Hi Folks,
I'm sorry it has been 15 days since our last posting. We have been terribly busy, and yet have not accomplished nearly as much as we had hoped to get done. Now I'll try to bring you up-to-date on the highlights of the last few weeks.
We have been talking to RV repair guys because we have some up-grades we would like to see about having done. We would love to replace our existing kitchen sinks with an under mounted model, but Greg said that maybe it was beyond his capabilities. We called Brad Miller, but he has been too busy so far to even stop by to see what I want done. We also debated replacing the bathroom vanity top and sink, but it also looks like that may not happen either. Kitchen counters and bathroom vanities in an RV are never the standard sizes that are sold in places like Home Depot or Lowe's. This next Tuesday Tony is coming over to see what I would like done, and see if he can do it for us.
On September 13th, we saw this painting on the back of a large Class A motorhome here in the park. I really liked it. Some people do some great things with their RVs!!!
On the 15th I took this picture of the full moon over the park.
The last two Saturdays we did quite well selling our magnetic jewelry. During the week we have been going through our storage compartments trying to figure out what stuff we don't need anymore. For those of you who don't RV, it is very important to keep the weight of all that you carry below what the RV is capable of carrying. So we try to get rid of things we're not using. We have cleaned out all the inside storage, and two of the outside compartments so far.
I had to take this picture of Millie playing with a toy of hers that had been packed away for quite a while. She and Willie had a great time playing with it.
Tomorrow we will try to get through a couple more outside compartments, but it's hard to do when it gets hot by 10 am!!! Anyway, this past Saturday we were able to sell some good stuff we didn't need, and the rest went into the Salvation Army box out front in the park.
We also gave Donna & George our large and heavy Shark vacuum cleaner. It still works great, but we wanted something light weight and more compact. We bought a canister vac from Eureka, and we are totally happy with it.
Last week we had dinner at Almita & Rueben's RV and played Mexican Train one night. As always, it was a grand evening. Diane & Steve, who used to be the RV hosts at the Garden Grove Elks lodge are here, and we've spent some time with them too. It's been a really nice week.
This past Saturday we saw two hot air balloons ascending a short distance away from here. Several years ago Jim and I went to the Balloon Festival in Temecula and took a ride in one. It was awesome!!!! It was so peaceful and calm and just amazing. If you ever get the chance to take a hot air balloon ride, I totally suggest you do it.
I forgot to mention that I had my follow up visit for the lump in my right breast. After a BRUTAL mammogram and the ultrasound, they informed me that it was just a lymph node and NOTHING is wrong. YAY!!!!
Jim finally got to see his VA primary doctor. We really like him, and his LVN that helped us understand the system. They got Jim an appointment with an eye doctor at Loma Linda VA Hospital on October 6th. Hopefully they will get Jim scheduled for his cataract surgery very soon.
When we leave here on Thursday we are going to the Elks for a four day stay. The main reason we are going there is to see a singer named Jerry Benton. He is retiring after this weekend, and we just couldn't bear to miss his last performance. After four days there, we will go up to Silent Valley, for our last time THIS year. It gets too chilly there for me after October.
Oh yes, one more thing Jim wanted me to write about. You have all read the many things I write about adopting shelter pets, and about being responsible for these wonderful animals. Yesterday we saw a woman pull into a site with her RV. She opened the driver's door to check her position in the site and her small dog FELL out and landed on his back! Every pet owner needs to make sure their pets are safe when they travel. Pets should either be secured safely with a car seat belt, or in a dog crate that is secured by a seat belt. Later the same day we saw another RVer driving away with her dog in the dash board of the RV. If the driver has to stop suddenly, that poor puppy will surely go flying, and could be injured badly. Please everyone, make sure your pets are secured safely when you travel. I know it's fun to let your dog ride on your lap, but it is NOT safe for them. If you love a pet, please keep him safe!
Happy Trails and be happy. Life is a great adventure, enjoy it. :o)
Hi Dear Friends and family,
I'm going to try, right off the bat, to see if I can post any pictures today. This is a vintage Airstream trailer that was parked up the road from us at Silent Valley. It's a classic! The 5th wheel trailer shown below, also known as a 5er, belongs to our neighbors, Carl & Donna. They are from the Phoenix, AZ area. 
The day we arrived at Silent Valley there was a guy selling snazzy little three wheel scooters. The prices ranged from around $1700 to almost $3000. Jim would have loved to get one, but we don't need it, we can't afford it, and we have no place to carry it, so we didn't get one. Carl bought the shiny black one you can see in the picture. The next day he went down the hill and ordered a trailer to transport it on. Sadly, his scooter turned out to be a real lemon, and after many calls for service and replacing the batteries and whatever else they tried, it still would NOT run properly, so they returned it and got their money back. What a shame for them. He says he can use the trailer to haul around his golf cart, so that won't be a complete waste. I'm sure glad we didn't buy one though. As long as we can get around the campgrounds by walking, I don't want to pass up the chance to get our exercise!
The pictures below show the shower curtain rod, first flexed inward, so it's not in the way, then outward to give you extra "elbow room" when you are taking a shower. It REALLY makes a huge difference in the space inside the shower!!!!
This was my only real complaint about this RV, so now I'm a happy camper again!
I think our stress last week took a toll on all of us, as you can see in my next picture below.
Both of them have been really good since they could sense that we were under a lot of pressure.
Last Tuesday we met Donna & George (my sister and her husband) up at Los Rio Rancho park for a picnic. It was the same park we went to last month, so I didn't take any pictures this time....also I forgot to take my camera Tuesday. Donna had made me a gift of a beautiful hand made floral wreath to hang on our door. Since these campgrounds can be VERY windy, I decided it might be better to hang it inside on the hall door.
