Buckhorn Creek COE Park review, Jefferson, TX

BUCKHORN CREEK COE PARK , Jefferson, TX 75657

Site B122 $26./day

Our rating 4 out of 5

Campsite B122

SITES: Mostly back ins. Decent amount of space between sights. Sites along the river have a large grassy area.

HOOK UPS: W&E (50amp) Dump station
BATHROOMS: Clean
LAUNDRY: none
PETS: Welcome, plenty of places to walk them.
WIFI: none
VERIZON INTERNET: Very Good
SPRINT INTERNET: No signal
VERIZON PHONE: Very Good
AT&T PHONE: Good
BOOK EXCHANGE: None
MAIL ACCEPTED: No
AREA/TOWN/SIGHTS: A little convenience store and propane about 4 miles away. Town of Jefferson is about 14 miles away. This town is well worth the drive. Lots of history, some good casual restaurants, and antiques.
Other notes: This is the cleanest fire pit we've encountered! And we are loaded with firewood!

Firewood left at site

View from our back window.

Lots of fishing for crappie here. So there are lots of smelly dead things for our dogs to find.

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AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very interesting life story of 2 sisters in China in the 1930's. How they transition over or not transition to American life.
One sister is a thrill seeker and grab life and fly. She is an optimist. The other sister plays is safe, but does not necessarily make that the best choice.
Follow their lives through their teens until they are middle aged.
Over all, I found it interesting, informative, yet mostly depressing. I almost gave this novel a 3 because of the ending leaving us hanging. But, aha! There is a sequel, "Dreams of Joy", that I have already downloaded. Hopefully the sequel will clean things up and may be more upbeat.


View all my reviews
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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Kitt's Kornbread Sandwich and Pie Bar, Jefferson, TX
My rating 4 out of 5
  
Another great casual restaurant in this little town of Jefferson. Another restaurant set in an old building, dating back to 1880's.
Staff was quick, efficient, and down to earth.
Simple menu, but I found plenty that I would like. All sandwiches are made with sliced cornbread. No worries, this cornbread stays together when you hold the sandwich and bite into it.
HUNGRY FARMERS STEW: A slightly thickened vegetable soup with chicken and sliced sausage. Blue tortilla dunked on top with shredded cheddar. Good flavor, just a slight bite of heat.
BROCCOLI SALAD: Excellent! Probably the best we have had. Not overloaded with dressing. Broccoli was in tiny little pieces as well as the other vegees, for easy eating. I'd love to take some home!
THE TEXAN: This was chili on top of sliced cornbread. Nice hearty lunch. Chili was average. Not great, but not bad. This may be my new way to eat chili. Maybe call it "Cornbread a la mode"? A scoop of chili over cornbread.
THE IRISH: Their version of a Reuben. Not a big, thick sandwich. Is fine for lunch, but for a dinner, you'd want to add some sides to fill you up. Corned beef was very tasty, what little there was. A slice of Swiss cheese and fresh red onion. The combo was really wonderful.
I would definitely return and maybe try The Redneck, a fried bologna sandwich. My Mom used to make fried bologna quite often when I was a kid. A substitute for pork roll, that could be difficult to find sometimes.

Ahhhh!

BUCKHORN CREEK COE PARK 

Jefferson, TX 75657

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RV LIFE:

Ahhhh! These last couple of days have been wonderful.

Ahhhh! The weather is delightful. 45-50° overnight into the morning and 60-70° in the afternoon. 

Mmmm! Scott made smoked chicken in the Cobb for dinner. 

Mmmm! Yummy lunch out.

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SIGHTS: Jefferson, TX

What a sweet little town Jefferson is. We have done more in little ol' town of Jefferson, TX than in busy Little Rock, AR.

We enjoyed a lovely walk on a lovely day, for a quick look-see through town. So many historical buildings still standing. Many kitchy stores set up inside these old buildings.

