Country Life

CONTENTS

COUNTRY LIVING

LIFE HACK

BAKERY REVIEW

RV PARK Revisited

BOOK REVIEW

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

COUNTRY LIVING:
Yes, I've come to realize that even though Walmart is only about 12 miles away, we are still in the country.

We can't get high speed cable internet or phone. Luckily, there is at least DSL and cell service.

There is no recycling garbage...sigh...I drove 30 miles to the county recycling center to check it out. Since there was no recycling pick up, I figured, I go once a month and deposit them at the county center. Maybe I'd even ask the neighbors if they could recycle just one type of item and I'd take with me. But, alas, I was very disappointed. I arrived way out in the back country, to see large garbage containers with no labeling on them, so no way of knowing what should be deposited where. A sign by the building stated to not drop off anything before seeing an attendant. Hmm, where's the attendant? In Neptune, NJ, if you drive up to the recycling center, an attendant comes out immediately, all full of himself, asking what we were dropping off and proof of residence. Not here in Carroll County, TN.

No grouchy attendant giving me the 5th degree. I REALLY want to recycle my garbage. What a waste of resources and space to throw plastic, paper, glass, aluminium in with the regular garbage. So, I go inside the building. I see a lot of shredded paper, a large factory fan blowing and making a lot of noise, but no humans. I peek in the big work areas...no one. I go into the office...no one! Am I in a horror film? Have they all turned to Zombies and are going to attack me? I was actually a little nervous. Out here in the middle of no where. No witnesses. Help!!!!
No one came out to attack me, nor did anyone come out to help me. So much for the recycling center. I may have to write to "someone" in the County and ask what's up with this?

Some bills have no option for on line payment or even credit card payment. I actually have to write a check & mail or drop off the payment!! But the bills are fewer than NJ living. No water bill, no sewer bill, no gas bill.

Local folk don't understand fences, except to keep cattle, horses, goats in, but not dogs. Dogs come by to greet the neighbors.

For any "big box" stores other than Walmart, we have to drive 27 miles.

The only grocery store is Walmart, unless we drive 27 miles to Jackson.

NJ Turnpike

It's quiet

We can't see our neighbors.

There is no dog licensing required.

The major highways are not crowded
No toll booths.

Population of Cedar Grove is only approximately 2400. That is a population density of only about 26 people per square mile. Compare that to our old location, Shark River Hills, NJ had a population density of  4200 people per square mile.
42 HUNDRED!!!!

Ooh, ooh, just saw a deer trot across the front lawn! Ahh, the country life.
I'll accept the negatives of country living because the positives oh so very much outweigh the negatives!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LIFE HACK:
How to eat a gourmet cupcake. You know the "in" cupcakes, the cupcake stores that was all the fad and now fading. The cupcakes are large and the icing is even larger, higher, than the actual cupcake! I enjoy trying out new cupcake places. Most times I am disappointed but it's still fun trying all the unique flavors.
But how do you eat those darn cupcakes with all that icing?? They are too big to really take a bite with both cake and icing included in the bite. I usually end up using a fork and knife and eating it like a meal. But the icing top heavy cupcake usually topples over. The mystery is over.

Cut the cake part in half horizontally. Then take the bottom half and put it on top of the icing. Genius! You now have what is basically and piece of layer cake! I have tried this and it works wonderfully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
STORE/BAKERY REVIEW:
Speaking of cupcakes, I have tried two "local" (if you can call anything local to itty bitty Cedar Grove) cupcake bakeries.

Woodstock Bakery - Jackson, TN
My rating 3 out of 5
Prices were better than most "gourmet" cupcake shops at $2.25 per cupcake. The cake part was moist, dense and tasted home made. They had the correct, in my opinion, amount of icing. Although icing swirled high on top of the cupcake looks impressive, it can be too high and too much icing to really enjoy the cupcake. You need a more balanced ratio of cake to icing, which Woofstock understands.
Their flavors are unique and named after many Beatles tunes.

L & T CAKERY, INC - Milan, TN
My rating 2 out of 5
First off, be forewarned. You will be heartily laughed at if you mispronounce local town names. The town where this bakery is located is called Milan. Now us "Yankees" would pronounce it mee-LAN, like in France. But no, this town in TN is pronounces MY-lin. I snicker every time I have to say it that way.
Back to the review...
Very expensive. $3.00 per cupcake. $2.50 if you buy 4. But, if you buy the 5th, that is $3.00. I would think they'd continue the discount after 4 purchased.
Cake tasted like a box mix. Very airy. The icing was double the height of the cake. So with an airy cake and a very top heavy icing, this was even difficult to eat using my split the cake method.
And to top if off, not very good icing.
But I'll end with a good note. Their refrigerated Coconut Creme cupcake was excellent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RV PARK Revisited:
COLUMBUS-BELMONT STATE PARK - Louisville, KY
I have reviewed this prior in my June 17, 2014 post. We returned to this park for the first 2 weeks of July, our final days before settling down in a house again. We had a different site this time. Although the first site #34 was nice in that it was an end site, it was in full sun. Our last 2 weeks, we were located on the other side of the park. What a fabulous site #26! Huge, lots of shade, but open enough for clear sky for satellite set up.

