my tow bar in Zavalla, TX while filling up at a local station. The place was below the highway level and on a curve. As I turned right out of the station the dip was too much for the tow bar and the right side arm bent making it difficult to hookup when heading home. I will call Roadmaster and most likely replace the whole darn thing.

We may try to sneak one more trip to the casino before Shari's ortho knee job next week but with this tropical thing in the Gulf next week it may not happen.

Until next time.

Big Drilling Rig...Small Bridge

2010-10-07T19:19:00.004-05:00

This morning I found the Parker Drilling Rig #76-B passing under the Intracoastal Waterway Bridge at High Island with a vertical clearance of 73' according to the Gulf Coast NOAA Chart 11331.

It looked too tall but turned out to be just high enough for the rig to clear. When I posted it this morning I did not see the person standing on top of the rig just below the bridge, in the photo. Is this considered a "hard hat area"?

It made it, much to my surprise and went on it's way West toward Texas City or Galveston.

October? Did I fall asleep?

2010-10-03T09:32:00.004-05:00

Whew, I woke up and it was October. Time sure passes fast when you are having fun, and if this is fun we are having it. I have spent the last few days helping my Brother in Law and his family bring in the last of the hay...we have one more field to get done next week. The photo is of Ron, my nephew, picking up 10 bales at a time with the hay grapple device and loading 200 of the critters onto the float trailers. My task was to drive the "gator" dragging the "accumulator" putting the bales into pallets of 10 for pick up. We have been blessed with dry weather and very low humidity so the hay dries fast.

Shari fell and crunched her knee. The doctor has decided to let it heal and see what happens. Her being on so much medicine after her January heart attack they are not eager to do much if the pain is gone which it has to a point.

We have spent a good bit of late night time at the Louisiana casinos which are about an hour from our home and have played on their money for the last 4 weeks. We are even again. (this is another way of saying we lost our shirts this weekend).

We have not done much and must get the motorhome ready to travel this week as we leave to do a little job installing some equipment in clinics near Fort Worth and Tyler TX. This will take us close enough to some of our friends homes to visit in Alto and the Dallas-Fort Worth area so the trip will be more fun than work. I do these little jobs now and then mostly as a favor to the people who supported me in my efforts before retirement.

It is cooler here by Texas Gulf Coast standards. Nights as low as the low 50's and highs in the low 80's for the most part and we have had some very clear weather. Perfect for making RAGWEED pollen, so excuse me while I sneeze.

All in all, we are fine and hope to get out some this Winter as the transplanted Texans come "home" for the winter.

Until next time.

Whew! Boy was that fun.....

2010-08-18T15:12:00.002-05:00

We did our little trip in casinoland.... and used up our freebies from The Isle of Capri, Lake Charles LA and the "Isle" in Biloxi MS, Now I know why I always use my player's card when I play at the casino. 4 days, 3 nights, 12 meals later we slept, ate and drank with the points we have earned....plus one of us, me not included, cashed out a tidy sum of money leaving us with a good deal of cash for our next adventure. I would have done better (Shari would have also) if I had stayed in the room and played on the computer for free. She did front me a few bucks when I needed it.

Anyway, it was a fun few days and now for some rest and a nap until our trip down the Frio River in TX in September.

Until next time.....

We are still kicking!

2010-08-08T22:36:00.000-05:00

It has been a bit since the last update. We have been "home bodies" a bit since the last posting. I have been busy at my sister Jo and her husband Raymond's ranch about 45 miles from here. It is hay season and we are having a great hay season unlike the last two years of hurricane, and no rain/too much rain.

This week we leave for our short trip to celebrate our 36th Wedding Anniversary, August 23.

The trip starts with a short stay with friends at the Isle of Capri Casino & Hotel in Lake Charles then on to Biloxi MS for two nights then finish off with a stop in New Orleans. This is a non-RV trip but one we have been waiting on for a while now.

All else is great here and we hope to be on the road soon....... "soon" as it cools off a bit. LOL

Until Next Time.....

Time for an Update!

2010-07-23T09:05:00.002-05:00

It has been a while since I updated our Blog so and have not done well reading blogs either. I will catch up today.

Since the July 4'th party at my Sister's and Raymond's ranch we have had some much needed rain. I have spent some time there putting hay in the barn and expect that if this current pair of tropical events pass without much weather here we will be well on our way to a good hay season which we have not had in a couple of years now.

On the home front, things are quiet. "Big Brother", which we consider a lab experiment has taken over one of the tee vees and a laptop until September. It is an annual event.

We did manage to visit our favorite fun spot and are scheduled to return to the Isle of Capri for the August 14th "38 Special" concert weekend then we plan to take a short hop down to Biloxi MS to take advantage of their two night hotel stay and cash award for returning to their casino.

At the request of a couple of our chat room friends from iRV2 "Chatters, I placed a message board on my web site at http://Jatexas.com for them to post information and share where they are, where they are going and how things went along the way. You must register and there is a private section for chat room friends to post details about their trips. I will issue the password to verified chatters and the other chat room users will share it as appropriate.

All else is good, Shari is feeling better as the weeks and month pass and we both await Fall when cooler temps will once again shower our part of the world. There is a trip in the works for Early October to GA, SC, NC for some gem hunting and catching up with whomever may be in the area. (see my trip plan if you are registered on the Message Board on my web site http://Jatexas.com We had planned this trip for 2005 but diverted to to bad weather in that area so we shall try again.

Until next time.

"Storms Never Last"

2010-07-02T18:45:00.002-05:00

Our first weather system is history for the Upper Texas Coast. We chalked up 7 inches of rain over the life of the storm which is fantastic since that is triple the amount we have had this year so far. The highway was opened today, Friday, after being closed for the last 2 and a half days due to high tides from the Gulf.

Shari and me have been busy helping my sister Jo and her husband Raymond get ready for the annual July 4th bash at the ranch. All is nearly ready and we now have time to relax before Sunday. We are going to Lake Charles tomorrow to celebrate my birthday and we have tickets to the Commodore's concert at the Isle of Capri Casino. We will have breakfast Sunday and join the party at the ranch for the day. Photos will follow.

All is well here and we hope each of you enjoy the weekend.

Tropical Storm Alex

2010-06-26T10:11:00.003-05:00

The first tropical storm of the season has formed and may be worth watching as July approaches. We have been busy since our little trip to Arkansas, cleaning quartz crystals and sifting the dirt from Crater of Diamonds State Park for our little diamond.....yet to be seen. Sifting half teaspoon of gravel at a time takes some patience.

This week we help Raymond and Jo (my sister and her husband) finalize the preparations for their July 4'th party and reunion at the ranch. Lots of decorating, cleaning and fixing up for the event which is well attended and appreciated by the whole family.

We plan to move the motor home to the ranch this week to make it a bit easier on us and to allow my sister to "lock us in" in case things get hectic....only kidding Jo.

We have to be finished by Saturday, July 3 since it is my 63'rd birthday and we are going to Lake Charles for the evening to a Commodore's concert and some overeating at the casino. Hey, I could win some bucks too if luck follows us.

Yesterday, after an exhausting search in 3 states, I found an antique claw foot bathtub...about a block from our home...DUH. We gave one away years ago but this one is larger and a bit heavier than ours was. The date on the bottom reads 01-01-1910. I will paint the exterior and Shari will plant flowers in the tub. The plan is to attach a shower head for watering for visual effect.

Until next time... Be Safe and Have Fun!

A "GEM" of a trip

2010-06-13T19:59:00.002-05:00

This past 10 days has been what we call "real fun". This is the first actual "trip" since Shari's heart attack so we wanted to do something we love. It started by inviting Shari's sister and her husband to travel with us and it all began at the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation near Livingston, TX. We try to make this event each year on the first weekend of June.

Next we went North to Murfreesboro AR to hunt gemstones. We spent a few days at Miner's Rock Shop Campground since the State Park was undergoing renovations. Miners', turned out to be a nice, clean and friendly place with lots of nice stones, hunting tools and other items of interest for those on the gem hunting trail. Next came hunting diamonds at the Crater of Diamond's State Park which is about 1/1o mile up the road. We decided to pack up our material from the diamond field and search it once we reach the comfort of our home rather than the heat of the day in Arkansas. Next we drove to Mt. Ida and the Wegner's Quartz Crystal Mine for some digging in the dirt....it was all we wanted it to be. We found what we were looking for and had a great trip.

As the week ended we were awakened with the news of a flash flood near the area which took the lives of 18 people in the middle of the night. The park involved was less than 20 miles from us but we were high and dry. Our prayers go out for those who lost their lives and their families and friends.

Next we headed South again to Lake Charles and had the chance to see "Peter Frampton" in concert, 5th row center seats at the Isle of Capri Casino....what a show.

Today, we drove home, unpacked and will spend time getting the RV ready for our next trip to wherever that will be.

Photos are posted on our web site http://Jatexas.com or this DIRECT LINK

Until Next Time....

Let The Race Begin

2010-06-02T07:13:00.002-05:00

Having the fridge repaired and the brakes fail on the same trip from the dealer was more excitement that we wanted. But today, we gather the motor home from Monument Chevrolet in Pasadena and begin four weeks of scheduled maintenance for Thursday along with packing for our little trip. Gee, I wish I were twins!

We got a new portable grill as I killed our old one using it for our only family grill for months last year after hurricane Ike. I still have to wash/wax the coach but it may just have to travel in it's "natural" state this trip. The journey is kind of tight with PowWow for the first two days then off to Crater of Diamonds State Park for a bit of dirt sifting and some quartz mining on the "mountain". This is something we have put off for a few years now but should make it back this trip if all goes well. We plan to add a day to the trip and swing by Lake Charles the last day for a Peter Frampton concert at the Isle of Capri (thanks Isle for such a great summer series with Lonestar, Frampton, the Commodores and 38 Special, May-August. The room at the Isle is small and has the feel of a private party. Well worth the bucks we wager at the casino.

Our "house / cat sitter" is lined up...Thanks girl you are the greatest.... so no worries on the home front.

For those who frequent http://Jatexas.com you will note my "hurricane" link...June starts the Atlantic Hurricane season which should prove to be a busy travel/evacuation season but time will tell. Our "Hurricane Action Plan" is in place and we await whatever surprises Mother Nature passes our way.

If we find a nice stone, win the lottery or stay poor it matters not. Shari and have the life we planned when we got married in 1974 and thanks to the Grace of God are able to enjoy our home, RV and each other for the rest of our time together. I always say "if we were having any more fun we would have to be twins to enjoy it all".

Until Next Time

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-05-30T16:32:00.002-05:00

May we pause to remember the many who have given their lives so that we can enjoy the lifestyle we love most.....The freedom has a price.

May we never forget! God Bless each of them and may God Bless America.

Picking up the RV

2010-05-28T08:45:00.001-05:00

The RV is repaired again. The rear brakes were not damaged (hmmmm) so they just changed two speed sensors on the fronts which were "deemed" not due to the recall.... I am still in line for brake upgrade. My advice is if your rear brakes stick, drag or the rear hub(s) get hot keep driving until you burn the suckers up. THEN, Workhorse will approve the immediate repair. Some of us feel that there are conversations, memos and notes proving that this rear problem was known by Workhorse all along and they are stalling as long as they can to cull out the ones that do not fail or get done by the owners out of necessity or desire for safety.

Then again, I may be just over reacting.

Until next time....

Motorhome OUT of the shop......Motorhome IN the shop again!

2010-05-20T23:36:00.002-05:00

Well, as luck would have it we got the motorhome out of the shop on Thursday as planned, new burner in the fridge, new clearance lights and new wiper blades.... Yee Haw. As we were making our way East on the Tollway back home I noticed that the brakes seemed to be dragging a bit. Since there is not much of a place to pull over while on the tollway, I pulled to the side of the road and found a hot rear wheel, driver's side. We moved a bit farther to get off the freeway into a large "future road expansion" area Southward of the toll road. After inspecting the rear brakes I found my fears to be true. As stated in the "recall summary letter", the brakes were hot, stuck and pedal mushy...like to the floor mushy.