Quite a few antique stores also. We are not into junk, oops antiques at all. Sure, I'll refinish an old piece of furniture, but I won't pay top dollar because it's an "antique". I'd rather go to Good Will.
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CRAFTS & the digital world unite:  

All joking aside, I have found the most fabulous app for the I-Pad!!!! I am all for reducing paperwork and try to do as much on the computer or other digital devices as I can.

Essentials for following a pattern is my clicky thing row counter.

Magnetic chart keeper for more complicated patterns.

Highlighter tape can be found at office supplies and some crafts stores.

PRODUCT REVIEW:

JKnit HD Lite is a wonderful app for keeping track line by line, row by row of where you are. Once you figure out how to get the pdf into the program this is super easy to use. This takes the place of the magnetic row keeper and the highlighter tape. I still use my clicky just in case my I-pad dies. I haven't seen the benefit of purchasing the "pro" app. I'm very happy with the free "lite" app.

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PETS:

Poor Devin, ever since those "scary children" came into his safe home (RV) for a visit, he has become hypersensitive to children. Now when he sees children even passing our site he creeps under the RV to hide. Even if he hears kids playing/laughing outside, while he's inside, he hides in the back of the bedroom. Poor baby.  I'd like to help him get over this, but we are not exposed to children often, I don't want to be exposed to children and it would take a dog savvy Mom to allow their children to help desensitize Devin.

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BUSINESS REVIEW:
Jefferson Texas General Store, Jefferson, TX
Our rating 3 out of 5
We probably spent at least an hour or more looking at all the interesting items. They have lots of old time candies.

Scott picked up gum cigars.

I chose gum cigarettes.

Scott HAD to purchase Fizzies, which I never heard of. Fizzies are a fruit flavored powder added to water that makes the water fizz and flavors it slightly.
We also picked up a couple of Pralines that we saw being made at the store. These were much better than the Pralines I tasted in New Orleans.
The General Store has lots of jams, sauces, pickled items etc. They have jars open for sampling. That was probably a bad thing, because I didn't like anything I tasted. If there were no samples, we probably would picked up a couple of jars.
The General Store had lots of old time games, magic tricks, wooden gliders,etc. Also carried lots of hats...cowboy/cowgirl, straw sun hats, baseball hats.
We had a enjoyable time just window shopping.

I even met up with John Wayne!

Jefferson Fudge:

Our rating 3.5 out of 5

Friendly clerk. Lots of  jarred jams and pickled items. But none open for sampling.

Fudge was very good. Not the best, but definitely more creamy than sugary.  The nuts were not only beautifully arranged on the fudge, but fresh and rich tasting.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
The Bakery Restaurant, Jefferson, TX
Our rating 4 out of 5
Keep in mind this is a very casual, rustic restaurant. We stopped here for lunch in the quaint town of Jefferson, TX.

MEATLOAF: The meatloaf was excellent! It came with a sweet tomato/ketchup gravy. I prefer that to a brown gravy.
MASHED POTATOES: Tasted instant to me. I'm surprised if they were, since they specialize in baked potatoes, they definitely have potatoes on hand.
#2 BAKED POTATO: A huge potato with butter, sour cream, raw chopped onion and real chopped bacon. Absolutely delicious. A full meal in itself.
CINNAMON RAISIN BREAD: This loaf weighs, 2 lbs. 11 oz.. I didn't taste much cinnamon, but had correct amount of raisins and covered with a thick layer of white confectioner's icing. Unfortunately, this loaf was kind of dry, so couldn't be eaten without toasting. Once toasted with some butter melted on it, then it was very good.

SNICKERDOODLES: Yummy!
PINEAPPLE PASTRY: Flaky and overflowing with a delicious pineapple filling.
I would definitely return here for their baked potatoes alone!