View from our front door

View from behind the RV

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK REVIEW:
The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Could have been a bit better if the responses "unh-hunh" were not repeated over and over and over.
Exciting, action packed,suspense. I'm surprised how much the PI gets away with. Elvis and his side kick Pike are a couple of macho types, with Elvis having a soft side and Pike has a not so much soft side, but if you get to know his character a little, he can be likeable in a scary way.
I look forward to reading more, but hope the conversations have a little more depth. My husband has enjoyed the series a lot.

Fish Farm by Walt Sautter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I loved this book. It reminded me of Carl Hiaasen books, but minus the quirky characters, but the characters certainly get themselves into difficult circumstances. How do they deal with the problems? Ahhh, that's the sick charm of this book.
People end up down and out for a number of reasons. These guys all have a different story, but they are all brought together and become friends in this bad area of town. Gangs are harassing and demanding what little money these low income guys have. What to do? What can they do? How long can they take this extortion? If you stand up to the gang, you may just get yourself killed.
There is a hero in a morbid sort of way.
There were many, MANY editing mistakes, misspellings, words left out which interrupted the flow of the book because I had to take a second or two to fill in the missing, sometimes essential word.

Get real!

Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY

June 2 - 15, 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONTENTS
PET PEEVE
CRAFTS
BOOK REVIEW
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PET PEEVE - RANT:
I've been looking at a lot of DIY, organizing, decorating blogs by women that seem to either have too much time on their hands, or have the "luxury" of being staying at home Moms and can make time for all the things working Moms can't, or they are overachievers and will burn out from everything having to be perfect.
The consistent thing I observe on the majority of these blogs is the perfection of what they post. Their DIY's are done in easy step by steps, hubby jumps in to help. They're kitchen is always clean, their floors dust bunny free. Then to top it all off, their DIY's are color coordinated. Give me a break. Get real! Do we have matching storage containers in our pantries? Do we have a bouquet of flowers that match the bowl of lemons in a bowl on our counter? Are our clothes hung according to colors in our closets? Really?

Oh come on! Get real!!!!! Is this how gardening equipment looks in real life? A Pink handled prong thing, matches the pink, turquoise and yellow flowered trowel, that matches the teal, turquoise and yellow dust brush.