I called Good Sam Road Side Assistance and they dispatched a towing service which after his arrival decided his truck was not large enough to pull the rig...DUH! He told me that he thought he could get it done but better call for another service. The operator at Good Sam was not amused. The second call out was more honest and a giant truck came to tow us to Monument Chevrolet in Pasadena, TX. They are open until midnight, Monday-Friday and were happy to check us in. They were aware of the Workhorse recall and told me that in the morning the service manager would call to get the OK to do the repairs. We will see.

Such is life for the traveler in moving houses....we are home safe and sound and looking for hotels in the area of next planned trip as a back up to having the RV back by then.

It was a hoot to see Shari and me sitting on the pavement, lawn chairs, drinks and snacks waiting for the truck to arrive. All is well that ends well.

Until next time.

Motorhome not home yet !

2010-05-15T16:42:00.001-05:00

Our dealer called and told us that the Good Sam CSP policy is paying for the fridge repairs or would replace it for $500 more. I elected to pay our deductible and have it repaired. I expect we will be ready by May 20'th or so.

We did get a bit of rain last night, about half inch with promise of a bit more before Tuesday....the yard needs the rain.

All is fine on this end, we are just anxious to get the rig back so we can finish maintenance on the roof, wiper blades and caulking and be ready for our little trip next month.

We hope all is well with each of you and wish for you safe and happy travels.

Until next time.....

May 2, 2010

2010-05-02T12:32:00.002-05:00

Today's update will be brief. All is well on this end of the world as we prepare to drop off the motor home at Ron Hoover RV in Katy on Tuesday for repairs to our fridge. As you may know it started leaking ammonia last week so it is time for action. I disconnected the AC and DC power and turned off the gas to the burner at once as instructed by the recall web site.
The good thing is that the Dometic safety recall worked since the purpose was to prevent fire in case of an ammonia leak in the heat exchanger and it did that job well. Between me, Ron Hoover RV and Good Sam Extended Service Plan, the out of pocket cost will be relatively small...."God Willing".

I started the Eternabond tape on the roof seams and the job is going well. I will put some Dicor "self leveling caulk" on vents and other such places this week as it does a fine job with those places. I did wash the exterior, checked the batteries and ran the generator under load today and all went well.

This day I am making a baguette bread from which I will make my Italian Garlic/Cheese toast for tonight's Sunday dinner of Pasta and Meat Balls with a crisp green salad. This bread is a bit harder to make than my Amish White Bread from my recipe page on http://Jatexas.com in the "Family" album, but is better for garlic cheese toast.

Shari and I are kind of just "hanging out" today and it is a "Chamber of Commerce" day on the Upper Texas Coast with temps in the 80's with 44% humidity with a nice breeze now and then.

Until next time.

OUR CHEROKEE ROSE IS SHOWING OFF

2010-04-15T09:15:00.006-05:00

(The two "Upper" wide shots were taken two days apart, Thursday & Saturday mornings and the third was taken Friday April 23.

Badly beaten by Hurricane Ike, frozen by the first real freeze we have had in years, the Cherokee Rose bush is alive and well once again. The blooms have started to open and I would guess that about 10% are showing...it will be a sight if they will all open at once.

Our fence is almost complete, with some gate adjustments to make but we are locked in now and our yard is ours again. Today is eye doctor day for Jake and MD visit for Shari on Friday....all is good here and we are having the time of our lives.

We have decided to head North to Murfreesboro soon even if the Crater of Diamonds RV park is not opened back up since closing in July 2009 for complete restoration. We will stay at Miner's Campground, full hookups just across the road. We have to visit the casino this week to try for our share of $20,000 in "Tax Day Cash" Friday night and Saturday.

Be Safe and Enjoy!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-04T07:50:00.011-05:00

This has been a busy few days on the Upper Texas Coast. Shari got new glasses, we went to the Isle of Capri Casino in Lake Charles and we helped my sister Jo and her husband Raymond get ready for their annual Easter Egg Dying Party. I think there were about 22 kids this year and as many adults. They host this event at their ranch, "The Lazy A" in Beaumont and it is always a great time for kids of all ages. Jo decorates the house and makes baskets for all of the children. There are hotdogs, hamburgers all the trimmings and lots of sweet stuff to nibble on. The highlight is having the kids decorate dozens of eggs from their hard working hens, gathered each day before Easter to assure there are enough for all to have at least one dozen. The faces in the photos I posted tell the story. Sunday will bring a quiet day with Lucy and our grandson, Lance for some BBQ later today.

In Search of Wildflowers

2010-03-22T10:11:00.002-05:00

As Spring catches up with the calendar, we expect a spectacular showing of wildflowers in the Texas Hill Country this season. We are planning our jaunt into the area to capture some images in our minds and on our data card shortly. The plan is to head NW to near Austin then South toward Kerrville and back East home. I am busy reading the "sighting reports" and seeking advice from our friends who reside in those areas.

I expect a stop at the "Little Creamery in Brenham" for a taste of Blue Bell Ice Cream on the way. Only because they usually have fields of Bluebonnets, rolling hills and great scenery....oh, and a splash of ice cream to boot.

Today we may hike down the beach with the strong winds of the past two days to see what shell treasures have been exposed on the sand.

Until Next Time.....

Fence, Gates and Sunshine

2010-03-14T08:51:00.002-05:00

This week finds our fence replaced. I never liked chain link fence but for the money it was our choice. We just got tired of replacing the wooden fence with every storm. The gates are being custom made in Beaumont and the drive gates will be just under 18' wide so no fear backing the RV into the driveway. It is a bit interesting to see my fenced yard with three holes where gates should be but I can live with that until the gates arrive.

Friday I was lucky enough to win a large picnic table in a drawing and it will add to the enjoyment of "yard sitting", an activity which I plan to explore in detail this summer. I am on the hunt for a gas grill to replace the one that blew apart during hurricane Ike and to build a patio cover for the table and the grill. It may hard to believe but in July and August shade required.

Saturday I mowed and will spread the Scotts Bonus S and "Over and Out" ant killer today. This should bring the St. Augustine back to full glory and discourage fire ants from stopping to visit our yard.

I am off to the hardware store to pick up the goodies for the yard and a new spreader as mine has been attacked by the "Bolivar Itch". As the saying goes "rust never sleeps" and the handles just rusted away.

I hope to get the RV roof sealed this week and start fluffing the exterior with a good wash/wax job then we can talk about a road trip to see friends and visit our money in Louisiana's "gaming establishments".

All said and done, it was a great week, with a visit from our daughter Sara from Houston, we got to spend time with our son Bryan, also in Houston and enjoyed the company Lucy, Miguel and our grandson Lance who we see often since they only live 20 miles from here. It has been a busy but productive week here on the Gulf Coast of Texas. The bird watchers are here along with Spring Breaker's which add to the confusion in our little town but good for local business....I hope they behave.

Until Next Time.

How did I ever get anything done before I retired?

2010-03-09T16:26:00.002-06:00

This has been a week! Doctor visits for us and to drive my Brother in Law and sister to the clinic in Houston, 5 trips to the lumber yard (50 miles one way), dinner out, casino trip and the fence will be completed tomorrow. Not to mention a hot shot to Wal-Mart for the Blu-Ray movie "2012" and some others then watching them until 3 AM.

What a life!

I added June 3-5th on my calendar for a road trip to Livingston, TX for the "42-nd Alabama-Coushatta Pow-Wow". We will stay at Lake Tom Bigbee RV Park on the reservation as usual. We are still grounded for another week or so until I can get the license tags for the MH renewed, clearance lights repaired and some soap and polish on the rig.

Shari and me have been going like crazy and enjoying every minute. Friday will be a fun day with friends and we are looking forward to the day and evening.

Until Next Time.....

Sounds of Lawn Mowers Today

2010-02-27T11:13:00.002-06:00

There are sounds of lawn mowers in our little town today....not mine but someone is mowing. I will put out the Scotts "Weed & Feed" this weekend mixed with "Over'n Out" fire ant treatment. This will bring our lawn back it's normal lush green look and take out the local weeds that seem to live forever.

It was a bit cool and windy last night but things are warming up for the next few days into the low 60's. We have been catching up on some outdoor chores and trying to return to normal here...or at least as normal as it ever is.

All is well on the Upper Texas Coast and we are looking forward to shorts and sandals once again.

Last Week of February is Upon Us

2010-02-19T09:19:00.004-06:00

This has been a fast 7 weeks. This year, 2010 started off pretty bad for us with Shari's heart attack and all it brings with it. Two hospital stays, nearly weekly doctor appointments and disrupted travel plans and lifestyle changes all helped the time fly past.

The doctor gave Shari the go ahead to return to a "normal" life, we like to think our lives are not described as "normal" by any standards. The good side is that now she can become active again, doing household things and return to our exercise program. The biggest changes are her medications and our daily diet. Food is still good and as much fun to prepare, perhaps even more fun with the challenges of making our favorites with low fat, cholesterol and sodium but leaving the taste.

On the home front, we are waiting for the fence guys to come install our new fence, which has been missing since Sept. 2008 when Ike hit the coast. Once that is done I will tend to the exterior repairs still pending. We do have a couple of trips planned soon but not sure where or when yet.

This weekend Doug and JoAnn passed thru High Island on their way East and we are anxious to meet them. They will overnight in our driveway RV slot and we are sure that we will have a great visit. If you are heading thru this area feel free to contact us, we would love to meet our RV'ing friends in person.

All is well here and I am still astounded at the video of our new HD television and find that movies we have seen before have a new look on the big screen. It is amazing. The 20" on my desk is nothing to sneeze at either. Shari and me are happy that finally things are starting to return to normal and pray that God will continue to keep us safe and sound.

Until Next Time.....

To Be Happy And Other Random thoughts

2010-02-14T10:07:00.003-06:00

Shari is recovering on schedule and making great progress. The weather here has been kind of cool but hey, it is Winter and we have to expect cold, cloudy, wind and rain...it happens this time of year.

On this, the 36th Anniversary of our first date, we are still happy people. God has been so good to us, we often wait for the other shoe to fall but when and if it does, we know it is part of life on this good earth. That Feb. 14th we went to the Astrodome to the Houston Rodeo to watch the events and watch Elvis perform on the big stage. This year we will spend at home watching the Olympics and the Daytona 500.

We have always preached to our kids that "Life is about choices". You get up every day and can make a decision at that moment to have a good day, or a bad day. To make the right choices, listening to God's direction and enjoying NOW rather than spending time worrying about what may happen, or what we want to happen. Don't choose to miss the NOW, trying to shape the FUTURE. God will take of tomorrow, just enjoy today.

In our little space on this planet, we are making repairs to the RV as soon as it warms up a bit. I will change out the front clearance lights as they are starting to leak, sealing the roof seams with Eternabond tape and sealing the entry door as it has a loose rubber seal on the bottom of the door. I may use a dab of Gorilla Glue on that item. After that I will seal some seams on the sides and polish the rubber joints that have turned black over time.

This week the fence company arrives to install our long awaited fence which was blew away during hurricane Ike. We have lots more work on the two sides that are fenced and plan to clean those fence lines immediately. Shari gets frustrated watching me but she will be able to help soon.

We once again thank everyone for your prayers and thoughts and are blessed to have friends across the land praying for each other...we are praying for you.

Until next time.

"We Need To Get Out of Here"....

2010-02-08T08:51:00.005-06:00

To coin the Travelocity Gnome commercial "we need to get out of here"... :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArQ46Y5VqHI

Shari and her nurse (that would be me) are both going nuts. We are looking at old travel photos just to get that 'feeling' and I find excuses to go out to the RV often just to sit and dream.

