Green! Green! Green!

May 8 - 19, 2013 (12 days) - Azalea Glen RV Park, Trinidad, CA

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RV LIFE:

RV life is good! I've said it before and I'll say it again and again. I'm so happy to be back in the land of GREEN! I'm so much happier and more relaxed and more at home with grass and pines and shade trees. Ahhhhh.

Azalea Glen RV Park: My kind of backyard

Many RV parks have an exchange library. It is a blessing and a curse. Scott will not read any book unless it's on the Kindle. I too prefer the Kindle, but why buy a Kindle book if I can get the paperback for free. Free still over rides the convenience of the Kindle.

Here at Azalea Glen, the library is in the laundry room which is common. The books were in somewhat alphabetical order by author.  I just couldn't resist, I had to take all the out of order books and put them in the correct spot. Took me about 45 minutes. It gives me the same hypnotic feeling as popping bubble wrap. 

Since I stilll prefer my Kindle, I have become quite choosy about what paperbacks I pick up. No hardcovers because they take up too much room. I brought 5 books to donate. I registered them on Book crossing, and then "released" them. Book crossing is similar to "where's George?" When you find a book that has a book crossing ID# in it, you go to the website and enter that you found it.. It's just fun to see where the book has been. Maybe for people with too much time on their hands? Never too much time!

So I felt good about purging those 5 books I'd read. Now to pick up a couple of books in exchange. I was very methodical in my choosing. I brought my laptop with me & opened my "library" excel spreadsheet. I sorted by rating and then author, so all 5 stars (out of 5) were listed in alphabetical author listing. 

1. I looked for only authors that I've given 5 stars to their other books I've read.   

2. I cross checked to see if I'd read it. Yes, put back, No, put in take pile.

3. From take pile, I look at Good Reads to see rating and description. Book must be rating over 3 stars. 3 or under put back. 

4. Now with the books left, I then check our Amazon Kindle library to make sure Scott doesn't have it on Kindle. Yes, put back. No, keep in pile.

            Damn it. Damn it!

I gave 5 books and came back with EIGHT!!!  Huh?

Ya know, the same thing happens with blogs. I am overwhelmed with how many blogs I'm trying to keep track of. There are so many interesting, funny and informative ones. I have been TRYING to be very "cut throat" in my personal ratings and readings. 

*Side note: Oh my gosh. Just did a Google Image search for cut throat. Not good. Leads to all kinds of nasty, sad websites.

Back on subject: I no sooner downgrade certain blogs to, "Read if I have time", and I find more blogs that pique my interest. As long as I have internet, I will never be bored.

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RV MODS:

Not so much a mod as a reinforcement. I mentioned a couple of posts back about MAYBE purging some more clothes because of this.

Well, it ends up, there were only TWO 3/4" screws holding my side of the bar up! I'm surprised it lasted this long! Scott was able to straighten the bar without breaking it and there were holes in the bar for a total of 6 screws. So Scott not only added more screws, they were longer screws also. 

I did not purge, but I did lighten the load on the bar. I decided to roll up my t-shirts and put them in drawers

instead of quintupling (5 hangers on one) my clothes.

No, the above photo is not some kind of kinky handcuffs. This is a device that gives you a false sense of less clothes than you really have. This device lets you have 5 items, count the holes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 in the space it takes on the clothes rod to hang 1 item. But that also means 5x's the weight.

This is another good thing about RV life. We are always rearranging our storage areas and purging down to essentials. I really don't want to move into a big house. Then our attitudes change right back to,  "Oh, I can keep that. We can store it in the basement, in the attic, in the spare room etc."

"It's on sale? I'll stock up. I've got the room for 50 rolls of toilet paper. We always need toilet paper, right?"

In an RV, I don't look for sale items anymore. I buy what I need to replenish, when I need it. I wish I would keep that process if we ever settle down in a house.

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FOOD:

So I cooked the leaves from my fresh beets for dinner. I looked on the internet for how to cook beet greens and the general idea is.

Sauteed Beet Greens

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

Chopped Garlic to taste

2-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Cut off stems from leafy part.

Roll leaves and slice.

Heat oil & garlic in skillet.

Throw in beet greens and stir until leaves are coated.

Cover and let cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Add vinegar, stir, heat through. Serve.

Beet greens are pretty much tasteless. All I seemed to taste was the ingredients I cooked them in. I was disappointed. But, if you don't like greens, these would be a good choice to get your green veggies in without too much flavor. 

I think next time, I'd add them to a smoothie. That would not add much flavor, but would add color and vitamins.

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PETS:

Devin is going nuts for the dark brown bunnies feeding on the nice grass here. Devin does what a setter is bred to do...he stands bery, bery still & is thinking...

"I'll get you, you wasically wabbit!"

Then all of a sudden, he just loses it. Yip, yip, yip and pulling and spinning and Mom trying to get him back under control. Yes, I did mean yip. For a 60# dog, he has a wimpy bark.

Then Lyla loves watching the birds. She doesn't go after them, she just watches. Well little brother, Devin pushes her out of the way..."I want to see, let me see. You always find the good stuff." And the bird flies and the moment is gone.

All this in my jammies at 7 in the morning, before coffee. The sacrifices I make for my kids.

It has been cold and overcast most of today, so I spent most of the day inside. The sun came out about 5:30pm & warmed up some. I'm currently enjoying a glass of wine and the company of my dogs. Lyla has begun to bark and bark and bark. She wants to go inside? Lyla always wants to be with Mommy. What's going on? I let her inside and oh the aroma of dinner being started. Food trumps Debbie's company.

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BOOK REVIEW:

Naked Heat by Richard Castle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the 2nd in the Nikki Heat series.

I REALLY like Nikki, a smart tough female homicide detective. This book is not all about her being female and falling in love, blah, blah....

Nope. She has a job to do and takes control and is respected by both male and female co-workers.

Always a good murder mystery and just a touch of and only a touch of romance spiced in.

I think guys will like this book also. Solid story. Great character development.

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WHERE WE'RE GOING:

May 20 - May 30 (11 days) - Humbug Mtn. State Park, Port Orford, OR
May 31 - Jun 13, 2013 (2 weeks) - Diamond Lake RV Park, Diamond Lake, OR
June 14 -23, 2013 Armitage County Park, Eugene, OR

WA, ID, WA, MT, ND, SD, WY, then south for the Winter of 2013/214