Now isn't that just gorgeous? We love it! The little yellow bird is so realistic looking, I almost expect to hear him sing!
We packed up to travel on Wednesday. It's hard to believe the new screen room only takes about two minutes to set up or take down. What a blessing! We got here before noon on Thursday, and found a beautiful, large site, with 50 amp service. We got set up before long, and the new satellite dish worked its wonders with finding a signal in just a jiffy! It was quite warm, 89 outside, so we waited until early evening to put up the screen room. I had found a new rug for the screen room, so our other one is stretched out under the awning, and helps prevent as much dirt from being tracked in.
Here are a couple pix of the RV and the screen room, showing the new outdoor rug, and the black two seater couch. Later, we put in the dog's canvas bed next to the little blue table. Willie isn't too sure about using it, but Millie likes it quite a lot.
Yesterday we had our "usual guy" Yanez RV, come out to wash and wax the RV. We were a little disappointed this time. We've had this guy come out for several years, since back when he had a small "mom and pop" business, but now he has grown into a large, successful business, and the service is not quite as good. In the first place, they were TWO hours late, and didn't even call to let us know. Secondly they had to move the outdoor refrigerator, which was OK, but I think they should have moved it BACK in place when they were done. Lastly, they dripped huge glops of wax all over the outside rug and did NOT clean it off. I guess we need to look for a new service to wash & wax our RV in the future. Our dear friends Almita & Rueben came over for lunch and a game of Mexican Train yesterday.......and of course Rueben won! She said they like to have Sergio RV Wash & Wax service take care of their RV, so we might try them next time.
We were going to set up and sell our magnetic jewelry this morning, but I just decided we needed to rest even more than we needed the money, so we took the day off, and will try again next week. This afternoon the park is having a chili cook-off. We may go down to the park area to see how it goes.
Monday is my appointment for the follow-up on my abnormal mammogram in the morning, and in the afternoon Jim has an appointment with his new VA doctor. We hope we can get him an urgently needed referral to an ophthalmogist as he is overdue to have cataract surgery. Wish us lots of luck.
Since my last blog post, I have heard from many readers who have already taken care of their final arrangements, or are looking into it now. Good for you! And for those of you still procrastinating...............why? It needs to be done, and NOBODY knows just how much longer each of us has left, so get busy. Must close now........we are going to Candy Bar Bingo soon. Have a great weekend, enjoy all the blessings of this life, and take care of ALL the people and pets you love. I also want to suggest mending any fences that need it. Tomorrow is not guaranteed, so don't put off that which you can, and probably should, do today.
I'm sorry it has taken me so long to get back to writing on this blog, but much has been going on. I really don't know what or how much I will write tonight, but here goes.
On August 14th, Jim's brother Norm was put back into the hospital with pneumonia, sepsis and a urinary tract infection. He went down hill from there. To make a long story short, we were advised to change his status from Full Code (to resuscitate and do CPR if needed) to a Do Not Resuscitate comfort measures only status. We agreed to the change. He got worse, and finally we were asked to put him on Hospice services. We made sure he got the chaplain to see him and give him last rites. We got daily calls on his condition, and yesterday Norm passed away. We are glad he is not suffering, and has gone home to be with God and with his parents, and the one lady he loved, Jeanette. Here's the worst part of the story, and what I hope will help the rest of you when you make your final arrangements. Last year when we visited Norm back in Buffalo, he told us there was only ONE thing he wanted us to make sure was done when he died. He wanted his body donated to the University of Buffalo Medical school for research. When I agreed to put him into hospice care, I explained this to the social worker there. She asked me if we had a copy of the agreement. We did not, and said we wanted to take care of this before he passed. She informed us that the individual wanting to make the donation MUST get all the paperwork completed BEFORE he or she dies. In a last effort to try to follow through on his last wishes, I called my former sister-in-law, Judy who used to work for an attorney. She made many calls, including the anatomical donations department at the University. She tried, and tried, and I can't tell you how very grateful we are for her efforts to help us out, but there was just no way we could do as he had asked. Please folks, if you have any ideas of what you want done with your body when you die, please make sure to put it in writing. Don't leave it to others to try to figure out what you would want done. I don't know what else to tell you, and I know people don't like to talk about dying or what care you want to receive when you are too sick to make your own health care choices, but it's something we ALL need to do, and do it before it's too late. This has been a very sad weekend for us both, but we must proceed to go forward now.
The ONLY thing about our motorhome that we were not really thrilled about, is that the shower is rather narrow. We saw an ad at the Camping World Store for a shower curtain rod extender. It is hinged to move inside the shower space when you are NOT taking a shower, and then swing outward about six inches to give you more elbow room when you are taking a shower. We got it and we are very, VERY happy with the added shower space it gave us. If any of you have shower spaces in your RV that are narrow, and not more than 42 inches long, this rod extender may work for you too.
We recently purchased an outdoor two seat couch for our screen room. In my next post I will try to include pictures, but for some reason, my computer does not want to let me post any pictures tonight.
The park here filled up for the holiday weekend, and it has been very hectic. We helped a neighbor who was having trouble setting up his screen room. Tonight he and his wife invited us to join them for a taco dinner, but we explained that we would not be good company right now, and declined. I think that's all my news for tonight. I'll try to be more upbeat next time. Take care. Stay well and enjoy the cooler weather as autumn approaches. Bye for tonight.
On the 15th I took this picture of the full moon over the park. 
I had to take this picture of Millie playing with a toy of hers that had been packed away for quite a while. She and Willie had a great time playing with it.