We are however planning our retreat and have a list of places on the "must get out" list for as soon as the doc says Shari can travel again.

We are having loads of fun just sitting and looking at photos, doing chores on Facebook and watching lots of good movies. We are also spending lots of time exploring the low sodium options and Mrs. Dash has become our best friend in the kitchen....along with her friends lemons and limes...LOL

At least I get out now and then for a hot shot to the grocery and Shari is sleeping a lot as predicted. She is doing very well and getting better each day. We have 3 doctor appointments in the next 4 weeks for follow up with the first being Feb.11 so that will keep us kind of tied down. The local Mardi Gras Parade is this weekend and if the weather permits we will be on the side of the highway for that event.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers and thoughts,

Jake & Shari

We are home.

2010-02-04T17:44:00.001-06:00

We are home. Shari is doing well, I have unpacked our stuff from the motorhome and life is good.

Thanks again for everyone's prayers and kind thoughts during our crisis.

Anticipation

2010-02-01T18:01:00.003-06:00

It is with mixed feelings we sit and wait for Shari's cardiac cath on Wednesday. We have been very good on the cardiac diet and I am packing the motor home to move to Galveston tomorrow. You have to understand that getting to the hospital at 6 AM requires a ferry ride which starts 35 miles from here and may or may not be on "schedule" due to dock damage from hurricane Ike still being repaired. They were adding new docks when the storm hit so things are slow to return. To prevent our arriving late we will simply move to Bayou Shores RV park in Galveston for a few days and have an easy trip to the hospital on Wednesday AM.Not to give the impression that I am worried but to put it another way, "I am worried".

The first time she was in the middle of a heart attack and kind of stressed both of us. This one is like touching an electric wire the SECOND time. She knows what will happen but not sure she will like it much. We put our faith in God and strength from the prayers of our friends and family.
We are told by the cardiologists that it should be an "in and out" procedure but key word here is "should". Time will tell.Until next time.

Quick Update

2010-01-26T19:52:00.002-06:00

Shari will have her second cardiac stent done on Wednesday Feb. 3. We pray that this one will be without complications and she can be home in a day or two.

All else is well, weather is nice and we are getting out a bit and enjoying the sunshine.

Until Next Time.

Health, Play, Food, Work and Choices

2010-01-21T13:00:00.004-06:00

We had a good visit with Shari's cardiologists on Tuesday and things are progressing well. We are eating the right stuff, avoiding the wrong stuff and it seems to be working. They will let us know next week when we can come in for the next cath procedure. I expect it will be the first or second week in February. It should be a day in and next day or two out thing and rapid recovery since there won't be a heart attack going on this time.

They did some blood work, an EKG and lots of discussion about the next procedure. We are confident that Shari is on the way to a full recovery. We both may be better off having experienced this but don't recommend this course of treatment just to modify your dietary habits.

I have not done much work around here on the house but hope to get the fence line cleared this week to prepare for the fence. With the terrorist dogs next door I need a fence real bad. I thought I had a guy to do the work but that did not work out so I will do it myself. I am not a stranger to building fences. The big problem is that we both have always expressed the opinion that "life is about choices" and I am having trouble choosing anything more than 10' from Shari at the moment, which is really where I want to be. The yard can and will wait for me. Like the quote goes "Make play a high priority in your life for if you die tomorrow no one can play for you, but someone can and will do your work for you!!!" Ken Beebe (Dr. Play)

We do love to play....

Cooking Low Sodium is NOT Easy

2010-01-13T09:01:00.002-06:00

Low fat cooking is no biggie for us as we have been doing that already. The "low sodium" thing is a challenge. EVERYTHING canned, boxed or prepared had loads of salt...wow. They seem to take a great natural product and pump it up to 680 mg of sodium for some strange reason.

However, with the help of lemon, lime and my old friend Mrs. Dash, we are surviving and managing to comply. I find myself using fruit and veggies in ways I never thought possible. We do broil or bake meats and fish with lemon or lime and a splash of Mrs. Dash table blend.

Tomorrow is our Family Medicine Doctor appointment Cardiologist is next week. All is well and Shari is doing good.

Until Next Time

Learn Something New Every Day!

2010-01-09T14:57:00.002-06:00

Shari has been resting well, which is about all the doctor said she should do for now and her vital signs are well into the range that her cardiologist wants them to be. She woke about 9 AM and missed my excitement for this day.

Today I was given a lesson in "Winter Survival". Understand that "we" don't get much winter on the Gulf Coast of Texas. As a matter of fact, we have not had more than an hour or two of freezing temps in the last 5 or more Winters. Oh, it may dip to 29 now and then from about 6 AM to 8 AM but not since 1996 have we had temps below 32 degrees for hours at a time.

Understanding that the motor home has never been winterized or even had the water drained and the "Stick House" not been subjected to freezing temps to speak of, I was eager to make sure all was in place for this three day blast. I made sure my one exposed water pipe, from the ground to the house, was wrapped and insulated well. Hurricane Ike had taken lots of insulation from the underside and I am glad I checked. The only 2 other exposures are the front and back faucet which I wrapped in insulation, covered with a bag and a trash can.

Then I waited.

Last night it was 29 at bedtime so against my better judgement, I left the kitchen faucet trickle just a bit as added insurance. The motor home's furnace was turned on and set to 50 with the "water bay" blower "ON" which circulated warm 50 degree air in the water compartments. I have a remote thermometer in the bay and the temp never got below 35 degrees last night.

Early this morning, I woke up and all was well....no frozen pipes or drains. I made coffee and put on a load of laundry as I had told Shari I would wash her gowns which are the "wardrobe" of choice after her heart attack. Five minutes into the wash cycle it happened. The cats were ankle deep in laundry water and they were not happy. The litter box is in the laundry room and the floor was flooded. I turned off the machine and put 6-8 towels on the floor, ran for the mop and bucket and held back the flood. I then used buckets to shuttle water to the bathroom (which had no such drain issue) in order to complete the task of washing before Shari woke up.
You should see how clean the tile floor is in the laundry room.... LOL

Anyway, Shari got up a bit latter and I fixed breakfast, Egg Beaters, Toast and Sugar Free jam, with Decaf coffee...Yumm.

Thus I have added to my list of things never to forget to put some RV antifreeze in the "P" Traps on all of the drains at bedtime when temps will be below freezing.

This was day two of our three day cold snap then back to normal Winter temps ranging from highs of the mid 60's and lows in the mid 50's for next week.

Enjoy and stay safe.

Things are looking up.

2010-01-07T15:12:00.002-06:00

Today is Thursday, Jan 7 and we got home from the hospital last night. They let us go about 7 and arrived home about 9.

She is doing well, and goes back for follow up in 2 weeks. Life is good.

Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers along with kind words. We appreciate each one.

Monday Update

2010-01-04T22:33:00.002-06:00

Shari had a rough night. They discontinued the IV fluids and her blood pressure dropped to dangerous levels in about 10 minutes. This prompted new images and an X-Ray to make sure they had not missed anything and they did not. The Cardiac team believes it was just bad timing removing the fluids just as the right side of the heart was repairing itself and the fluids were necessary to keep blood flowing well. After 6 hours they stopped the IV again and her BP remained normal for 10 hours. If this continues tonight she will be released Tuesday morning.

The doctor has told us that there was no damage and things should return to normal soon.

Thanks to everyone for the thoughts and prayers....Prayer Works.

Jake & Shari

Midnight Sunday

2010-01-04T00:02:00.002-06:00

I got home about 9 PM, had some dinner and unpacked the supplies from Wal Mart. Shari's robe is a bit light for the 20 degree temps we are expecting about the time she is released so I picked up a few "warm fuzzie things" for the trip home from the hospital.

She will spend tonight in ICU again due to a problem adjusting her blood pressure. The cardiology team of 3 doctors agree that the meds they put her on may be too strong since her BP dropped too low today. They are monitoring and will not all meds until they settle down a bit.

They did take a detailed look with ultrasound today and found no problems with her heart or arteries except for the 2 additional small blockages that they will repair in a few weeks.

She did rest today, sat up in the chair for an hour and ate real hospital food....I declined and ate at home tonight.

Thanks to all of you for your prayers and thoughts and comments on Facebook. I am relaying them to her and will share them as soon as she gets home. It looks like late Monday or sometime Tuesday, my bet is Tuesday.

Thanks again,

Jake & Shari

January 2, 2010 in the Emergency Room and Beyond

2010-01-02T16:25:00.003-06:00

Saturday morning, after a nice quiet dinner and time together, Shari woke me at about 5 AM with "I think I am having a heart attack" and she was.

She walked with me down stairs before things got too bad and took two aspirin. I called 911 and our local Volunteer EMS unit arrived in about 8 minutes with three volunteers ready to assess the situation. Due to the distance to the Emergency Room in Galveston and the time of day (the ferry runs on a one hour schedule until 6:40 AM or so. Shari and the Medic in charge decided to call for "Life Flight" to save time and provide advanced cardiac medications. They loaded Shari into the ambulance and headed to the "helipad" in town for transfer, I drove to Galveston which is about an hour drive including the ferry crossing.

I arrived about ten minutes behind Shari and they were getting her ready to go to the Cardiac Cath. Lab to take a look and to repair what they find. They decided to treat the the major blockage and installed a "cardiac stint". The others will wait for a few weeks to determine the best approach. She came out feeling great but tired. They have her in the CCU for today and tomorrow. She was in good spirits and talking but needed rest. I decided to let her sleep as she was in good hands and drive home before I became too tired to do so safely.

The staff told me that they would notify me if anything went wrong while I was away and I will return early in the morning.

Please keep Shari in your thoughts and prayers.

Jake & Shari Angelo
P.O. Box 302
High Island, TX 77623

Christmas 2009 is a memory

2009-12-27T09:09:00.002-06:00

We had a wild but excellent Christmas spending time with family and friends. The weather was fine and this weeks looks cool, moist with some sunshine mixed in and temps ranging from the 40's to the 50's range.

I will order new clearance / marker lights for the front cap as mine have cracked beyond repair and if not attended to will leak. Sunshine may not be my friend.

This week should be quiet for us here on the Coast. Our friend John from Michigan is visiting one of our best friends in town and he is always lots of fun. Today we will try to pawn off the left over sweets and get off this "holi-week" and get back to our normal eating routine.

All in all it was a great Christmas and we look forward to the week ahead.

Christmas Thoughts

2009-12-23T08:04:00.007-06:00

I always think of my Loving Parents, Jake and Sara Angelo at this time of year. When I was growing up I remember their excitement as the "church calendar" turned to Advent and our preparation for the celebration of Christ's Birth grew near.

My dad was always a jolly kind of guy, but turned into a child himself at this time of year. My mother spent much time in prayer and I now know that most of it was probably directed at her and dad's three children and their future on this earth....believe me her prayers were answered. I could not have asked for a better life on this planet than the one I am living with the love of my wife Shari of 35 years and our 3 children, grandson and their families.

Back to my mom and dad. They would work so hard to make sure that those who passed our door, entered our home or spoke to any of us knew we were Christian and believed in God. They also worked very hard to make sure they shared whatever they had with anyone that they found in need. I am blessed having them for parents and thosse who did not have the good fortune to know them have lost out...for they were special people and loved by everyone that they knew.

Since I can remember, we had an Advent Wreath to mark the days before Christmas, an elegant manger scene and a fitting tree to symbolize all that Christmas meant to us. Many we know do not celebrate the Birth of Jesus and that is fine for them, we on the other hand hold tight to the traditions set in our hearts years ago and hope and pray that we have passed that gift on to our children. The one lesson that has remained in focus all of these years is the love that we share with our family, friends and strangers we meet along the way. Our family shared everything we ever had with others, friends, family or stranger. I think that is how it is meant to be.

