Oops, we did it AGAIN!

Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY

June 2 - 15, 2014

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RV LIFE & DOGS:

I guess I haven't been satisfying my Hubby enough. He has found affection in the "arms" of another Lass. 

I cannot compete with this sweetheart!

Somehow...we acquired ANOTHER stray dog. This makes #3. Three years FT RV'ing and saved three stray dogs. I'm actually pleasantly surprised that we didn't see more strays...THANK GOODNESS.

This little girl looks to be only about 3 months old and well taken care of.  We've let the Camp Host know about her in case someone comes looking. There are very few houses in this area. Columbus is sort of like a ghost town. It was originally established right on the shores of the Mississippi River, but the town kept getting flooded out. They moved to the bluffs, but never really recovered. There is not much to this tiny town.

So how did we go about finding this little girl? Our damned magnets on our truck was the snitch! We have all kinds of dog related and dog rescue related magnets on our truck. 

I was minding my own business, reading outside, when Scott pokes his head out (he rarely sits outside), and says the Park Ranger has a puppy. I get up to look and the Ranger is throwing garbage in the dumpster. Is he going to throw the puppy in there??? Oh no!!!!! But then I see him throw in a bag of garbage, holding tight to the pup in his other arm. After he tosses the bag in, he gives the pup a pat on her butt. Oh, all is fine. Sweet. I keep watching, just to make sure he doesn't toss her in at the last minute. Uh oh, he's driving his little cart up here. Uh oh, he saw our magnets and knew we were dog lovers. Uh oh, yes, this little pup has been hanging around the park ALL day. He was hoping the owners would show up. No such luck. I ask him if he's taking her home. I can't, this is how I've gotten all my dogs. People dropping them off at the park. 

Stick a fork in me. I'm done! Scott loves puppies. I prefer the senior dogs. I won't even bother ASKING Scott if we can take her. HE's the one who made me aware of her. HE's the one that loves puppies. Yep, we'll take her. Scott loves to blame me for the dogs we take in. This one is his "fault". I wouldn't have known, if he didn't point her out.

Unfortunately, she may be a keeper, since we now have a house (in a month). I prefer to find a good home for her. That is what fostering a dog is all about. You foster a dog and with that, you train it, you love it, you make it very adoptable. Then you find a great adoptive home, so we can do it all over again. I'm hoping Scott will let her go.

She looks to be chocolate Lab and???. I say Beagle. Her face is the shape of a Beagle. Her paws are not large. Scott says Pitt, but I don't see it. Either way, she is a great little girl, who so far seems to have a great personality and is looking to please. She already knew sit, so someone has worked with her. They have 1 week to find her, before we take off to Missouri.

I love puppy bellies. It reminds me of babies when they are in those jumpsuit type outfits and their butt is so big because of the diaper. So cute!

What breed mix do YOU think?

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PRODUCT REVIEW:

A/C Pro $25. - $35.

Our rating 5 out of 5...jackpot!

A couple of weeks back, we were in Alabama for a CCRVOC (Cedar Creek RV Owners Club) Rally. They are such a nice group of people. It is so easy to get rid of, oops, I mean entertain the men in the group. Just open up the hood of your vehicle!

Scott opened the hood of our truck to replace/recharge the AC refrigerant. Within minutes, he had an audience and offer of help.

He used A/C Pro. This can be picked up at any auto parts store & sometimes Walmart. Scott was so surprised that it was as easy as described and our AC is working wonderfully now.

Check out this video for how-to.

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HOUSE HUNTING:

No more house hunting. Done deal. We have a purchase contract, application for mortgage, inspection completed, etc. Closing is July 15, 2014. What have we done???? We are comfortable with our decision. We are fighting the feeling of being quitters. I feel like we are deserting our FT RV friends.  But, this is a work in progress for our emotions and our lifestyle.

We chose to full time RV because we KNEW WITHOUT A DOUBT, we wanted OUT OF NJ!!!!!! So that was easy to sell our house. I am not too sentimental about most items, so purging was fine also. Yes, it was a lot of work, but wasn't difficult. Freeing ourselves of stuff is really liberating! We chose to FT/RV because we had to "escape from NJ", but we didn't know where we wanted to settle down. So why not check out the country and figure out where we want to settle, IF we wanted to settle. I estimated that we would RV for 2 years before deciding where to settle. It's been just about 3 years and we're still happy full timing, but we are starting to miss certain things that come with a house.

We were thrilled to get RID our our NJ house. We didn't like it. It was too close to our neighbors. Too much traffic congestion. Too high taxes. So, it wasn't that we didn't like owning a house, we just didn't like owning a house in NJ!

We've changed locations on the average of every two weeks for three years. That is a lot of wear and tear on our 5th wheel and Scott has had to do a lot up upkeep and fix ups. 

Note to potential F/T RV'rs: If you plan to travel frequently, expect there to be quite a bit of maintenance to keep your rig in working order. Carla of Cozy Be Gone has been taking a slower pace than we do. She doesn't cover as much of the US, but she and her hubby are still enjoying the sights and the freedom of going where they please. 

If we had to do over, would we stay longer at places? No. But after three years, it does take a toll on us and the rig. 

Our future plans are to stay around the SE until the closing of the house. We have no furniture, so I will still consider myself full time RV'ing, even though we once again own a house. We will be driveway docking. Merikay was considered a full timer even though they still had their house for quite a few months. They had that huge house, but they chose to keep it clean and empty and they driveway camped in their own driveway until their house sold. We are doing just the opposite. 

We HOPE to see the Upper Peninsula this Summer and head back to Tennessee to settle for the Winter. Will we do that? That's the plan, but after purchasing a house, will we really want to leave it empty while we travel? Time will tell. 

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"DOWN TIME":

Yes, I've had some down time. There is still data inputing I could do for the dog rescue, but it is not essential at this point. So I'm back to knitting and reading and doing things that a working  person doesn't have time to do.

I sorted my courtesy cards! Every little discount helps. I'm tired of flipping through all the cards, telling the checkout clerk, "I have the card somewhere.". Now they are in Alphabetical order and sorted into groups...Grocery, Pets, Misc. I keep them on a separate key chain that hooks onto the inside of my purse. Works great.

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BOOK REVIEW:

Abducted by T.R. Ragan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a first in a series with the main female character. Lizzy is damaged goods because of a 2 month imprisonment and torture by a crazy guy, who calls himself "Spiderman". She is the only one to ever escape. He is linked to half a dozen murders & missing persons.
He "disappeared" for about 10 years, but he has reappeared...we think. Lizzy is still a work in progress trying to deal with the guilt of the girls she couldn't save and the disbelief from the police and her own family of went on in that house of horrors.
Lizzy is again reunited with a high school sweetheart and also with "Spiderman". She is has a lot to deal with and is determined to put things to rest, both in her romantic life and her tortured life.
I liked the character development. I liked the mystery. So many options to keep us guessing. I look forward to see what's next to come in Lizzy life.

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:
Second Sunrise by Aimee Thurlo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

On my 2nd attempt, I finished. For some reason, I just couldn't get into it the first time.
After visiting the Navajo (Dineh) nation in Utah at Monument Valley, it was fun to read and relate to the culture and the scenery of this land in the book.
This is a vampire take with an American Indian twist. Interesting, but not sure if I'll continue in the series.
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CRAFTS:

Iznik Tile shawl  was another Mystery Knit a long.  Iznik tile is a type of pottery originating from Iznik,Turkey.
There were many, many beads added. I chose Blue, Red, and Turquoise beads.I think it turned out beautiful. I still can't believe I can actually knit lace.