Doggie sweaters

BUCKHORN COE PARK 

Jefferson, TX 75657

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WEATHER:
Morning temp: 43° and overcast

SIGHTS (Little Rock, AR):
Clinton Presidential Library, Little Rock, AR Admission $7.00
Our rating 4 out of 5
This is a huge 3 story building, with a lot to take in. No matter how you feel politically, this is a very interesting display.
There is a 12 minute film of the life of Pres. Clinton. I wasn't going to bother with it, but Scott said we might as well go in because there's not much else to see....3 hours later, he was proven WRONG! The film was interesting though. It not only highlighted Pres. Clinton, but also the Civil Rights Movement and other memorable times.
There were so many displays, videos, info to read, you really can't take it all in. Besides the obvious history of his accomplishments and failures (yes, the Monica Lewinsky situation is included), there are displays of a couple of outfits Hillary wore, a dining table set up, a replica of the Cabinet, and the Oval Office. It is oval, not round.
There are volumes and volumes of his actual daily schedule. No way would I want my life scheduled almost every minute of the day. It's scheduled even to the time it takes to walk from one meeting to another, etc. No 8 hour days for the President.
We happen to be there while they had a temporary display of Foreign Head of State Gifts. Some of the useless crap given is amazing. What do they expect them to do with this? I really hate acts of ceremony, a formal act or series of acts prescribed by ritual, protocol, or convention.
PET PEEVE ALERT!:  I hate acts of ceremony...things done just for show, or because that is tradition. I've said before, my husband & I don't exchange gifts or cards on "special occasions". If we want to do that "just because", that's fine, but to be PRESSURED into HAVING to buy that gift or you look bad, is ridiculous. I KNOW my husband loves me and he shows it through his actions every day. I don't need him to pressured into running out to figure out what to buy for me. I hate the kneeling & standing in Catholic churches. I hate the pressure to get together with family on Holidays. Hellooooo! Most of you work full time! How ridiculous to be pressured into traveling, cooking, gift giving and buying for that one day. It would be so much nicer to spend the day at home enjoying your own immediate family's company. Have a extended family get together when it's convenient for all and just call it your Thanksgiving or Christmas get together.
Back to the Clinton Presidental Library...we were there at least 3 hours and still didn't take it all in. A very interesting day.

River Market (Little Rock, AR):
Our rating 3 out of 5
In the same general area as the Clinton Library is the River Market. I was expecting more of a Farm market like we experienced in Santa Fe, just smaller. It's really just a less fancy food court. If you're hungry & in the area, go for it. There are BBQ, Creole, Southern, Chinese, Thai, Indian, American foods. Most are not grocery items, but lunch/dinner menus with communal tables in the center. It gives you that "being cool in the city" type of feel without having to actually be in a city.
We opted for Thai food. Very good with nice size servings. We considered the Philly Cheese steak for a nanosecond, but gotta stick with the NJ/Philly area for that. Besides, look at this description of their Philly Cheese Steak sandwich!

No cheese? on a Philly CHEESE steak?

From Geno's website in Philly, here are the ingredients for an authentic Philly cheese steak.
The ingredients are simple, exacting and never greasy thinly sliced rib-eye steak, melted cheese, oven-fresh baked bread and delicately grilled onions.
Over all, I suppose we found the River Market nothing special because we were here in the winter and on a weekday. Maybe there are more things happening in prime season.

Clinton Museum Store (Little Rock, AR):

How about a "Buddy" purse. Who is Buddy? He's the Chocolate Lab of Clinton's that was run over by a car and died. 

What a waste of space. Lots of doo dads, most have nothing to do with Pres. Clinton. Don't bring your kids in here. They will be bugging you to buy this or that "cool" item. Cool for a kid, but not for an adult.
This is the equivalent of a tourist novelty store, but instead of saying "Disney World" on everything, it says "Pres. Clinton".

Shoes? Oh yea, that has a lot to do with Clinton. Maybe he wore these type during his speeches and we didn't know?
I actually did buy something here. A green & black beaded eye glass holder. Oh yea, that'll remind me of visiting the Clinton Library.

The only good thing is there is a free shuttle from the "museum" to the Library. But really, it's a pleasant walk on a nice day.