Oh, and yes, my linen closet has only white and avocado green linens in it to match the avocado green storage boxes. When did avocado green come back in style??
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RV LIFE:
I am still a full timer, but I am now also calling myself a short timer. I would not trade our 3 years on the road for anything!!!!!!!!
I highly recommend full time RV'ing! It is a great way to purge your house. Purging is very difficult and a lot of work. Oh the stuff we accumulate...because we can! F/T RV'ing forces you to purge. Whatever you don't get rid of, you either have to haul with you or pay for storage. Our storage unit is 15' x 5' and costs us about $90. per month x 36 months = $3240.00. Is the stuff we stored worth that much? Well, the motorcycle is, or almost. But the other things? Nope.
What have we in storage?
My motorcycle, which I look forward to getting road ready again and riding the rolling, curving roads of Tennessee.
Craft items: Even though I purged and purged and purged, I still have a load of fabric and yarn. I scanned into the computer, most of my craft books. I gave away crafts that were "someday" I'll try this.
Lots of doggie stuff: We'll always have dogs and I believe I'll always be involved in dog rescue somehow. So yes, I have a crate, an xpen, a canvas crate, lots of harnesses, a doggie cart (wheelchair), display grids in case I ever set up a tent for rescue fundraising and awareness again.
Telescope that I bought Scott when we were still exchanging Christmas gifts. Maybe we'll actually get to use it, since it can stay out and set up on our covered porch!
Ski equipment: Hmmm, that is difficult. I really don't see us skiing anymore. If we had moved to W. Virgina, then maybe, but who knows how far the nearest ski resort is. That is a difficult one to give up.
Clothes: We took the minimum with us on our RV adventure. *Note: Take less warm weather clothing. I took about 6 sweatshirts which take up a lot of room in an RV. I would have been fine with 2 or 3, even through the cold Winter we experienced, we layered. When we went outside to walk the dogs, we'd throw on a sweatshirt and sweater and then our 3 season jacket. Gloves, hat and gator/cowl were essential. That made the difference between being cold and being comfortable in 30° weather.  So in storage, we have Winter coats, long sleeved t-shirts and lots of sweatshirts.
It will be fun to empty the storage and see what things we forgot about, or what items we'll be able to use again.
I'm trying to make a list of the good and bad of F/T RV'ing and the things I miss while RV'ing and while living in a house.
Already, I'm missing the get up and go freedom of RV'ing. But, since we are not as excited about sightseeing as we were 3 years ago, our daily activity has definitely slowed to an almost standstill. What do we do with ourselves while living in an RV if we aren't sightseeing? I am NEVER BORED. But I do feel somewhat guilty just cruising the net and reading and crafting. Poof! The day is gone and it was all ME TIME! That is true retirement.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TENNESSEE HOUSE:
Moving back into a house is a little more responsibility, but not too much. We have enough in savings to have just a minimal mortgage to keep our credit good without having to worry about meeting our month bills. I'll be very curious to see how our bills compare to RV'ing. We did not budget during RV'ing. Traveling is a money eater. The gas for 1 day's travel is at least $100. So every day of travel is times $100. plus cost of your site. That adds up. Now we will have a mortgage that the monthly payment will be less than 2 weeks in an RV park. Minus the $100. gas for travel. We'll be able to buy groceries on sale and with coupons.
This is another whole different way of life for us. I have never lived in a house with acreage and privacy and also not the commitment of working full time. Will Scott mow the lawn on his own, instead of having to be nagged? Will I once again enjoy gardening, since I am not working?
I am just as or maybe even more excited about furnishing and decorating the porch! As long as the weather cooperates, the porch is where I will spend most of my time. I plan to fill the porch with a lot of quirky, whimsical things. We have a LARGE AND WIDE wrap around porch. Oh the many uses for this space! A hammock to take naps in...a swinging bench to read in....lots of pillows & afghans to make it all comfy. A rocker to enjoy my morning coffee and my evening cocktail outside overlooking our very own woods, with no neighbors to have to acknowledge. I have NEVER lived on property that the neighbors could not be seen. Yep, I'm getting excited to have our own PRIVATE piece of heaven.
We have taken the conservative road meaning, our house is only 1500 square feet, even though our property is 7 acres, it is mostly maintenance free woodland. We want the roominess of a house, the privacy of the land, but not be overwhelmed. I think this house and property has accomplished that.
I do sometimes wish I was more of a risk taker. We could have gone higher in a purchase price and had a beautiful modern kitchen, large showcase home, but in the end, we are simple folk. I don't want a showcase house. I want a home, that I am comfortable in and don't resent because of the high mortgage and upkeep. So yep, we took the safe road again. A little disappointing, but in the end, because of our conservative spending we have been able to retire at 53/55, full time before some people even get to retire and buy a house after seeing much of the country before we hit 60! We could do this all over again in 10 years. Life is good.

Information overload!
Maybe we shouldn't move back into a house. I am spending hours on Pinterest see all kinds of ideas. Will I actually renew my love of woodworking now that I have the room to do it? In our old house, I used an extra bedroom to do my woodworking. Very cramped and storing the wood was a problem. I just found a site that links to the 50 best woodworking blogs (in his opinion). I'm either in heaven or hell with all the possibilities or trying to do too much. Oh the simple life of an RV'r. No room for woodworking and tools. Just enough room for yarn, kindle, 2 dogs and hubby.
Scott's been having trouble sleeping because he is thinking of all the things to do when we move in. Luckily nothing is essential, but if we have the land and space, let's use it.
What's on our minds...
Fencing: We have the privacy and land, so why have to walk the dogs? If we have a fence it's win/win. We win because we can just let the dogs out without having to venture into he elements. The dogs win because they can run free and do their business at will.
Aquarium: Scott wants it, I don't. Marriage is full of compromises. He doesn't ask for much, so I'll give in to this.
Woodworking: This is a big one. We have 3 huge garages. My mind says I want to make things, but in reality,do I? Did I get frustrated before because of lack of space?
Decorating: Since the walls are pine planking, there is no painting to do, but yet I want to make our house our HOME. I'm getting overwhelmed at how to decorate. Rustic? Subtle wood tones? A splash of bright? Clean lines or overstuffed? I've got to make sure I don't fill the how with "stuff". I want to bring items in that have a purpose, or better yet, more than one purpose. I want to try to keep as many items off the floor as possible for easy cleaning.
Yard & Garden: Currently the lawn is a clean 2 acres. No flowers, no vegetable garden. Nice and clean and easy care. Do I really want to make work for myself by having to tend a flower garden? Oh but I LOVE flowers! Do I want to till & weed a vegetable garden? Well, I've already bought mint and pepper plants. I'm looking at container gardening, vertical gardening and raised gardening, so all are kept neat in their own areas.
Fostering: We will have the room and time now to foster dogs. But that sure is a responsiblity. Ya never know what your'e gonna git! Shhh, don't tell Scott...I've already committed to taking in two English Setters that have been in foster care way too long. I hope to re-evaluate and get them adopted!
Cooking: Even cooking has come into play with moving into a house. I don't bother cooking in the RV. But with the house, I'll have a larger pantry, a freezer to store leftovers, etc.
RV life is definitely a simpler life. I'll be very curious how both Scott & I react once we move in. Will we dive head first and start our projects or will we just sit in our hammock (temporary sofa in living room), relax on our air mattress (temporary bed in the bedroom), sit in our lawn chairs (temporary easy chairs in the living room), eat dinner on TV trays (temporary dining room table)...oh wait, we ALWAYS eat on TV trays whether in a house or an RV.
Our minds are whirring!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRAFTS:
Wow! I impressed myself! I finished this project in 3 days!
Irish Sea Shawl is actually a short poncho. This is a nice little accessory to cover a plain tee.