The things of this earth come and go, the days pass quietly and the years slip away from us all. But we must stop and turn our hearts God and give thanks for the opportunity to enjoy the little time we will spend walking the Good Earth.

Here is a link to our Christmas Card from us to you:

http://jatexas.com/public/ChristmasCard2009.htm

(No trees were cut down making this card)

Have a GREAT DAY....SAFE JOURNEY...and a MERRY CHRISTMAS.

Tamales Anyone?

2009-12-19T17:39:00.004-06:00

In the back of my mind has been the idea of making "Hot Tamales". This is not a new idea for me but has been kind of stored there for many years. I found a great website with the best instructions I have found for making tamales. See Link Below.

I purchased the $5. print version of the recipe to keep me from getting masa in the laptop...LOL

I will post some pics as soon as we get this project going on Monday.

Until Next Time

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/

Back Home Again

2009-12-14T17:43:00.006-06:00

We had a great trip to San Antonio this weekend arriving on Thurdsay and departing this morning (Monday) at about 11 AM. It was great visiting our family who live in San Antonio and with our RV'ing friends that we have known for years.

The Riverwalk, food and good company was excellent and we look forward to seeing each one of them again soon. The Alamo KOA is a good park, wide / level sites, great staff and excellent location. I posted photos on my web site at this direct link:

http://jatexas.com/public/Christmas%202009.htm

Now back to the routine of getting ready for Christmas.

New Weather Tool

2009-12-08T09:53:00.002-06:00

http://wunderground.com my favorite weather site has done it again. If you are a Fulltime or Parttime Rv'er and want to know the low down on weather where you will spend the week, month or season visit this site or click on my weather station one this blog. THEN in the "FEATURES" tabs at the top select "Trip Planner". I use Leisure / Vacation next and the dates you want to know about. The data is fantastic. It tells how many historical days of heat, cold, freezing, rain etc there have been and a summary of weather for that area.

Try it out..it could answer the question "what is the weather like in Rockport in the Winter time" without guessing.

Until Later.....

Early Morning on the Beach

2009-12-05T07:35:00.002-06:00

I woke early to make sure that the weather forecast was close to the actual outside temperature. Being in the South, we worry about freezing pipes, plants and pets most of which are in "interior spaces" in our home be design. However, there are a couple of pipes and plants outside and in the motorhome that require attention in a freeze.

Temp forecast was for "near freezing" temps of 34 F for about two hours today and actual temp was hovering at just over 33 when I got up. it dipped to 31 and change for a bit until the sun came up...no problems today. Forecast for the rest of the week is for temps in the 40-60 degree range so all is well.

We did get a few flakes of snow yesterday, nothing like the last two snow events here last year and in 2004 but snow none the less.

Today we travel to the ranch for a fish fry with family and old friends. My sister Jo and her husband Ray put on this annual event for the former, present and wannabe ranch hands...it is a well attended event and chance to socialize with the gals and guys of the Lazy A Ranch.

Until Next Time

I need some help!

2009-12-01T16:04:00.004-06:00

Will someone a bit North of here please let me know if "Winter Percipitation" is the same as "Snow"? LOL

From the Nat'l Weather Service today:

"An upper level disturbance is expected to move across Texas and into southeast Texas on Friday. Much colder air will also filter into the region during the day as this disturbance moves over the area. Strong lift associated with the disturbance will combine with enough moisture and cold air so that winter precipitation will be possible across Southeast Texas during the day Friday. Precipitation will possibly start as rain but change to snow during the day as temperatures fall. This scenario remains rather uncertain since there is still some question as to when the disturbance moves over the region and how much moisture will be available for wintry precipitation. Forecasters will continue to monitor forecast data and make changes as necessary. Residents of Southeast Texas are encouraged to monitor the forecast and look for updates concerning the winter weather threat."

This could make three December's in recent years we that have had "Wintery Percipitation" on the beach. Christmas Eve 2004 and Dec. 10, 2008...it could happen... :)

Christmas Day 2004

December 10, 2008

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2009-11-27T12:28:00.001-06:00

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The "Day After" Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T10:05:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving was grand at our house. The kitchen was busy all day and the dinner was perfect. We had told the children to bring containers as we did not want to eat Thanksgiving Dinner all weekend..and they did well. Everyone had a nice safe trip and we did some catching up on things you just can't do on Facebook, Text Messages or Cell phones...thank God for that.

Bryan and Melissa, Sara and Felton, Lucy, Miguel and Grandson Lance all brought joy to our holiday which made it perfect for us. Now comes the chore of decorating for Christmas which has been my favorite time of the year all of my life. I guess I get that from my dad, Jake Sr. because he loved Christmas to the fullest. I am sure that when my parents got to the Gates of Heaven, Jesus met them both and thanked them for helping them share His birthday in such an aggressive manner. I thank them both for passing on the emotions I have this time of year. I just can't contain myself from the love that comes from this season.

Next, I complete my task of cleaning the exterior of the motorhome as it still suffering from "Post Hurricane Ike Syndrome" that I have neglected to take care of. The rubber molding needs whitening and the exterior needs cleaning, polishing and waxing. I will also change the oil and lube the chassis before out trip on Dec. 10.

Thanks again to the "kids" for making yesterday so special.

Until Next Time....Take Care Everyone...and Stay Safe.

Soggy Trade Days in Texas

2009-11-21T14:01:00.005-06:00

UPDATE: Due to the nature of the items at Shari & Martha's sale...we are offering them online on my web site. There is just time to ship for Christmas.....but not for long.
See the items at this URL:

http://jatexas.com/public/Wreath%20and%20Florals.htm

It is a soggy cold weekend for Trade Days in Winnie. The "Special Holiday Weekend" is crowded with vendors and a few shoppers braving the rains. This afternoon thru Sunday should be dryer and clear. I posted some photos from the weekend so far of some of Shari and our friend Marth's handywork for the show along with a nice shot of the lakefront booths. Gotta Love Mother Nature.... Tonight the band, gumbo and "sale under the lights".

Thanksgiving and Christmas are Upon Us

2009-11-14T08:09:00.003-06:00

There are less than two weeks until Thanksgiving and I am getting anxious for the season to start. Shari and her friend Martha are making Christmas wreath's and center pieces to sell at the "Larry's Old Time Trade Days" holiday event Nov. 20-22, and my sister has put some of the items in their space at a little shop in Beaumont. I may post some of the smaller items on Ebay for a week or two to see what happens. Anyway, the flowers, decorations, bells and glitter are working on my soft side (which is larger than one can imagine) as the days pass.

My dad, really enjoyed Thanksgiving and Christmas and loved to share his joy with all he met as did my mom. Although they both passed away long ago, Dad in October and Mother in November years ago, I can still remember the little things that made this time special to our family. I hope each of you have and are experiencing this kind of "Joy in Your Life". If we don't take time to now...in a flash it will be only memories of days gone by.

So today, I will begin putting our "Advent Wreath" together as we have for as long as I can remember....which by the way seems to be getting shorter and shorter of a time...what's that all about? The link is but one site of many to help understand and make a wreath if you should want to do so.

Historically, we have been busy here on the Gulf Coast and are just enjoying ourselves doing what we love and loving what we do.

Enjoy and Please be Safe.

Some RV'ing & Rockport Weather History

2009-11-08T13:23:00.003-06:00

We took the motorhome to Louisiana to spend some time and money at the casino a couple of weeks ago. It was a boondocking trip as Delta Downs does not have hookups and we did not want to be far from the rig. Our thoughts are that if this cold front actually brings a nip in the air, we will camp a few days at Stingaree Marina & Way Out RV Park, which is on one of the best spots for flounder fishing anywhere on the coast.

I also posted some weather information for Rockport, TX frol a "personal weather station" there. It coveres Dec-Mar, 2000-2009 for those thinking of heading South from points colder. The link is http://jatexas.com/public/Rockport%20WX%20History.htm or can be accessed from my main page at http://Jatexas.com

This week will be maintenance week on the RV, oil change, lube, filters and light cleaning in prep for our December trek to San Antonio and points West or North for a few days.

For now, we are waiting for rain and cooler weather on the Gulf Coast.

October 22, 2009

2009-10-22T19:29:00.006-05:00

It has been a bit since I have updated our blog but believe me you have missed nothing.

The two photos are during the parade today with our Grandson Lance and Annie who are the First Grade Class Favorites. CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PARADE PICS

Due to the much needed rain we have not been to the ranch but Shari did spend a few days working on the fundraiser for our good family frient Presten (See http://Jatexas.com ). There is a fundraiser for him on Saturday to help with his mounting hospital and medical bills. We ask for your support and prayers for Presten and his family as they try to manage his fight with NF1.

We finally got the last of the hay in the barn leaving one field that we are cutting for a neighbor who is unable to bale this small 6 acre tract for himself.

We are planning a trip to San Antonio's Alamo KOA on December 10-14 for Festival of Lights on the Riverwalk. Other than that we are well hope each of you are also.

Until next time,

This week I "Failed Retirement"

2009-10-03T13:24:00.002-05:00

It was a wild week at the ranch. Rain, no rain, hot, cool, cutting hay, not cutting hay... a typical week. We did get in a bit more hay and do think we might make the winter without using square bales to feed the cattle. We don't like to do this as it is labor intensive and takes about three times the effort to feed each day.

Other than that, I am not back on the motorhome maintenance project, washing, waxing and buffing the exterior and sealing the rubber roof with Eternabond Tape. Not today of course as the rain is about a mile from here at this time.

We did manage to visit the casino Thursday night after a very long and hard day at the ranch. I don't know what got into us but when I got home we kind of looked at each other and said "ROAD TRIP" and off we went. Friday we installed an antenna on my sister's old TV so they can see local channels when the Dish is out due to weather. Then we toured Sam's Wholesale Club and filled our little truck with groceries now that hurricane threats are minimal for this season. We don't stock up the freezer in June-September since the MH does not hold much in the freezer.

I visited with our carpenter today who will be here mid-month to do some door work and window trim as well as a few items in the living room. Other than that we are just hanging out waiting for the rain to pass us by.

How Things Change

2009-09-23T21:04:00.002-05:00

Not much has happened since my last post except that we have decided, with input from our great doctor, decided to go back on our normal eating plan. You see, since Hurricane Ike both of us has eaten like it was the "last supper" so to speak. Steak, pizza, crab legs, homemade Amish White Bread, cake, pie...on and on. Thus, Mr. and Mrs. Weight Gain and Mr & Mrs. Cholesterol have come to visit our family.

This, the decision to tone down our dietary plan just a bit and it is working. We did this a couple of years ago and lost about 60 lbs each, kept it off for two years and then went nuts.

We will do it again and have lost a good deal since last week when we made this decision. We are monitoring our intake, BP and Shari's blood sugar since her family is prone to diabetis. We had blood work done last week and will again in a few months to see how the diet effects our numbers.

The plan, we eat pretty much what we want but no sugar, low fat, 40 calorie bread slices, and limit our starches and red meat. What we are eating is lots of salad, veggies, chicken, fish and very lean beef in moderation. Everything else is in moderation which we should have been doing all year.

I will talk a lot about this because it is important to us to keep healthy for as long as we can and this is a big step. Shari wants to drop about 25 lbs and I am shooting for 40. Then we will see.

Thanks for listening.

The "Rain" Has Fallen

2009-09-14T21:46:00.002-05:00

We finally got some rain that we could wet our feet in. The gauge added just over 2" of rain which doubled the rainfall we have had since about April 2009. My grass is getting green again.

We finally got the tile work finished in the kitchen, a project we started months ago but just could not get motivated to finish.

We are planning a December trip to San Antonio for the "Festival of Lights" with some friends and to visit family there then on to Kerrville to visit friends there for a few days. We want to go North to Murfreesboro Arkansas to Crater of Diamonds State Park before the cold sets in but are not sure we are going to make that AND do the work we have planned on the house. We are still working to restore things from our hurricane Ike damage and have some good help now and want to take advantage of it while they are available and willing to work for us on these small jobs.