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PRODUCT REVIEW:
Bounty vs. Viva paper towels
I am not a name brand snob. If a generic product is good, I will certainly use it. But some brands I am loyal to. I have used Bounty paper towels for 20 yrs. I've tried others and always come back to Bounty. I did find that Wegman's brand paper towels were close enough, that if I'm at a Wegman's (rarely), I'd pick up that brand which is much cheaper.
Being on the road limits how many supplies I can store. I used to buy the 12 pack on sale, but that is a thing of the past now that we are have the limited space in the RV. So when we need paper towels, we really NEED paper towels, whether on sale or not and whatever brand is available. During some of our travels, Bounty was no where to be found when needed, so I opted on a whim to try Viva paper towel. I am so glad I did.
They are both available in "select-a-size", which I love, but is not deal breaker. I am now a Viva fan and hope to be in a monogamous relationship with Viva till death do us part.
My reasons for abandoning Bounty is more because of the texture. Bounty is absorbent and durable, but so is Viva. I like a paper towels, that I can wipe down the counters, rinse towel, squeeze dry and use to finish wiping the garbage can or something. Both do a great job, but Viva feels more like a cloth. I REALLY like that smooth, denser feeling. Bounty feels like a typical "quilted" paper towel. Also, because of the texture of Viva towels, the roll kind of clings together, making for a more compact roll and also keeps the roll from unwinding when hung on a paper towel holder.
I did a quick search on Bounty vs. Viva and found this pretty thorough paper towel comparison test and the results.
So, my personal preference is for Viva towels because of the cloth like texture. But I think BOTH Bounty and Viva work comparatively.
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CRAFTS:
Still working on Great American Aran Afghan Square. I had about 20 rows complete following the chart. Wasn't sure if I was following correctly, so frogged (ripit) it and started over using the written instructions. I'll keep you posted on progress.

My Little Rock friend, Stephanie fosters a LOT of dogs. Lately, she's had a couple of small dogs that are going to States with cold winters. She asked me to crochet a couple of sweaters. Great! I still have Lion Brand Home Spun I need to use up! Below are the results.

Catch up

I'm reviewing the photos I've taken and not blogged about yet. So here's a catch up post so I can archive these photos to their proper folders.

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BUSINESS REVIEW:

GiGi's Cupcakes! (Pigeon Forge, TN)

My rating 5 out of 5

This is a franchise, so GiGi's is popping up all over now. These are expensive, about $3.00 per cupcake, but ooooooh so good. It's been a couple of months so I don't remember the cupcakes I sampled. I don't remember having any that I didn't like.

The cake is moist and not too sweet, which pairs well with the 3 swirl high icing! There is more icing than cake. I am an icing lover! But even I must admit, they could do with just 2 swirls instead of 3 for a better combo.

The one missing was cheesecake and had to be refrigerated. If you look closely, you'll see that there is a fingerful of icing missing from each. I just HAD to sample!!!! Yum! So Yummy, I had to go later in the week for another six!

Rocky Top Wine Trail, Pigeon Forge, TN

Our rating 3.5 out of 5

Yes, this was a touristy thing to do. Just because we Full Time RV, and wherever we move is "home", doesn't mean we can't be tourist too. Don't judge.

There were coupons all over the place that if you went to all three wineries, you'd get a gift at the end. Well sure, they're hoping we spend a couple of $100. on wine to get that free gift. Well, they won. We spent between $100.-$125. on wine. 

I thought it would be the same wine at all three wineries, just disguised with different labels. But I'm happy to say, they are all different wines. And I'm also happy to say, that many were quite enjoyable. Of course, because over a month has passed, I again, don't remember which I liked etc.

And our gift? I'm sure you can guess. We each received a wine glass.

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CRAFT PRODUCT REVIEW:
Embellish Knit! $15. from Amazon
I read the reviews before purchasing. So I was fore warned that it didn't work well with worsted weight. But I wanted this device to make I-Cords easily for trim around necklines and such. Look at this video from Knitting Help and you'll see what a PIA this stitch is! Much easier to have this mini knit machine do it.

Top is before and the kind of fiber I used.