This was not the right yarn for this project. The thickness of Noro Kureyon was very inconsistent. I was drawn in by the color changing. I'm still happy with it. It will make a nice casual throw over a top.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK REVIEW:
Kindle Free
Treasures of the North by Tracie Peterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A nice historical romantic adventure. A genteel woman being forced into marriage with a vengeful man. She finally makes a decision instead of letting others lead her along. And so the adventure begins.
This was a free Kindle book and the first in a series.
The book is somewhat of a cliffhanger and I'm curious what is going to happen, but not enough to put up with all the religious teachings. This is definitely religious book. I was able to skip over many pages of characters praying for God's guidance. The author is also slipping in how to ask Jesus into your heart, blah, blah, blah. Skip over, skip over, skip over. So, even though the characters were well developed and I like the basic story, I will not be reading the rest of the series. I've had enough of sermons.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW:
Virgin River by Robyn Carr
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sweet! This is a book you read when you want an easy happy-go-lucky, Mayberry type story. Maybe this should be in the fantasy section instead of romance, since I don't think towns like Virgin River can exist, with everyone getting along, a bar with a generous owner comping drinks and food often & being gorgeous and a gentleman too!
Kind of hokey, as one reviewer stated. But if you want a vacation from the murder mysteries, paranormal, etc., take a break with this feel good, G rated romance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Nuttin much

"To be safe on the Fourth/Don't buy a fifth on the third." 

James H. Muehlbauer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RV LIFE:
A little bit of heaven. We are back at Columbus...State Park. A perfect place to unwind from the week of socializing with fellow Creekers. Although, because of the heat, not too much socializing. Many of us spent our days inside.

Oopsy! Just a little oopsy. While making a sharp turn into the State park, the road had a dip, then an incline. Oopsy, our back end hit bottom and scraped along the asphalt. Damn!
What kind of damage has been done?
Will it affect the workings of the RV?
How much is it going to cost to replace?
We ended up with a wackadoodled (meaning really bent) rear jack, a crack in our pvc pole sewer hose holder, and a rip in our sewer hose. As I've said before, don't go full time if you think there are less things to do to maintain an RV than a house. That is a total misconception.
Scott was able to sort of bend the jack back and was still usable, but for how long. We don't have sewer hookups so don't have to worry about the cracked sewer hose.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RV PRODUCT REVIEW:
Our rating 5 out of 5
Seems good quality, good weight capacity, good price.

Scissors jack from Amazon

Scott installed the jack and realized that our old jack was only 20", the new jack is 24". Did not affect installation. Luckily this was an easy fix.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
RV to House Transition:
We have never had a house and owned an RV. When we had a house, we would tent camp for vacations. Therefore, we ate on mainly paper plates and used as much disposable as possible. We had a couple of tubs with our camping equipment in them ready for vacation.
We are now beginning a new way of life. Living in a house, but having a huge RV to travel in. I don't consider our future RV travels to be vacation. I'm retired, living in a cozy cabin like home on 7 wooded acres within walking distance to a lake. My life is a vacation!
I have no idea how often we will actually RV and for what reason. I suppose we'll use it to visit family and to go to Cedar Creek rallies. But will we ever venture all the way West to Oregon and Washington? I so want to return to Custer, SD. Will we keep such a large RV? If we keep it, that means keeping our dually pick up truck too.

I have already committed to taking in TWO English Setter foster dogs. Shhh, Scott doesn't know it yet. All I can say, is I warned him. If we got a house, I would be fostering. HE'S the one that decided not to travel this summer after purchase of the house. I am now in settling down mode, looking forward to cooler times in the Winter.

Do we leave much of the daily living items in the RV and buy "new" for the house? That means we'll have double of a lot of items. But do we really want to have to plan to pack for a trip? I'm sure most people keep dishes, pots, glassware, flatware, etc in the RV. I guess the not knowing whether we will continue to use it, is what bothers me. I don't want to buy things that are not needed, that we already have.