All things considered, we are doing fine and making great progress on the repairs and will start restoring the yard at once. I am tired of the overgrown fence line and out of control status of the fences. Lack of motivation has been our enemy for sure. Our burn ban is due to be lifted on October 4 and really is the only we have to dispose of plant matter other than a 65 mile trip to the County Landfill across the ferry. Our trash company only takes household refuse and nothing else.

Until Next time,

"Find the Joy in Your Life" (Bucket List)

Summer is Over

2009-09-08T19:29:00.004-05:00

The Gulf Coast temperatures have lowered a bit and are hovering in the upper 80's low 90's instead of the 100's as in prior weeks. Rain is still a stranger but it gets very close now and then. I did mow today, over the septic drainfield..the rest of the grass is too dead to grow. We can't burn, we can't water so no need to fuss over the grass.

Our trip to the Isle of Capri to see the Beach Boys was fantastic. Our good friends, Skip and Bobbie, from the Hill Country of Texas met us there and we played, ate and laughed the whole time. We did our share of singing too. One thing the Beach Boy group has managed to do is to maintain the "sound" of the "Beach Boys" and to do a tireless and exciting show. What an evening and to be able to share it with friends...PRICELESS.

(L-R) Chris, Brenda, Jake, Shari, Bobbie & Skip)

The plan was for Skip and Bobbie to follow us home to High Island and tour the beach for a bit so they could get back on Saturday night. We got a call about half way home from Lake Charles and our mutual friends Chris and Brenda from East Texas called and they were flying into Houston from a trip to New York and wanted us to meet them near the airport for dinner. To there surprise we had Skip and Bobbie in caravan too. What great timing. We met them at the Saltgrass Steakhouse near the airport and had a great meal, lots of catching up and a genuine good time.

After our catching up session we left heading in almost every direction. Skip & Bobbie to the West, Chris and Brenda to the North and us to the East....with a pledge to gather again soon.

What a full couple of days we all had.

Beach Boy Weekend

2009-09-05T22:02:00.002-05:00

Well, the Beach Bum...uh, Beach Boy's concert at the Isle of Capri Casino in Lake Charles, LA was a smash success. We met Skip and Bobbie, our friends from the "Texas Hill Country" and Shari's sister Jean and her husband David for a great concert. The group has done a great job with the "look and sound" of the 60's and offered a tireless hour and fifteen minutes of non-stop musical entertainment. What a night.

We played hard in the casino, took home some money, more of us won than others...but such is life. The seafood dinner was great and we enjoyed the hotel and RV accommodations alike. The Isle Lake Charles has a Tower Hotel with a variety of suites with private Jacuzzi tubs, the Inn is a nice family type hotel and the RV slots are basic electric only with minimal room for slide outs to be depolyed if one is concerned with your neighbor being able to park without hitting your rig....but they are cheap.

On the way home, Skip and Bobbie were following us to High Island when the cell phone rang and it was our friends from Alto, TX, Chris and Brenda. They were going to be landing in Houston at about 4:30 and wanted us to join them for dinner, not knowing we were with mutual friends this weekend. We all hit the road again and met up at Saltgrass Steakhouse at about 5 PM for a great couple of hours talking and laughing and enjoying the great food.

All in all it was a great couple of days and happy we got to spend it with some of our favorite people.

I Am A Very Patient Person !

2009-09-02T05:55:00.004-05:00

I just knew if we waited long enough the temp and humidity would drop indicating that Fall is on the way. Normally I don't call 68 degrees F , "Cool" but after months of 90's and 100's with heat index days of over 105 I will take what I can get.

We are still camped in the driveway. Our central AC unit has arrived at the shop and "should" be installed today, Wed or perhaps Thursday of this week. I am not holding my breath on that one.

Friday we move the RV to Isle of Capri to meet friends, Skip and Bobbie for the "Beach Boys" and to spend Labor Day Weekend trying our luck, eating too much and enjoying the concert in a small facility like the casino event center.....I can't wait.

Today, we bale a small field of Bahia hay....we should get about 30 bales, not great but again with the dry weather, limited irrigation and no rain we are running at about half yield. Cost per bale is kind of high at this rate but "such is the life of the rancher".

All said, we are enjoying the RV this past week and having the house just outside the door is great because we do not give up the washer/dryer, Wi-FI, big bubblie tub and other luxuries normally not with us when we are on the road.

Another milestone is that Lance, our grandsons' Mom and Dad removed the training wheels from his bike yesterday...Yee Haw..Being 6 years has its perks for sure. Great Job Lance...Congratulations.

Breakfast is calling then off to the ranch to complete my week.

Until next time, be safe and enjoy whatever you are doing.

We have been Fulltiming now for 8 days...sort of!

2009-08-28T19:02:00.003-05:00

Having moves numerous items, not normally associated with part time RV travel, from the stick house to the motorhome, we feel like we are traveling. Only difference is the full size washer/dryer next door, bubblie tub and refrigerator and freezer. Shari made "Ranch Roast" today, a dutch oven crammed full of a roast, onion, potatoes, carrots and a bag of onion soup mix...splash of salt/pepper and some water. Cook for 2 hours at about 350 and enjoy. She did this in the giant oven, not in the EasyBake RV Oven.

Air system won't be in until Tuesday...it arrives at the shop on Tuesday installation will follow I am sure. "I am a very patient person".

Friday, or perhaps Thursday we will move to the Isle of Capri Casino to get ready for the Beach Boys...this does take some getting ready for. The last time I saw them was in 1965, St. Augustine Florida on the beach (how odd). I was taking my SAT's.

I guess we are really camped now....I put out the sewer hose to empty the black tank into our septic system...so we are happy campers again. We have Water, 50 amps, sewer and Wi-Fi and a free laundry next door. Almost like camping at home..oh, we are. :)

On another note, last year at this time we were 10 days from having a barn full of hay and today we have about 1/4'th of that.....not good. We hope to get one more cutting done which will help but not fix the loss caused by dry weather in spite of our irrigation efforts. We should have started watering earlier I guess but had faith in the weather. Amazing how dumb we can be sometimes.

Anyway, Shari is doing well in the RV and anxious to go to the casino and see the Beach Boys as well as play a bit at the Isle of Capri.

Until next time....Take Care All....

Surprise! The Central Air in the Stick House Died.

2009-08-22T23:15:00.002-05:00

When the temp started rising on Thursday I called the air conditioning repair man to come take a look. Our unit is 14 years old and was to be replaced after we completed the construction on the house. Well, "if it ain't broke...don't fix it" is one of my mottos. This prompted us to activate PLAN A...move into the motorhome.

Plan B...is to repair the system which is out of the question.

On to Plan C...New Unit.

The repair dude explained age and salt air and such to me then told me he could fix it but it would exceed the cost of one just like it brand new. I did not want just a "split unit" so I opted for quotes on a heat pump system this go around. They each of the companies I called on Friday explalined that they don't qoute systems on Friday....too busy trying to get the weekend off. So we wait. Camping in the driveway showing service guys the system and how I want it to be if they replace my system.

I guess by Tuesday I will recover from the price and get on with the project. Until then we are evacuated to the driveway. I will post a picture tomorrow...

Recovering from Saturday!

2009-08-16T11:48:00.002-05:00

We ended up not going to get our free offers this weekend at the casino....our bodies just would not get up and get going today.

So, here we are, tired and trying to get over yesterday's non-automated hay bale loading event. I am just getting too old for THAT kind of fun.

I am doing some work on the MH and decided that caulking my roof seams is a waste of time. Dicor makes good caulk for that but I ordered some Eternabond Tape which seems to be neater and last longer than caulk. I kind of made a bit of a mess so just gave up.

This afternoon, I will mow the yard before the rain sets in (God Willing and the forecast being right for this week). If I leave it the grass will be knee high over the drainfield. The side and front are nearly dead from no rain.

Otherwise we will have a quiet afternoon and hope you do also.

I'm Dreaming of a 60 Degree Evening, Like the ones I used to know....

2009-08-12T13:27:00.003-05:00

UGH....I am tired of Summer...Need Cold Front....AC cycles off about twice a day...can't wait to see the electric bill.

Good news is my grass stopped growing out of self preservation but is kind of brown'ish...... We do however have four to six Bird of Paradise blooms showing up (photos to follow) if I can keep enough water on them to open. One is already open.

As they say in the Bladder Stone Clinic..... "This too shall pass".

'Till Later

Coffee on the Beach Today

2009-08-11T19:03:00.003-05:00

The "Bolivar Air Force"

Tiny Jellyfish waiting for the next wave home.

Bright sun over the Eastern Horizon

For those of you who do not use Facebook, I included this posting for your pleasure.

Today Shari and I had coffee on the beach, which is about a mile from our home, and took these photos.

Tropical Depression Two

2009-08-11T09:16:00.002-05:00

Tropical Depression Two

Grandson's 6th Birthday Party

2009-08-08T17:01:00.002-05:00

Today we spend celebrating with our grandson Lance. He and a friend, Christopher, shared a party at the site Chris' parents are building a home. There was a pool, water slide, shade and lots of BBQ and good friends.

Photos are on my web site if you would like to see them. CLICK HERE

Other than that..it has been a typical day.

August 1

2009-08-01T19:31:00.002-05:00

Where did it go? Time sure passes fast when you are having fun.
Today we took off early to the market and Wal-Mart to beat the crowd and we did. It was like a ghost town there until about 10:30 AM as we were checking out. I love it when a plan comes together.

I did not find a desk chair so we will resume that chore on Monday. Today we just rested and enjoyed each other as it was just too hot to go out much. We are laying out the second half of our tile project which includes the two pantry closets, dining area and bay window. This we hope to get finished in the week to come.

Other that that it has been a typical day here and I am heading to the chat rooms.

Our Poor Knees!

2009-07-30T09:13:00.002-05:00

Well, we have been putting off laying ceramic tile in the second half of the kitchen/dining area and bay window for some time now but I have been told "I am tired of these boxes of tile in my way" by "she" who makes the rules.

So, I am off to get some backer board and Gator Aid...and hope to have this task behind us in just a few days. After all it is only 16 boxes of tile...and we do have a nice Jacuzzi tub to soak our sore knees when we are finished.

Since our home is on piers, 3' above the ground, we will make sure the sub-floor nails are tight and lay moisture barrier down under the Hardibacker. I wore out a nice drill screwing down the first half and now read that ring shank nails actually work as well for backer board. I also made a small judgement error the first half and let the grout get too dry by mixing too much at a time. This means I now have to remove grout from about 10 tiles and re-grout...I hate it when that happens.

But, come Monday or Thursday of next week...all will be complete and we can finish the cabinets and counter tops.

Will post photos when I can stand up again.

Chicken Soup

2009-07-28T19:47:00.003-05:00

Tonight Shari made chicken soup and was it good. I was at the ranch today and tomorrow catching up on some chores since my nephew had a doctors appointment and we did not want to leave Ray by himself.

The peacock has shed his beautiful feathers and we spent time following him around to save as many as we could. The rest of the day was a typical ranching day, good conversation and a little hard work in between.

No rain so we expect to get some round bales in the barn over the next couple of weeks...and that would be just great.

Not much other than another day of "no jurors needed" please call again on Wednesday night for possible assignments.

Later.....

Excitement on the Coast

2009-07-24T16:49:00.002-05:00

Last night was kind of exciting here in High Island. About the time they were going to roll up the streets and blow out the street lamps, lightning struck one of the "tank batteries" on the SW side of our little town. I went outside and called for Shari to bring the camera as smoke was billowing over the house. Keep in mind that the town is only one mile in diameter and on a salt dome so things are kind of close here.