During

Finished I-cord

The finished I-cord can be used to trim necklines, make a necklace or bracelet. Also can be used to Outline a shape on top of a shirt, etc.
I'm happy with this product, but you do have to make sure you weight it and watch that the needles catch properly. This may be an easier I-cord method, but it's still tedious.
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PRODUCT REVIEW:
Fuzzy Fingers Dusting cloth
My rating 5 out of 5

I love this cute little product. I think I picked it up hanging from a grocery aisle. This really gets the dust out of the nooks and crannies of my laptop keyboard. I also sweep it across the screen to keep dust free. Handy little gadget!
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PETS:

I not only take Mom's favorite chair,
I use her oh so cozy afghan too!

Home State but not "Home"

BUCKHORN COE PARK

Jefferson, TX

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WEATHER:

Morning Temp: 39° Sunny
Afternoon Temp: 65° Sunny

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RV LIFE: 
While we have made it back to our Texas, I definitely don't call this our home state. It's only home on paper. We have not "consummated" our relationship with Texas. There is no loyalty to Texas. Texas may be our legal domicile, but it is not our permanent residence. We will have to renew our inspections. Yep, we couldn't get rid of that. We were hoping that was a thing of the past when we left NJ. Although we do NOT have to get our truck inspected, because it is diesel, we do have to get our RV inspected!

I know some people think of squirrels as "tree rats". I think they are adorable. I find it very interesting to see the different types of squirrels at each stop.
We've seen white squirrels in FL.

black squirrels, itty bitty squirrels, red squirrels, fat squirrels, gray squirrels (NJ). While living in NJ and before Setters, we had Retrievers. I made friends with our back yard squirrels. I even named one "Stumpy" because she only had a stump for a tail. I would always have a supply of peanuts and corn for them. They eventually looked for me and although cautious, they would approach me. They would actually look into our sliding glass doors as if to say, "Hey, I'm hungry out here! Get a move on!" (When I find the photo, I'll add) Here in Jefferson, TX, there are fat reddish brown squirrels.

While in Little Rock, AR we connected a few times with Stephanie, my Dog Rescue friend and her husband, Douglas. Stephanie is a sweet woman with a HUGE heart for dogs. I have found many times that once a person has kids, the dogs are now an afterthought, a nuisance, or just another mouth to feed. Poor pets go from being the King of the Castle, even above the Husband, to being a chore.
Stephanie is a joy in her love of dogs, to a fault. Her husband is a gem it seems. He can be a lot of gruff talk, but he puts up with all the dogs in & out. Thank you Doug for helping dogs find a home. You may be helping in a passive (agressive, tee hee) way, but you are still helping.
Went went to eat at Buffalo Grill, El Porton Mexican, and Forbidden Garden (Chinese). We had a great time with them both. Stephanie & I may not have crafts nor kids in common, but we definitely could talk dogs in need all day. Her husband Doug, is a jabber jaw! But, he is interesting. It's not like he hogs the conversation, he just keeps it flowing. I look forward to meeting up with them both sometime again when in Little Rock.

Looking for a home state is part of the reason for our full time RV'ing. Although we may do this for many years, we also have the option of settling down in one place.
We felt very comfortable in Little Rock, AR. Although we wouldn't want to live right in Little Rock, I think the surrounding areas could be an option. I haven't researched the pros and cons of taxes on retirement income, etc, but home prices were reasonable. I also liked the models of homes. Many one story homes that were quite large and not just long but L-shaped and U-shaped.
The only other town we felt comfortable in so far was Boise, ID, but not sure if we truly like the dryness.
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PETS:
We finally went to the Murray Park Paws Park in Little Rock before we left. I went on a Saturday, which I try to avoid.
Pet Peeve alert! In general many folks that go to the dog park on the weekend are there to socialize themselves, rather than their dog. They tend to gather together in a group and talk with friends, not paying attention to what their dog is doing...pooping (please clean up), or bugging another dog by constantly humping or chasing, or maybe your dog is being harassed. Just because your dog is loose in a fenced area, does NOT MEAN you don't have to pay attention to your dog(s). 
It was pretty full, but still plenty of room for dogs and people to spread out. Dogs for the most part were well behaved and all went well.
Lyla just kind of roamed on her own, sniffing at the little dogs and making friends with kids. Poor Devin, searched and searched, but couldn't find a playmate he could connect with like Doris, at The Kingdom.