But, on the other hand, even though I'm not much of a shopper, I am looking forward to buying "new" dishware & flatware. The furniture? not so much. I just want comfy without taking up too much room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRAFTS:
I so wish I was more creative! What you say? Look at all the beautiful crafty things I make. 99.9% of my finished crafts are just following instructions. I follow instructions well, but to think up a crafty item...nope. It's empty up here in my head.
You're probably tired of hearing of my current passion...Pinterest. But oh my, my, my, it certainly has zillions of ideas to give my unoriginal brain a boost to create.
I get upset with myself because of the many simple things I see on Pinterest using everyday items. What can't I think of that? We all have our talents. I'll just continue to snatch the ideas from Pinterest and go with it.
Here is a sew simple project.

sew or iron on hem project for the 4th of July or picnic table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW:
The Twelve Tribes Of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I am fascinated by the history of slavery and the strong black race that had to endure. I cannot fathom the idea that one human is treated so horribly by another human.
This book seemed to have no flow. I couldn't keep track of what was going on and who was who.
I just assumed, being an Oprah's pick,that this would be good. I didn't bother to look at reviews ahead of time. Lesson learned, read the reviews.
I was just trying to get through the book. I didn't finish. Read previous reviews for better judgements.
====================
MOVIE REVIEWS:
The Oranges - 2011 Dramedy
Hugh Laurie
Oliver Platt
My rating 2 out of 5
Two neighboring families are the best of friends, until the prodigal daughter returns and stirs up a lot of trouble.

7 Psychopaths - 2012 Dark Comedy
Colin Powell
Christopher Walken
Woody Harrelson
My rating 2 out of 5
Pretty bad movie. It got a 2 because I like to watch and listen to Colin Powell & there was a sweet Shih Tzu in the movie.
Just a bunch of killing and egos and stupidity.

Snow White and the Huntsman - 2012 Fantasy
Kristin Stewart
Charlize Theron
Chris Hemsworth

My rating 3.5 out of 5
I would have given it a 4 if they had cast Snow White with someone other than Kristin Stewart. Snow White is supposed to be the "fairest of them all" and Stewart is average with too big a chin to be called beautiful. Plus her acting is similar in all her movies. Mouth half open and a furrowed forehead.
Now Charlize is absolutely stunning!  They needed someone equal or better looking (if possible) than her.
The special effects were great, the dark story was very good. If you are a Kristin Stewart fan, then you'd like this more than I did.

COLUMBUS-BELMONT ST. PK. - Louisville, KY: RV Park Review

RV PARK REVIEW:
June 2 - 15, 2014
Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY
Site#34   Price $28./night
Our rating 4 out of 5
Discounts: None
Sites: Large, grass, many shaded. Blacktop site. Very unlevel. Sites # 25-30 have a beautiful view of the Mississippi. But even without the view, sites are really nice.

Hook ups: W & E. Only about 4 or 5 sites have sewer (near dumpstation)
Bathrooms: Clean and modern
Laundry: only 2 washer/dryers, but clean and fine.
Pets: Welcome, with plenty of grassy area to walk them. Plenty of room at site to tether. We were disappointed with the camp host's dog. Cute little dog, friendly, but barked and barked and barked.
WiFi: Offers Tengonet or Boingo via Tengonet. Just ok, but better than our worse than dial up connection via Verizon.
Verizon Internet:: Mainly not usable
Sprint Internet: no signal
Satellite: Quite a few trees, but should be able to get a clear sky view.
Verizon cell: Zero to one bar
AT&T cell: Zero to one bar
Book Exchange: Small exchange in laundry room
Activities: A couple of hiking trails, snack bar, museum. Watching the barges on the Mississippi.
Mail delivery accepted: No
Area/Town/Sights: Not much. A cemetery from the early 1800's. Jen's restaurant. Only place in town.
Walmart is 21 miles away.

Stuff

Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY

June 2 - 15, 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONTENTS

RV LIFE

PET PEEVE

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW

CRAFTS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RV LIFE:
On the road again tomorrow. We're heading to Branson, MO to meet up again with our Cedar Creek RV Owners Club. A 320 mile drive which is longer than we'd like, but we wanted to RV in Kentucky to fill that in to our map.
We've been quite spoiled by this State Park. Large sites, not a lot of sites, so the noise is minimal and really only filled on the weekends. It's so nice to be able to let Devin stay outside on his long tether without worry of tangling in the power cord, satellite dish, or sewer connection. Speaking of sewer connection, that we don't have at this park...
A bit of a pet peeve/rant...We reserved two weeks here, but could only get a non sewer hook up site for that length of time. Why oh why do the people who book for a weekend, just two nights need sewer hookups? The dump station is convenient on the way out. Because of these weekend warriors, we have been without sewer and had to use our portable sewer tank to drag, you know what to the dump station. It would be nice to need 5 day commitment for the sewer sites.
I found a definite advantage of RV'ing and still having a house. Many of the wonderful places we've visited, we attended local art shows. Oh the beautiful things we've seen, but did not purchase because we had no where to put them. At the time, I was saying, thank goodness we don't have a house. Just think of the money we'd spend and the "stuff" we'd collect. But now that we have a house (soon), I wish we could revisit these places and pick up local art.
Will we ever go back to the Pacific NW?

I would love to pick up some of the beautiful driftwood we saw on Rialto Beach. I can just imagine the furniture I could make!

I did bring back some beautiful stones from Dry Lagoon in California.