We drove to the bridge to the North and shot some smoke shots then to the beach where we got some poor to fair flame shots as we were about a half mile away at that point. The main thing we were concerned about was the wind slowing enough to allow the smoke to linger and settle onto the houses..which it did not. It still was evident in the air that fire was nearby.

This morning we went to the site and took a few more pics of the rubble, all of which I have posted on http://jatexas.com/ our web site. I am not going to clutter up the blog with images when I pay for a web site for that purpose so....I will try to save this venue for something more RV related.

Also, the lightning took out my old laptop which I had dedicated to our backyard weather station which reports to Weather Underground http://wunderground.com/ so I will be using a nearby site for local weather until I can get me to a computer shop and find a used laptop with a serial I/O port...that should be fun.

Until later.

I went to the beach......and it is still there!

2009-07-23T10:54:00.003-05:00

Our home is on the East end of Bolivar Peninsula which is just across the ferry and to the East of Galveston, TX. Our house is about 3/4 mile from the water, on a salt dome and is 28 feet above sea level.

High Island is a small town about one mile in diameter due to the dome and surrounded by the remains of a productive oilfield which now hosts a few working rigs and some new ones being drilled as I speak.

The town has all of the features of a dying oil town, big K-12 school with a declining tax base, no new construction seen in the future and miles from any real services other than water and electric. We are here because the school provided our children with as close to "one on one" instruction as you can get in this country. Graduating classes range from 10 to 20 each year. The teachers are are excellent and the program just works for the kids.

Back to the beach. The Bolivar Peninsula is 33 miles long from the ferry to High Island and due to hurricane Ike, which I have been whining about since last September, has changed for the worse. Hundreds if not thousands of homes just washed away and/or were deemed unable to repair for various reasons. Most businesses are gone..and I mean "gone" in the pure sense of the word. There are 125 large FEMA trailers in High Island on school property housing some of the families who have no place to rebuild or no money to rebuild with. Many of these are our friends and neighbors.

As usual, I drove a few miles down the beach today and as usual I got depressed and came back home. All I have good to say is that the beach is still there. People are making an attempt to normalize things but I don't think it is working. Yes, there are positive aspects of the recovery and I praise those who have rebounded. The "Big Store" is open and houses our bank which also washed away. There are about five places to eat some of which you can actually sit down in air conditioned comfort to dine. A couple of stores have opened and Pat's Tire and Automotive is back in operation, smaller but back none the less providing quality services to the community.

The destruction is cleaned up a bit but large gaps in places where homes and businesses once stood, where we visited, played and prayed....are gone. Don't get me wrong...things will progress but not like they were and surely not in my lifetime.

My feelings can be explained as the feeling one gets when returning home from a funeral. The emptiness, sadness and grief are beside you, tugging on your shirt and everywhere you look, everything you think reminds you of that which is gone. Only photos and memories remain.

There are no photos of the beach today. I felt it a dishonor to capture scenes of what was not.

Thanks for listening....I feel better now.

UPDATE - I Forgot How Good Retirement Was

2009-07-17T09:46:00.012-05:00

Since working at my sister and her husband's ranch I had forgotton how grand retirement really was. Working long hours on a ranch was fun for a while but it sure feels good to get some time at home to enjoy the things we like to do. I will still help out when they bale hay or work cattle but my time is limited to say the least.

We have been getting a splash or two of rain, today may bring some much needed real rain to the area and thunder rolls at this moment. Things will cool down for a few days as we begin our passage into a "normal" summer pattern here which can be good if it does not stir up tropical storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico.

We will continue to get things done here at the stick house as time and funds permit. The kitchen tile is "job 1" then we will work on the yard, fence and exterior as things cool down in the Fall.

Daughter Lucy and our Grandson Lance stop by nearly every day which is a pleasure I have been missing by being at the ranch. They always leave us with a sparkle of light, they are both so full of energy. It beats the text messages and phone calls we get from Sara and Bryan, the other two of our children, who are both in Houston, but at least we get to see them now and then.

Today, I am off to gather makings for Egg Rolls. We were going out but this is better and we eat less.

Recipe is on my web site...CLICK HERE

Four Phases of an Egg Roll....Start, Fry, Dry and GONE.

I am not sure about the eating less part.....or cheaper...but here are the egg rolls:

Until next time....Take Care everyone and be safe.

Quiet Week Here

2009-07-09T16:30:00.002-05:00

Things have slowed down at the ranch so we are spending lots of time in High Island. Hurricane Ike recovery work continues with power line restoration in full swing, slabs for new houses being poured here on "the hill" and a new drilling rig is punching a hole in the ground NW of town.

Our motorhome is ready to go again but it will have to wait for a week or two. We may make a casino run but really to just sit in the woods and enjoy the scent of pine trees. However we want to finish our kitchen tile job and get started on the porches and patio. I am going to build two small "landings" to replace the bare steps we now have in the front and side and a covered, screened patio in the back where the window blew out of the former #2 spare bedroom, soon to be a spa room. We are waiting for Fall weather for the outslide work but much can be done inside until September. We will book our slot in San Antonio for early December to see the lights on the River Walk and Christmas festivities there.

I cleaned some of the bays in the rig today....not much room was made as we are down to the essentials for "anytime" RV'ers. Tonight Big Brother starts on tee vee...I will see Shari in thirtenn weeks....LOL

That is it from here, I will be spending time catching up on blogs then dinner before the chat room tonight.

Hot, Happy and Home

2009-07-05T15:31:00.002-05:00

It has not cooled much here...heat advisory in effect, crowds enjoying the beach and traffic as usual, but we're home once again.

We are making limeaide today and unloading the food and clothes from the coach. I had a great birthday and 4th of July. The total estimate was 97 people at the party at my sister's ranch with guests from Illinois, Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas.

My tires for the toad came in and we got that chore done while in Beaumont so all is good.

We will go to Galveston to sign some paperwork and perhaps to enjoy a drive down the seawall and the "Historic Strand" area. We just hate traveling to Galveston across the ferry and not take time to enjoy some of the sights in town so I am sure we will play tourist just for a bit.

Stop and Smell the Flowers

2009-07-02T07:04:00.005-05:00

( CLICK HERE to view photos as I post them)

As the weekend approaches and plans come together for our big 4th of July Runion party, Shari is busy putting together floral gifts for the guests. She is making a small red/white/blue flower piece for each family and the process starts with opening of the flowers picked up from the wholesale shop on Wednesday. We have been doing business with Johnson's Wholesale Flowers who always has qualilty products at a good price.

Today we finish the yardwork, pick up the tables and chairs and stage the area for the guests. We are having a blast. Tomorrow is my 62nd birthday so we will most likely go out for shrimp or steak...or both but today is a full day of work.

Weather, while hot will be good for the weekend and we hope all will enjoy the efforts of our "team" here at the ranch.

I will post more photos on my web site and link from here as time permits.

Summertime Has Arrived

2009-06-24T19:28:00.002-05:00

Whew! It was like 97 degrees today at my house...keep in mind that my temperature sensor is under the house....3 feet from the outside wall and 24 inches off the ground...where NO sun can get to it. Heat index was 104 at 6 PM tonight.

Yes, it is summer in Texas.

With that in mind, we are thinking that we will move the motorhome to the ranch Sunday or Monday which will put us there in time to continue preparations for the 4th of July party. It looks as if it will be an "event" for sure. I must test the satellite system before we go because I was unable to get a signal from the indian reservation due to the trees and want to make sure that trees were the real problem and not a bad cable.

The good news is that we are making a difference in the hay fields and are putting "artificial rain" on about 8 acres a day..which is a lot of water. (One inch of rain falling on 1 acre of ground is equal to about 27,154 gallons and weighs about 113 tons) See Water Equivalents for more.

Amazing!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-06-20T08:11:00.004-05:00

There are few pleasures we enjoy more than the June 21 - July 4'th time frame. Shari's birthday is June 21 and mine is July 3 and those days are special to us. With each one comes the knowledge that Thanks to the generosity of our loving God we have enjoyed each other for another year. How blessed that makes us feel.

We do tend to party a bit during these times just in case the next year does not go as well. Reflecting back on the year with Hurricane Ike, the loss of some good friends and the little fire in the motorhome makes us realize how fragile life and living can be.

Here are our thoughts on the next two weeks. Sunday, Shari's birthday and Father's Day, we plan to spend at home with some friends and family. One of our friends caught some great Red Snapper offshore this week and will share them with us this weekend. Next week, I will work to get the irrigation system operational at the ranch to try to save the hay fields from our lack of rainfall this season and get the place ready for the 50-70 guests at my Ray and Jo's (Brother-In-Law & Sister) for their routinely annual July 4'th gathering of the family and some close friends. It is a simple affair, with hot dogs, sausages and hamburgers and lots of sweet stuff to help fill out the calorie count.

The 28'th we take the MH in for some service work and when done, move it to the ranch for the Fourth of July party.

This year for the kids part of the party, I plan to load up a wagon with hay and take the kiddo's on a ranch tour to feed the animals, mostly cows and horses range cubes that they willingly will take from your hands...I am also sure that they will nibble on the seating arrangement.....because fresh hay bales are hard to resist for the "grazing stock".

We will then go on a casino trip to Lake Charles and cash in our Birthday cash that we get from the Isle of Capri and Delta Downs Casino each year. If we are lucky, we can bring some cash home but it is not expected.

Mostly SE Texas is Dry, Hot and Still. The beach is full of tourists and traffic is heavy in our neck of the woods with the visitors to the beach and Galveston.

If anyone views my weather station I have a little problem with the wind readings. I must replace the cable from the sensor to the transmitter with some shielded cable since the cell site across the street added new carriers. I get a South wind reading (due South) of 28.4 mph which is false. So, if you see that....it should return to an actual reading soon.

These are the times that try men's souls.

2009-06-13T11:51:00.003-05:00

This week we got the "right" side of the hay loft about half full of hay bales....it has only just begun.

Last night Shari went to visit friends and I stayed home to get some stuff done. My first project was to see just how grand the expensive, time consuming and stressful switchover from analog Tee Vee to Digital was going. HA! Understand that I began my technical career in 1967 when I worked for an ABC station for 15 years. My technical work continued until I retired in 2003 and 2005....(long story) but this switchover takes the cake. You must know that we have Dish Network for TV at home and in the RV so it really does not make any difference but I am a Tee Vee nut so 240 channels is just not enough. Our Government Assigned Local Stations (GALS) is Houston, which we never visit, shop or even like and is 11 miles line of sight farther than the Beaumont Market which we frequent, shop, visit and love. Go Figure.

We got fair antenna signal from Houston and Beaumont before the "switch". Now, we get 28 channels, mostly not of our language and /or religious preference and the remainder are commercials for the Pocket Kitchen tool. All of these display "low or no" signal. Arrrrrr. So, I may need a outdoor antenna $129. and mast 30' high according to the Government Operated Television CHannel Announcement (GOTCHA). I did not see information about my needing a round tube set with large wooden cabinet but am sure it is on the web site someplace.

The one station I wanted to watch for "Local" news is not to be seen. I was going to build a homemade antenna but the attic of our 2400 sq foot two story house was not big enough to hold it. Plus if lightning struck it may blow the roof off my house and we just had it replaced from IKE.

So, Dish is still the favorite method of watching not much on Tee Vee....and I can live without the Morning Show from KFDM Channel Six for a while longer. I am just happy that we now have all of this new bandwidth from analog TV stations to use for a yet to be determined system which I am sure will cost us less and provide more needed service of accounting for our money, property and whereabouts to Uncle Sam.

Today, I started some new plant cuttings and hope the heat and dry conditions don't kill them.

Enjoy your day.