He would find a group of dogs and was just an outsider barking and barking begging to be able to join. I guess he wasn't worth their time since he was just passing through.
So he found other ways to amuse himself and others.

Yep, that's our goofy boy. Find a kiddie pool, a mud pond, etc. and he IN!

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RESTAURANT/BUSINESS REVIEW:
Morningside Bagels, Little Rock, AR
My rating 2 out of 5
Oh boy, I sure miss GOOD bagels. We stopped at here, because the reviews said they were great bagels...NOT! They may be great bagels for Little Rock, AR, but they must not have had any NY/NJ bagels to compare them too. These bagels got hard when I toasted them. They are very dense and very difficult to chew. Bagels should not be fluffy like bread, but they should also not be stone hard either. I'm glad we didn't buy the bag of day old bagels they offer, because I would have just blamed the bad texture to being day old.
We tried a variety and not even one would I recommend.
Blueberry, cranberry, apple,: No taste. Couldn't tell one from the other. I used butter, not cream cheese, so I could taste the bagel. Nope, will not return. Would rather go without, than have a bad bagel.

Buffalo Grill, Little Rock, AR
Our rating 3 out of 5
Casual dining. Nice & attentive waitress.
CHEESE DIP & CHIPS: While the chips were nothing special, I was surprised at how addicting the cheese dip was. Just enough bite and spices to make it interesting.
CHICKEN QUESADILLA: Nothing special, but tasty enough.
FRENCH FRIES: They looked fresh cut. Delicious!! Best part of the meal.
REUBEN SANDWICH: Not a large sandwich, but great corned beef. Overall a good sandwich.
If you are offended by stuffed wildlife, do not go here. They have Buffalo heads as well as other wildlife displayed on the walls.
Would we return? Sure, if that's where other's wanted to go, but it would not be my choice if I was making the decision.

El Porton Mexican, Little Rock, AR
My rating 3 out of 5
We had a coupon from Groupon. I paid $7. for $15. certificate!
CHIPS & SALSA: Chips were served warm and above average. Salsa was smooth and just a nice amount of bite.
BEEF CHIMICHANGA: Nothing special. More on the good side than bad.
REFRIED BEANS: I am not a fan of refried beans, but I must admit, these were the best I've had and I finished the whole portion.
I always like to try flan for desert when at Mexican and Cuban restaurants. Unfortunately, the waitress tallied up our bill without asking if we wanted anything else.
Would rather try the many other Mexican restaurants in the area before returning here.

Forbidden Garden, Little Rock, AR
My rating 4 out of 5
Very nice wait staff.
CRISPY NOODLES: Although these seems freshly made, they had a taste of bad oil. Of course that didn't stop me from eating them. But I did not take the balance home with a doggie bag.
For $2.75 you can have soup, egg roll & chicken wings added to your meal.
EGG DROP SOUP: Better than many places. Flavorful (as much as egg drop soup can be), but would have like to have green onions added for a little more flavor.
CHICKEN WINGS: Southern fried type. They were moist and a decent breading.
EGG ROLL: Good, nothing special.
SESAME CHICKEN: Very good. Sweet & fried, tender chicken.
I tasted my husband's meal also. It was delicious. I don't know what it was. It was a shredded beef meal.
I would definitely return here.

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BOOK REVIEW:

The Quiet River by P.M. Hubbard
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

WORST BOOK I EVER READ~! Terrible, boring writer. Long drawn out story. Very blah.  Written like a grade schooler might.


View all my reviews

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:

Guilty Wives by James Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Four woman, (all married), go for a girl's vacation in Europe. A night of fun, leads to months of hell. Really enjoyed this book. The writer really made you feel as if you were experiencing what the characters were. Great read, good mystery.