I want to make cabinet knobs like above with the stones I collected.
In New Mexico, there was a shop that had all kinds of items made out of Onyx.

This store does do mail order.

Then, while in South Dakota, we went to a great arts show in Custer St. Park. We saw beautiful iron works & bar stools made from rough logs and buffalo hide.
But then, when I think of the things I'd like to purchase, I think of the dreaded "stuff" that we just got rid of 3 years ago.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:
The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Let me take a minute to take this all in. Wow.
This book will get you thinking, about survival, guilt, forgiveness, mercy, hatred, kindness and so on. This story is mainly about the holocaust, so if you don't enjoy reading about that, then this is not for you. Also, it is not an uplifting book either. It is a dark story both in the present day storyline and the holocaust storyline. There is no nicely fitted happy ending.
In the beginning, the story is somewhat slow going, but give it time and it will draw you in. We are told the story of a holocaust survivor and the side of her tormentor, along with the after effects in present day of them and the people they come in contact with.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRAFTS:
Oh the luxury of being retired. I can sit all day listening to audio books and knitting. The dogs beside me, the lush green lawn, the shade trees, a glass of wine, and TIME to just enjoy it all. Retirement is a wonderful experience!

View while outside knitting

I finished another shawl/scarf thingy. This was another Mystery Knit-a-long. I ordered the yarn and beads as a kit by the shawl designer. Unfortunately, she is in Malaysia and by the time the yarn got to the US, and then sat in Customs for OVER A MONTH, in NYC, the MKAL was well under way. So it really wasn't too much of a mystery, since I looked at everyone's show & tell photos.

I still have the dilemma of what to do with my finished projects. Maybe once we're settled in the house and some of my RV'ing friends come for a visit, I'll offer some of these to them.

This design was called "When the Flowers Bloom". I hope you can see the flowers and leaves.

Rain is gone

Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY

June 2 - 15, 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CONTENTS

RV LIFE

S&B LIFE

CRAFT/MOD

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RV LIFE:

I hear the pitter patter and sometimes the plunk plunk of the rain on the awning as I sit protected underneath it. I love the rain and imagine sitting on our large covered porch when we move into the house. But for now, yes I'm enjoying the rain. So no, the  rain is not gone. But...I no longer hear the pitter patter and sometimes the plunk plunk of our little stray pup. Her owners picked her up this morning. Her name is Rain.

It's with very mixed feelings we let her go. Father and son, around 11 yrs old knocked on our door. I just knew what it was about, but I made sure they described her and her collar. Have a happy life sweet Rain.

I love this piece of artwork. It is meant for when a pet passes. Your buddy is always there beside you in spirit.

What a sense of freedom, now that she's gone. Similar to the feeling we had when we sold our house in NJ. The responsibility is lifted! No having to get her to the vet, eventually get her spayed, put her up for adoption, etc. No responsibility of having to constantly keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't chew on the wrong things, or pee inside. Overall, she was a very good puppy, but still a puppy.

As I stated in my last post, this is a very small town. I figured if someone wanted the puppy, the owners would find their way here. There is one restaurant in town and is the gathering  and I assume gossip spot. Sure enough, that's where the owners started asking around, which led them to the park. There was already an offer to take the dog in if the owner wasn't found.

The owner said that if we were looking to help a stray dog, just go to the center of town and I'd find some. I'm never LOOKING for a stray, but if they happen upon us, well...it's difficult to not help.  I don't plan on heading to the center of town.

Having puppy, Rain around for a couple of days reminded me of our English Setter, Lyla. We adopted her at about 10 weeks old. She was born deaf, so was turned over to rescue instead of being put to sleep, which means KILLED because she was deaf. She is now 10 years old, but the memory of "puppy from hell" is still fresh in our minds.

This was our bathroom in our house in NJ. Disregard the ugly wall. I could say Lyla tore down the wallpaper, but she didn't. We removed the wallpaper and hadn't prepped and painted it yet. Take notice of the rack on the right. It held paper towels, book/magazines to read, and containers to hold headbands, etc. This is BEFORE Lyla discovered it. 

And this is AFTER. Or, really caught in the act!!! Of course since she can't hear, she didn't hear all the naughty things coming out of my mouth.

This is a beautiful park. Not many sites, maybe 40? Rolling hills, lots of greenery, beautiful views of the Mississippi River.

There's a museum on the property, but I think it's only open on the weekends. Maybe I'll take a stroll over there this coming weekend and check it out. On the outskirts of the museum overlooking the great river, there are signs talking (signs talk???), I mean signs describing about the area and the Civil War activity and slaves and freed slaves joining the Civil War. There is also a graveyard from the early 1800's. I used to really enjoy walking through old graveyards. Now, not so much. Maybe if Hubby would come out of the RV and take a stroll with me through the graveyard, I might find it more enjoyable.