Alabama-Coushatta Pow-Wow 2009

2009-06-05T23:17:00.004-05:00

We left at about 11 AM and made it to the reservation at about 12:20 and set up the RV. The weather is great, humidity lower than normal and the park is almost full. Internet connectivity is via Sprint data card on "roam" and very slow. Click to view pictures from my web site.

Tonight was ceremonial at the Pow-Wow with lots of "intertribal" dancing and a few first round contests. The food was good, crafts teriffic but the crowd was out of hand. One lady talked on the cell phone for hours while her terrorist children ran around, threw stuff and were just rude. It really made it difficult to follow the events.

It was a fun night and it cooled off a bit at about 10 so we returned to the CG for the evening. Events start at about 6 PM tomorrow and we will be there.

"Grand Duke Jasmine"

2009-05-30T10:39:00.011-05:00

We went out to the RV this morning to put some things away for our trip next week and were discussing how much damage still exists from hurricane IKE. Mosquitoes in record numbers, most of the plants dead, broken or dying from the wind, salt spray and now the dry conditions, junk still under the house, fence gone, siding loose or broken...yes, we had the "poor me's" again.
As we walked up the driveway from the motorhome to the front yard, we noticed a unique but familiar fragrance in the air. As we rounded the corner we noticed our "Grand Duke Jasmine" was in full bloom once again and has filled the air with it's grand fragrance. Tattered and torn from Hurricane Ike, it lives on to bring yet another moment of joy to our doorstep. I wish this were a "scratch and sniff" BLOG site.

We never knew the name of this plant but have had one since our wedding in 1974 everywhere we have lived. I posted on a forum page of the UBC Botanical Garden Web Site and posted on their forum page which is excellent. The Canadians come thru once again... eh.

Here are a few more photos taken today from our yard.

A Single Gladiolus (MH parked backwards)

Rose of Sharon "Althaea"

Orange Lilly

Cladiums

Thank you God for providing
beauty for our eyes,
fragrance for our noses
and peace in our hearts this day.

Kindergarten Graduation

2009-05-28T22:20:00.011-05:00

Lance David Marr, Kindergarten Graudation, May 28, 2009

Shari, Lance and Jake

Miguel, Lance and Lucy

Tonight our grandson Lance, graduated from Kindergarten. This is one of the few perks one experiences when living in a town of less than 400 people. Our K-12 School has traditionally "graduated" the children passing from Kindergarten to First Grade...they also have an 8th Grade event for those passing from 8th grade to High School. What a trip!

Here are a few photos taken tonight at the school. We then went out for "shrimp and steak"...Lance had his own rib eye steak. Enjoy

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-24T08:39:00.003-05:00

We hope everyone is enjoying themselves at the mid point of the weekend.

We are for sure. Shari and I ventured to Crystal Beach yesterday afternoon amongst the tourist and weekender's who have come to enjoy their holiday weekend at our beach. The first thing we noticed is our local grocery and gas station was packed with tourist, the High Island motel and cafe are open, the High Island RV Park is nearly full and our local Fruit Stand is alive and well.

As we drove the beach road we noticed that the RV parks were jammed packed, literally hundreds of tents and campers on the thin 9 mile strip of beach between High Island and Gilchrist which narrowwed to a dozen feet to about 75 yards from the road to the water at low tide. It was great to see fishermen, kids playing ball, kites flying, campfire's and coolers on our injured beaches. The giant earth movers were still, some owners working on their land, some just enjoying the weekend.

Gilchrist had what I guess was a 100% increase in houses standing, several new ones and the 9 or so surviving houses roofed, sided and signs of life inside. I guess 20 or more houses are repaired and occupied once again. I counted no less than 18 RV's on old homesites with people living or visiting there this weekend. There are no businesses left in that town except for Coastal Components Construction company, which was nearly wiped away by Ike and now sports a new facility where they build custom modular homes and put them on giant piers with hugh decks below the house....the GOOD news is that there is a brand new row of floor and roof joists in front ready for construction of someone's dream beach home once again.

There are signs posted along Hwy 87 from "Budweiser" which read "Bolivar is Back".....and we must agree. The accommodations at the beach are minimal. Crystal Palace Motel is open, Stingree Restaurant is open, Gulf Coast Market "Big Store" is open and has fuel, and here are 3 or 4 vendors ranging from a "Hot Food" stand to Papa John's portable pizza trailer but take it from me....restrooms are at a premium. If you are not buying, eating, sleeping or paying bring your own porta pottie....walk-in's are not welcome.

All in all it was a good drive and we got to see some more of our displaced friends who have moved back "home". There is a good article in the Beaumont Enterprise on my web site about Crystal Beach and the Bolivar Peninsula in general as well as a story on the front page of the Galveston Daily News .

Today before the Indy 500 we will inventory the food and supplies in the MH since our last two trips were to the repair shop and to the casino...food may be lacking. This gives us time to shop and load for our outing the first week of June. Tomorrow I plan to unload all of the bays and sort the used items from the "space wasted" items which I do this time every year.

Barn Swallows at the "Lazy A Ranch"

2009-05-22T18:48:00.008-05:00

We have seen these swallows for a couple of years nesting under the hay loft. They are so tiny and quiet we hardly know that they are in the area except if we stick around too long and get in their way.

The nest is mounted on a rafter which is a rough cut 2" X 8" board above which will reside our square bales of hay.

The baby birds peak out and when the flash goes off poke their heads way up....after the shot is snapped.

Friday already!

2009-05-22T06:54:00.002-05:00

Some of you may have noticed a marked reduction in my availability in the chat rooms....well, I have been a busy boy.

Shari and I decided to purchase a one month trial subscription to PhantomEFX PC gaming site.....Error #1

Their instructions are minimal at best and their email tech support staff answers each question with a one sentence statement without reading the entire question, thus the three days of labor on my part to make their stuff work.

Well, last night one of the tech people threw out a little crumb that made me realize the problem. Game Over and all is working.

We finally put hay in the barn, 350 square bales which is aout 25% less than last May but we have had little rain. I also took some photos of the two baby "Barn Swallows" living under the hay loft and I post them tonight or Sat AM. I left the camera at the ranch and will bring it home today.

This long weekend I plan to do some finishing up on the fire damage control on the MH, check the underside for "bug holes" left by the repairs and turn the MH around in the driveway to allow us to load clothes and supplies right out our back door. It is neat to have the steps of the MH line up with the back steps of the house and simply go out one door and in the other. It makes it easy on us old folks.

Anyway, I hope to be in chat tonight or Saturday depending on what I have planned for me tonight since "she who makes my plans is not awake as of yet" and I have no orders for the weekend.

Later Y'all.

Busy Weekend

2009-05-16T17:06:00.002-05:00

This is turning out to be a busy weekend. Friday night Shari and I went to our favorite spot in Crystal Beach, which is now back open and spent the evening enjoying each other's company and that of some of our friends.

Early Saturday morning I went to Sutherland Lumber and picked up a new pole to mount my weather station on. It is a three section mast 27' high and extends one foot above the peak of our roof. I put a "bird guard" around the rain sensor to keep out the "seeds" planted there by passing birds. The sensors are doing well and reporting weather every 3 seconds to http://wunderground.com just put in the zip code for High Island, TX 77623 to see our weather station. (you can enter any other location also). Don't miss the "WunderMap" section which shows all weather stations in an area on an interactive map.

Tonight we will most likely relax and watch NASCAR and tomorrow we may go see "Angels and Demons" in Beaumont.

Another Exciting Day at the 'Lazy A Ranch"

2009-05-13T18:38:00.003-05:00

I spent my day at the ranch again. We are intalling a new 300 gallon water tank for the front pasture, cleaning some storm debris out of the front 50 acre pasture. We put about 30 cows thru the chutes to spray some fly medicine and to cut out 3 who look like they need to see the doctor. He came in about 3, took some blood samples and tended to "Pockett Rockett" (one of the horses) sniffly nose.

Shari had a nice visit with our 3rd child Lucy and our grandson Lance ( a perk of staying home)...then fixed a great dinner of Fried Shrimp, Seasoned Red Potato's and Steamed veggies and a German Chocolate Cake for later.

The "skeeters" are on the decline so I guess I can get under the MH to do some repairs from the little fire incident. A friend sent some "heat tape" that I plan to put on the "other side" wires just in case there is a repeat incident.

I got a Jury Summons for Monday June 8 which will cut our trip short if they don't let me move it to another date. Request is pending.

All in all we had the third "record" heat day in Galveston County...it is 6:45 PM and 80F with humidity of 77% outside. I can't wait until August.

We are going upstairs to re-arrange the exercise / hobby room to make it more usable.

That is it from "The Beach"....take care all and if you are on the road...Be Safe!

It is Tuesday so I guess I survived.

2009-05-12T07:50:00.002-05:00

Monday was a good day at the ranch. We did our "critter" thing in the morning and loaded the sprayer to make a pass over the field that was too close to houses to have done by air. After lunch we put some more tin on the shed which is where the trouble began.

My nephew Ron was looking a bit "red in the face" and kind of panting. We had taken numerous short trips to the Gator for a drink but it was different today. The heat kind of crept up on us. As we installed the metal, the wind was blocked and the heat must have been over 100 in the sun. I think we both got heat exhaustion. Tired, sore, kind of "lost in space feeling" and could not get enough to drink. Four o'clock and we knocked off, I grabbed two quarts of GatorAid and dumped one down my throat the other I sipped on the way home.

By the time I got to High Island my legs were cramping and I had a headache. Thanks to some TLC from my Bride/Paramedic, Shari, I returned t some degree of normal by bedtime. Switching from Winter to Spring to Hot Summer in one week is hard on a body.

I will watch myself a bit more today.

Later y'all and be safe.

No Trip for Mother's Day

2009-05-10T14:54:00.003-05:00

We did not have a great night as Shari's back was kinking up and we did not get to sleep until the sun had risen. We are not sure why but we just could not find the sleep button.

Today we spent at home just enjoying the quiet. Shari got her calls from the kids and all is well. Now it is just some Science Channel and relaxing.

I think I have the Yellowstone trip planned out, now we will start researching campgrounds to meet our segment travels and looking for things to see at those stops. For some it may be a bit soon to plan a May 2010 trip but with campgrounds filling up fast at popular stops we don't want to chance missing one of our planned stops because we did not reserve a campground slot. Shorter, less timed trips don't require such planning we have discovered.d

Later and have a nice day everyone.

Saturday and nothing on the schedule....

2009-05-09T13:42:00.003-05:00

It is a fine Saturday on the beach. Shari and I took a drive to Crystal Beach yesterday afternoon to meet some friends and the work continues at a snail's pace on the storm recovery. Sand is piling up I guess 30' high in large mounds from the dredging of the Intracoastal Waterway. This brings more junk from the waterway to be hauled off. As major areas are "cleaned" of large items such as house parts, septic tanks, boats, cars etc., the small stuff gets sifted and disposed of...it looks like it will take forever.

Not much is growing yet...a little "green fur" on some of the land but beach sand is thick in most places now due to the washing away of the years old dunes.

It is hot and windy with temps in the mid to upper 80's, humidity in 65-75% mostly and moquito count at about a zillion per cubic yard. I dashed out to the MH to put some stuff back in and only brought back about 7 of the little blood suckers into the house.

Shari is playing computer games as I Blog....

Tomorrow we will head to my sister Jo and her husband Raymond's ranch in Beaumont for a bit to enjoy Mother's Day. Jo and my other sister Alice took care of our mom's gravesites.....that chore I gladly delegate to them.

Fajita's tonight....and a quiet evening at home.

Happy Mother's Day to all who qualify....and enjoy!

Ranch Work Today

2009-05-06T19:26:00.003-05:00

Today was windy, cloudy for the most part and hot & muggy. I left Shari sleeping and went to my sister and her husband's ranch in Beaumont, TX about 40 miles from home. I fed the chickens, dogs, cats, peacock and peahen and the 16 new heifers. "New" indicates that they are to young to meet the bulls.