View all my reviews

MAUMELLE PARK COE , Little Rock, AR 72223

RV PARK REVIEW:
MAUMELLE PARK COE Little Rock, AR 72223 Site B37 $26./day
Our rating 4.5 out of 5 

View from our site

SITES: Large sites, plenty of grass, lots of room between sites. Many river front sites.
HOOK UPS: W & E (50amp) No sewer, but dump stations close.
BATHROOMS: Tiled and clean
LAUNDRY: None
PETS: Pet friendly. Lots of areas for walking the dogs.
WIFI: None
VERIZON INTERNET: Worked well. Pretty fast
SPRINT INTERNET: Good
VERIZON PHONE: Good
AT&T PHONE: Good
BOOK EXCHANGE: None
MAIL DELIVERY: No
AREA/TOWN/SIGHTS: Nice part of the country, but not much sightseeing. Civil rights museum, Clinton museum. Lots of restaurants and food stores close by.
Comments: If there was sewer, this would be a 5 out of 5. Very quiet while we were here, but even during prime season, when full, I think it would still be an enjoyable stay because the sights are well separated. Beautiful view of the Arkansas River. Boat ramp very close. Playgrounds, pavillions, water fountains.
Below is a sampling of other sites. Whether on the river or not, they are all great sites.

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RV LIFE:

My excitement about Geocaching as definitely subsided.

We looked for 3 caches all within Maumelle Park where we are staying. 

We looked for 3, we found ZERO! Very frustrating.

Geocaching now is going to the coordinates and then searching and poking and coming up empty and disappointed much of the time.

I think I may try to plant a cache one of these days. I would make it more of a hunting game instead of just a search. I would lead them to a spot fully described, such as "go to the coordinates, see the ______, turn right and go approx. 30' until your reach the _______", etc. 

Well, at least the dogs got a nice walk out of it and it got me off the computer for a while.

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RV MODS:

How many of you enjoy your time on "The Throne" aka Toilet. We only had one bathroom growing up and when Mom would go in, we knew we'd be holding it a long time before she came out. I guess that's where she could have a little peace for a while. I suppose she read while in there.

Scott is a "Reader on the Throne" kind of guy. As I've gotten older, I now do crossword puzzles on that special seat.

One of the "selling features" for our RV was that it had a porcelain toilet base, not plastic. Although heavier, it is also more durable and more like "home". But, the actual seat of the toilet was a light cheap plastic seat. After using it for a year, it has begun to squeak as you adjust position. Even before that it always felt cheap and reminded us that we are in an RV.

So our mod was to buy a $20.00 heavier plastic toilet seat from Walmart. Easy to install and what a difference! Cheap & easy, but a very rewarding mod. Now our toilet seat really is closer to a throne.  As the Charmin commercials states, "ENJOY THE GO".

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BOOK REVIEW:

Health and Happiness by Diane Johnson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As another reviewer stated, this book is sort of like an ER (Television series) story. I really enjoy medical mysteries and stories surrounding the medical profession.
Health & Happiness was truly just sort of a soap opera. We are given an inside look at the workings of a hospital (whether true or not), from a patient's viewpoint and a Dr.'s viewpoint. I enjoyed the self-searching and the questioning of the point of one's life and the frailness of life for all.
If you are offended by life's wrongdoings, you may not want to read this book. There is motherhood via a one night stand, there is malpractice not spoken of in the open or acknowledged by the Dr., there is an extramarital affair, Dr. misconduct. All makes for a good "soap opera".
I was disappointed that she did not end the story. The story "ends" with characters still questioning, what is right and wrong and not dealing with decisions to be made. 

View all my reviews

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PRODUCT REVIEW:

True Lemon Our rating 5 out of 5

I love lemon in my water. I try to always have at least one fresh lemon in the fridge at all times. No sugar, just lemon. But, when I don't have a fresh lemon, True Lemon is an excellent substitute! No artificial flavoring, no sweeteners. This is exactly the flavor I'm looking for when out of lemons.

They make other flavors also, True Lime, True Grapefruit, True Orange.