Same dog (Devin), Same chair (Blue Bubble), Different scenery (Parkers Crossroads, TN)

Making friends during our travels

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

S & B (Sticks & Bricks) LIFE:

Things are moving along well towards the closing of our house in Tennessee. I keep telling myself, we will be traveling to the Upper Peninsula this Summer, but will we? Even Scott admits, that it will be difficult to leave a house we just bought. But then, our RV is equipped with all we need. If we wait until next Summer to travel, we'll have to get the RV ready for travel. It will be weird to have to winterize the RV. We've never had to do that since we've lived in it during our whole ownership.

We've found that home insurance seems to be higher in Tennessee than in NJ. But maybe since Sandy, policies have increased. We finally decided to go with Liberty Mutual through our truck insurance, Geico. It was the least expensive. That should be the last item we needed to deal with until closing on July 15. 

I hope we made the right choice. I have a difficult time with change. Life is just fine in the RV, but I think it's time to enjoy the steadiness, the spaciousness, the privacy of S&B life. 

We haven't been to the dentist in 2 yrs. It will be nice to establish a regular dentist, a regular doctor and a regular vet again. And to be able to order things on line and not worry about where to have it sent, or sent to our mailing address in TX and then have that sent on to where we happen to be. All of these are just little things, little conveniences that you don't have while traveling. Nothing that should stop anyone from going full time in an RV. I'm so glad we did it and that both Scott & I were on the same page of what kind of rig, where to travel, how long, and even when and where to settle again. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CRAFTS or MOD?:

As you walk into our RV there is a narrow cabinet that contains our switches for outside lights, slide controls, tank levels, etc. We hung some cup hooks under this cabinet to conveniently hold poopy bags & leashes. But over time, we have used longer leashes so Devin can have more freedom, and extra collars to be fashionable. These seem to gather on the floor by the door since we ran our of empty hooks. They end up being dust bunny collectors and just a nuisance to move when I need to vacuum, sweep or mop. Plus it looks sloppy. My solution?

Take an empty powdered laundry detergent box

Use it to hide your clutter

Disguise it with some pretty paper

Now it's easy to move when I need to clean and looks attractive (if you like checks). Works for me. I didn't bother covering the back. Who's going to see the back? And I just used regular tape and packing tape to secure it. I feel so much better. I am a great believer in pretty containers, lots of cabinets & closets, to "hide STUFF", so things look neater.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUDIO BOOK REVIEW:

The Outlander Series: Outlander / Dragonfly in Amber / Voyager / Drums of Autumn / The Fiery Cross / A Breath of Snow and Ashes / An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read these as individual books (7 in the series). I started in June of 2002 and sadly, finished in March of 2010. Probably the best series I have ever read! I'm usually not into time travel. I get confused, but this sucked me in and I couldn't stop reading.
I thought I'd write the review now, since the "Outlander" series will begin on the Starz network in Aug. 2014.
Oh my, oh my oh my. Loved the characters, loved the romance, loved the damsel in distress, loved the ongoing saga and the experiences of modern times and times from the past.
This has war, murder, romance, suspense, mystery, fantasy, history...I would suggest you read or listen to this series and then impatiently wait for the TV version to start in August.

Oops, we did it AGAIN!

Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY

June 2 - 15, 2014

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"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.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.

Hodge podge-Mish mash-This n' that...

Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY
June 2 - 15, 2014 (2 weeks)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONTENTS:
LIFE IN GENERAL
BROWSING THE WWW
CRAFTS
RANT
COMPUTER TIP
PRODUCT REVIEW
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LIFE:
Because of being so busy with the dog rescue & unexpected more house stuff, I haven't kept up with my blog, and I haven't been sorting photos and things of interest I've seen off the net. With that being said, this blog post will be a hodge podge of me cleaning up my files. Interesting? I don't know, but it will give ME a sense of satisfaction and if you follow MY blog, you know it's "all about me".
5/29/14  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BROWSING THE WWW:

The Fit RV is a versatile, informative website & blog. They have a Class B conversion van type RV. They first used it to go to running events, and now go on the road quite a bit. They not only have great info about exercise on the road, but healthy snacks, and also RV tips and RV park reviews.

I have gained 50#'s in 5 years since I stopped "watching" what I eat or more accurately eating what I watch/see,  and have become quite sedentary since RV'ing. I enjoy reading Steph's healthy snacks and tips on how to exercise on the road. Unfortunately, I have not tried any of her ideas....yet. I did pull out my resistance bands the other day and did some arm exercises for about 10 minutes. Not much, but a start. The Fit RV blog is upbeat and not over the top. Her recipes are things we all can make and her exercise suggestions are definitely doable, if only I'd shut off the computer and get off my ARSE!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CRAFTS:
What can I do with the shawls I make? I just finished a shawl that has close to 1000 beads knitted into it. I'm TRYING to block it, but the weather is not cooperating. It is too large to spread out on the picnic table, it is too large to spread out on the RV table. So I've spread it out on the truck bed cover. Ahh, that works except for the rain! I left it out overnight...it rained. It's out today and I'm hoping the sun will come out and dry it, but it has rained off and on all morning, sometimes quite heavily. Another reason for a need for a house. I have no place to block my knitting!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TV, to HS/COLLEGE, to SPORTS, to RANT and back to SPORTS:

Anyone watch "The Big Bang Theory"? My husband loves the show. I at first truly hated the show. It seems so technical and Sheldon's long winded answers and his voice and his sucking in of breath just drove me nutso. I literally had to walk out of the room because I couldn't deal with the noise of the show. And living in a 5th wheel makes avoiding the noise of the TV somewhat difficult. I had 3 choices, go outside, go upstairs to the bedroom, or put on my headphones, any of which worked just fine. Through behavior modification, I was able to tolerate the noise. Because of my new found tolerance, I actually paid attention to the show. Next thing I know, I'm laughing! What??? Now I love "The Big Bang Theory".

Everyone thinks Scott is such a nice guy and I'm the dominate half of this union. But really, Scott wedges in to get his way, as in the above example. Another example is hockey...Flyer's hockey. I can enjoy watching sports, but the holding interest are the actual players.

In high school was the only time it was pure team spirit. Go Knights!

In college, I was a soccer fan. I went to a bible college where football was considered too violent a game. I loved watching those muscular legs kick up in the air to make contact with the ball. Mm, Mm, Mm!

These photos from the yearbook do not do the legs justice. The guy stretching (bottom left) was shorter, but oh the thick muscular thighs he had...
His name is Cisco & I had a major crush on Cisco. I've always liked dark hair, dark eyes, and facial hair. Even to this day. Just look at my hubby!
Cisco was from Rhodesia, Africa (now Zimbabwe). He had a lovely English (as in England) accent which added to his luciousness.  Which leads me to a pet peeve I've posted about before. "African-Americans"...I really hate that term. Any time I see that listed as a race, then I'm "European-American", not White. Cisco is the perfect example. Cisco is a true African-American, but he is not Black.

That is why I REFUSE to use the term "African-American" to describe the Black race.

From the net:
MAY 20, 2013
The Rhetoric of Race in America
Why “African-American” is a Patronizing, Even Racist Term
by M. G. PIETY
"I do not like the expression “African-American.” It’s patronizing, condescending, and racist. It was coined, rumor has it, to help counteract the corrosive effect of racism on the self-esteem of black Americans. But how is that supposed to work? In practice, I would argue, the effect is unavoidably the reverse. White Americans are never referred to as “European-Americans,” so to identify black Americans as “African-American” is to suggest that they are only half American...." If you'd like the read the article  please go to the Counter Punch website.

Phew! How did that happen? I went from TV to sports to a major rant!
Let's get back on track.
What I was leading up to before I got distracted, is that Scott loves the Flyers. I never thought I'd be a hockey fan, with all the immature fighting during the game. But, early in our relationship, he would watch the games, while I would cross stitch. He would comment on players, plays, etc. Next thing I know, I am fascinated by the goal tender. First because he is dark haired, dark eyed and has facial hair. 2nd because he looked so sexy stretching prior to the game and 3rd, because I was impressed with the talent of having to stop that little puck go into the net.

Deb, Rod Brind'amour, Scott

I was as big a fan as Scott for a while. I wore Flyer's logo clothes, I bought an official Flyer's jersey and then went to practice games to get the jersey autographed by the player. But after about 3-4 years, my favorite goaltender, Ron Hextall retired. Then my favorite player, Rod Brind'amour was traded. I'm done. So much for my hockey spirit, but Scott did drag me into it for awhile.
~~~~~~~~~~~
COMPUTER TIP:
Control Z: How could I not have known about this shortcut??? While learning how to update our dog rescue website, Lynne told be "Control Z" to undo! Wow! I use this all the time now. Even if there is not an undo button in sight, just type "Control Z" and many times, what you just did will revert back to before.
I knew about these below, but maybe you haven't.
Highlight &
Control C: Copy
Control V: Paste
Control X: Cut
Control B: Bold
Control I: Italics
Control U: Underline
My Father let me know about the degree symbol
Alt 0176: °
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PRODUCT REVIEW:
Creaclip  $29.99 from Amazon
Unfortunately, my Mom did not use Scotch tape to cut my bangs. To even them out, she kept cutting, and cutting. Luckily, most times she took me to a beautician for the cut. I have inherited my Mom's lack of hairstyling talent.
I have let my hair grow out and was wearing it in a top bun, but it got so long that it was difficult to wear it that way. So for the price of one haircut, I bought the Creaclip. I watched many YouTube videos to give me confidence.

I bent over, brushed all my hair over my head to hang in front of me and cut away I did. The results? I'm thrilled with this product. I put layers in my hair and my waves returned. Although now to put my hair in a bun, I have a slight fly away look because of the layers, I'm still very happy with the results. So for the price of one haircut, I will now have free haircuts.