Then we went out to the West end of the ranch and rebuilt a fence gap that some uncaring beekeepers ran over the posts rather than moving the gap out of the way when entering....always exciting for early morning.

We fed the two ponds stash of catfish and other fishes and checked on the two injured calves both of which were attacked by wild dogs a few weeks ago. One "Ears" got both of his ears chewn off and the other escaped with some scrapes and scratches. Both were well and grazing on some sweet clover grass.

The rest of the day we worked to enclose the upper half of an equipment shed in an effort to keep the dump truck, hay accumulator and grapple, and mowers out of the weather. It had a roof but needed some short sides to keep wind blown rain off the equipment.

I am trying to get photos of our two young male goats...which will be put up for sale if I can get them to stand still long enough for a photo for the on-line paper.

I came home at about 4 PM, Shari had dinner in the works and we will spend this evening surfing, playing games and chatting.

Why It Takes A Whole Day

2009-05-04T19:47:00.005-05:00

Well, today was State Inspection Day at our house. We called several places in Galveston, (32 miles away across the ferry) to make sure they could do our annual inspection today...and all 3 said "of course".

Place #1 after waiting an hour for the tech to come do the inspection told me his machine was broken and it would be Thursday before it was on line.

#2 Told us it would not fit in the bay....gee it fit when I called!

#3 Said the inspection "rocket scientist" was on vacation...it must have been an emergency since he was available this morning when I called.

Then we saw the light. A friend told us about a little out of the way shop, near the Greyhound track in LaMarque called "COTTON'S GARAGE". Cotton's is a REAL garage....they do Custom Exhaust, Complete Auto Repair, AC work and...and...and...State Inspections. Call for directions but it is easy to find once you get there once..and believe me, "once is not enough". These folks are honest, fair and ready to help. Thank God for people like this that are there to help.

Cotton's Garage
5416 Mitchell Lane
LaMarque, TX 77568
409-986-6763
Just off Hwy 2004 Just Past the Dog Track
and 2 minutes from I-45
We are home, legal and happy.

Where WE were when the lights went out!

2009-05-02T19:52:00.001-05:00

It has been a cloudy, windy and moist week on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Thursday night Shari and me evacuated to the motorhome in the driveway to sit out the "Planned Power Outage" in comfort. We made coffee, chatted and watched Tee Vee from 7 PM to near midnight.

The generator in the MH beats running power cords all over the house anyway. We almost went to an RV Park North of here but decided it would be too much for a short time.

All is well here,we are watching the "Flu" with some reservations but are all stocked up on flu meds in case we find ourselves in need of such items.

I hope to keep this blog updated as we discuss our daily events and trips we take in the rig and other boring aspects of our little lives on the beach.

2009 Blogs Jan-April

2009-04-23T12:36:00.000-05:00

Thursday April 23, 2009
Reality bites! I received my Social Security acceptance letter today so I think I am officially getting old. I have made an immediate and visible change in my lifestyle starting last night. I chat in two chat rooms as a rule. iRV2 and RV-Dreams. I have decided to make an attempt to be in both rooms by 8:00 CT each night for about an hour to visit with our friends. Along with this we are going to attempt to visit each of the chatters as time and distance permit. We did this when our RV was new but lately have been less agressive travelers....this will change. Life is too short and the people we chat with are too nice to miss knowing them better. Stay tuned...we could show up anyplace at anytime. See ya' tonight! Thursday April 16, 2009 Things have progressed some this week toward the repair of our motorhome. We had it towed to a shop in Beaumont, about 20 miles from the ranch on the advise of Good Sam's Extended Service Plan staff. It was just running too bad to drive. The folks at Yates Truck and Auto Center called after having the rig for a couple of hours and told me what the problem was....I was shocked since a mobile mechanic had gone over the rig when the trouble first started to the tune of $200. Yates estimated the repairs at $850 which they completed in short order. We discussed other problems while it was in the shop and they changed the plugs and wires which were in pretty bad shape anyway and something I had planned to do myself at some point. The rig should be completed by Friday and we will be "Free To Roam" once again.

Sunday April 11, 2009
We did not get the motorhome to the shop as planned but then again the two things I hate most is a trip to the dentist and having the MH in the shop. Actually, I enjoy visiting my dentist and his staff, they do a great job. Last Sunday we moved the MH to the ranch in Beaumont. It is a short 40 mile trip and the rig ran.....I will leave it at that. My Brother In Law had surgery on his shoulder and we thought it would be handy if we were on the ranch while he recovered. That paid off since we found a stray bull in the "lease" pasture which caused some commotion for a couple of days. The Sheriff's Department Animal Control Division along with 3 of the cowboys (Dale and his daughter Jennie, Buzzie and KC, Ron and myself (I stayed clear with Jennie in case they needed backup). Anyway, they trailered the critter much to his dislike and hauled him off to a secure spot away from here. The rest of the week was routine and we began preparing for my sister Jo's "Annual Easter Egg Dye & Hunt". We expect 30 or more kids for egg dying and a "hot dog and burger" lunch. We also will take delivery of 1000 catfish fingerlings this afternoon. Photos will be posted tonight on the main page. Things will return to normal next week and we hope to take the rig in for needed repairs by weeks end. Sunday March 29, 2009 It has been quiet here. We have spend a few days watching it rain which is most welcomed. Due to the cool nights I have elected to hold off on the yard work a bit to let the grass recover a bit more from the dry winter. We plan to take the MH in this week to have it worked on and hope it will be a short and cheap fix.

Thursday March 19, 2009
It should be no surprise that I drive about 40 miles most weekdays to help my sister and her husband at their ranch in Beaumont and with the other things needing attention at their various business locations. This week has been a real challenge. The fog along the coast has been terrible. Each day this week there has been an accident along Highway 124 between High Island and Winnie (19 miles) and traffic on this road had grown beyond any I have seen since 1980 when we moved to the coast. There are still hundreds of container trucks of debris moving down the road, large loading equipment along the route as well as ranchers trying to prepare their land to house displaced cattle and crops. Add this to the commute of the many still not in houses after hurricane Ike and this makes for a pile of folks on this little country road. It is my hope that everyone just calms down and takes it easy until such time as things return to a normal pace if they ever do.

Sunday March 8, 2009
Terrible week here. I spent much of the week at the ranch cleaning the barn and working pen area. That relates to spreading poop across the land so the critters will have a clean place to make more deposits this year. Saturday we took the MH to Winnie, 19 miles North, to get fuel and propane....we are lucky we did not have to walk home. The MH spit, sputtered and backfired most of the trip. It will be in the shop next week for a couple of weeks I am sure. We cancelled our little trip to Kerrville but hope to make it up in April. Other than that, all is well.

Sunday March 1, 2009
A nice cool front blew in...and I mean "blew" with winds of 25-30 mph for three days but we are now having clear skies, temps in the 30's in the AM and 65+ in the daytime with mild breezes and low humidity. We will move the MH up to prepare for out trip to Kerrville. Since we have no food in the rig and it is in need of some attention it will be easier if located just outside the side door. I mowed the grass last week but don't think I will do much to it until we get home. We may take a trip down the beach today to see the progress on property and homes there. Sunday February 22, 2009 We managed to score a bit of rain yesterday...less than needed but we take what we can get. We are close to moving the MH to the door for our little trip to Kerrville. That is to say, moving it closer to the door to shorten the distance for loading clothes and food. We removed all of the groceries after IKE as some of it was beginning to come of age. I still have to find a spot for the HDTV convertor in case we want to watch exotic channels on antenna rather than satellite....I like local weather and Kerrville is just inside the "spot beam" for our Houston local channels which won't work in case of bad weather. We are looking forward to the outing and meeting new friends from the RV-Dreams chat room as well as visiting our current friends who will gather there for a while.

Sunday February 15, 2009
I have been a bit lax in my posting....sorry. Much of my time has been spent working on the house, not all hurricane damage but some, and chasing Peacocks at the ranch. We have had mild weather but little needed rain. I did manage to mow the yard today mostly for weed control as it is a bit early for "weed and feed" at this time. We will inventory the MH for our March trip shortly, and prepare for our trip to Kerrville and Georgetown, TX. We went to Lake Charles to play at the casino's there and held our own for a change. Two weeks later we received free concert tickets to see "Little Big Town" at Delta Downs in Vinton, La along with free hotel room and dinner so we went again. The show was great the room is small and it was a real party atmosphere. We left plenty of money so they will surely invite us back soon....LOL FEMA has opened a trailer park on land owned by High Island ISD, they have room for 125 one or two bedroom trailers and have already placed about 90 on the site. These are neighbors on the beach who have lost their homes to Hurricane Ike and will have two years to rebuild. It is kind of a boost for our little town of 350 and has made a difference in local traffic, church attendance and the line at our local convenience store. We welcome each of them and hope we can be of assistance if needed.

Thursday January 22, 2009
It has been a busy couple of weeks here. Not that we have done much work or actually accomplished much but busy none the less. The weather has been fine for a winter in TX with mild days and cool nights with temps in the upper 30's early mornings and 50-75 in the daytime. Ranch tasks have been routine, putting out hay, working on equipment and buildings and taking care of the new animals being born almost every day. We are empty nesters again as our daughters have relocated to places of their own after Ike upset the apple cart. Shari and me have been shopping for tile for the kitchen and dining room and decided to put laminate in the living/den area as we are just tired of the carpet. We pick up material on Tuesday (Tuesday is "old man's discount day" at Sutherland Lumber) and begin laying tile immediately. We will not rush this because tile is hard on us and we must take it easy. We will back pull the MH up to the steps so we can use the kitchen and dining area in the rig while the "stick house" kitchen is out of order. The exterior restoration of our house damaged by the storm will wait until Spring when more contractors are available to do small jobs but the fence will be done first.

Friday January 9, 2009
We cancelled our trip to Aransas Pass this week...there is going to be much effort on our home repair due to the damaged of Hurricane Ike. We are getting the front door repaired and the window replaced in the damaged bedroom. Next will be the replacement furniture and bedding for that room and then the flooring. The siding contractor will be here late next week to look at the siding and decide how much must be repaired. We will see. I found a spray on insulation product that is waterproof and insulates well. A friend has this on his house and it all stayed in place during IKE. His roof is gone but the underside is still insulated. Sorry! We are going to put in the fence ourselves due to the shortage of funds but we are used to doing this since it will be our fourth fence in five years. After that we will start to renew the plants and such to be ready for Spring to arrive.

Thursday January 1, 2009
It has been a bit hectic around here this week. Lucy and Miguel have found a house in Winnie to rent. It is small but well kept and will be a nice place for them to start over again. They are moving today and tomorrow. It is easy when there is little to move. We installed the fridge today and the living room, bedrooms and dining furniture will be delivered on Saturday which they purchased from two different stores. We had a quiet New Year's Eve with some Black Eye Peas, Sausage and Cabbage and went to sleep around 12:30 . Due to the fireworks ban there was little noise at midnight , just a few tug boat horns and some firecrackers in the distance. Until 1:45 AM when the two dogs next door decided to try to kill each other. We are not sure what set them off but their owners were on the ground, one had each dog trying to contain them...it was not normal for these dogs who normally just bark at what moves in the night and keep to themselves. They got them under control and back in the house and we went back inside. It could have made a great episode of "Animals Gone Wild....Dog Edition"...LOL We took a drive into Beaumont to pick up our latest suggestion from our doctor. On his recommendation we started on Glucosamine/Chondroitin (1500mg / 1200mg) each day and drinking Mangasteen Juice (2 oz each day) and two tablespoons of Black Cherry Juice. The result should be less joint pain, better metabolism and general better health. Our doc does lots of research on such things and is confident that we will both experience results in a few weeks. I have to do something and I refuse to admit I am getting old. I hope everyone a Happy and Safe 2009.