There are also lemonades sweetened with zero calorie Stevia.

Their website also has lots of recipes using their products. I love Lemon Chicken. I'll have to try that recipe.

Just what the Dr. ordered

MAUMELLE PARK COE

Little Rock, AR 72223

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RV LIFE:
We originally did not plan to head West to Little Rock. We were so cold and miserable in W. Memphis, AR, that we planned to head straight South, just North of New Orleans in hopes of meeting up with warmer weather. But it's been so unseasonably cold throughout the US.
An A&B volunteer, Stephanie, whom I've communicated with via email invited me to her town of Little Rock. She really enjoys meeting fellow Dog Rescue people. So what the heck. We have no set plans...sure lets go to Little Rock.

I was really getting quite down in my mood, with the terrible weather, the depressed area of W. Memphis, and the too tight and crowded city of Memphis to enjoy. I enjoyed looking out over the Mississippi River, but our site was in the middle of nothing.

Onward to a Corps of Engineer Park in Little Rock, AR.
I love this place!!! We were going to stay for 5 days, then looked at the reviews and decided to stay a week. Upon arrival and set up we decided to stay for 2 weeks. COE parks are great! This is just what I needed!

Even though there are no leaves on the trees, there are so many trees that you still get a sense of coziness.

We still have mice in our RV and but oh the horrors, we actually had a couple of children in the RV for a couple of hours.
Thank goodness they are easier to get rid of than mice. Ok, I'm sorry, I was just on a roll. Strike that last statement. Stephanie's 6 & 8 yr old children were pleasantly well behaved. They sat in my rocker/recliner squeezed in together. It was very cute. Stephanie's son, Connor, gave us a great compliment. He said "this is just like a house, only smaller". For them to sit there for 2 hours while Mom & I talked was very impressive. Near the end, they got wiggly and wanted to go to the playground. By then the visit was over anyway. Poor Devin is scared of kids. He hid in the bedroom the whole time.
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PRODUCT REVIEW:
Digital Toys: Kindle Fire $159.00 vs I-pad Mini $329.00
I have had a Kindle Fire for over a year. I wanted an I-pad when they first came out, but felt they were too large. I wanted something to slip into my pocketbook. I waited and waited and no smaller version was announced, so I gave in and bought the Fire.
Now the I-pad Mini has come out. Hmmm. Do I purchase it? I have used my Fire very little. I don't feel it is a very user friendly tablet. I mainly wanted the Fire for some handy internet browsing, cool apps, checking email, reading, note keeping.  I'm sure the Fire will do that...in a round about way. So after a year of not using the Fire, I started researching if there was a way to download iOs (Apple) apps onto an Android (Fire) device. Sure enough, there is. I asked Hubby if he could "root" my Fire.
Rooting = Altering the software of a device to release it from certain restrictions imposed by the original manufacturer, giving the owner fuller control/capabilities. Synonym: jailbreak, which for me was to be able to download Apple apps on my Fire.
If you have a Fire and want to root it, here is a link from PC WORLD and lots of how to videos on YOU TUBE.
Scott did this but didn't finish the process, so I wasn't sure that it was working. So off I go to purchase the I-pad Mini. While I was shopping Scott completed the rooting correctly and by the time I got back with my new $329.00 I-pad Mini, Scott had the Fire screen looking and working like an I-pad. Oh well, the Fire is my gift to Scott. First time I have given him one of my "discarded" computer items for an "upgrade". Most of my desk top computers were built from Scott's old parts after he upgraded.
The iOS apps & I-phone have become so popular, that the user's ease have been greatly developed. I'm already familiar with I-Tunes from using my I-pod for audiobooks, and the RV Checklist app. So the transition to a larger, easier to read and navigate (bigger touch area) was easy. I have already used my I-Pad Mini more in 2 weeks than I've used the Fire in a year!
The I-Pad Mini is also lighter, so easier on my shoulder while carrying in my pocketbook.
For me, this was a great purchase.  And for Scott, he's very happy with his after root Fire.
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