Eight feet

CONTENTS

COUNTRY LIFE

PETS

RV to HOUSE

CAMPGROUND REVIEW

DESTINATION REVIEW

For your viewing pleasure...

COUNTRY LIFE:
I'm still trying to get used to country life. We are having a difficult time finding someone to put up 6' fencing. Luckily our present 4 dogs don't challenge our 4' fence.
There is a definite divide between West Tennessee and East Tennessee. I was at the local veterinary office and oh my, my, the vet tech was such a pleasure to watch. In NJ, most vet techs I've come across are women. But here in Huntingdon the vet tech I had was a 20 something country boy. Call me a dirty old lady, but I was definitely enjoying his rear view while he was working on the computer. Tsk, tsk. You know that country cowboys like to wear their jeans a little snug and "my" vet tech was no exception. Like men say, "I may be old, but I'm not dead!" If he caught me looking, I could always just say...

Think he'd believe me? Did you know, Pinterest actually has a board called "Cowboy Butts"? You know I'm following that one!
Well, this country boy vet tech asked me a question and I just looked at him blankly. No, not because I was thinking of his butt! Just simply because I had no clue what he said. Excuse me? He says it's again. Still nothing registered. My brain is trying to very hard to unscramble his words. It's not working.

I finally had to confess to him that this Yankee doesn't understand his heavy southern accent. Woo hoo! That made him smile. The vet starts laughing and says "he's not from around here". He's from the other side of The River. Hmm, the Mississippi? Nope. I'm still not sure what river he was talking about, but vet tech was from Eastern TN, which supposedly is a whole other culture and accent.
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PETS:
Did you catch what I said about our dogs and fencing? Our FOUR dogs? Yep, we have grown by 8 feet, at least temporarily. We are fostering a sweet pair of 8 year old English Setters. They had been in another foster home for quite a while. They are wonderful dogs and I have no idea why they haven't been adopted! Lou & Ella arrived 10 days ago and settled right in like they've always been here. They are house trained, very loving and well behaved. Feisty Ella likes to claim her own space on the couch or bed, but she's all talk/growl and no action. We make sure to let her know that is not ladylike behavior. These are the first fosters that Scott has invited into our bed.

Steven Huneck

Ella always like to have body contact, while Lou wants to be near also. They are fine with a 4' fence, but are happy to stay inside all day as long as they are with their people. No food aggression, although they would love to finish off our other dog's food before they've had a chance to finish.
They are spayed and neutered, fully vetted, HW negative.
They are very easy care dogs and seem to adjust to a new home easily. Any of my blogger friends interested in adopting this pair or even one? Since they've always lived with other dogs, I think if you don't adopt both then you should already have another dog in the home for company. If at all interested, email me or go to Above & Beyond English Setter Rescue website to fill out an application.

Ella under Scott's knee, Lou in foreground

Lou (left), Ella (right)

 I'm really enjoying having a larger amount of dogs in the house again. Our own dogs are a little standoffish, so it's nice to have dogs that want to cuddle.
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RV to HOUSE TRANSITIONING:
I'm very happy to be living in a house again. I do regret not waiting until the fall to purchase. Just a short two months and we could have seen the Upper Peninsula. But we got all caught up in househunting. I was feeling very lazy, we didn't want to move as often, we lost interest in sightseeing. I think if we hadn't had such a miserable Winter between the cold in New Mexico and being stranded for 3 weeks in Fort Stockton, TX, then we may have traveled as we had planned and Wintered in FL. That may have extended our full time RV'ing for a while. But, if the truck's engine didn't blow, we would have arrived in TN 3 weeks earlier and gotten the house we were originally looking at. What's the point of "if's". Let's talk "NOW".

We still have a fairly empty house, although as you can see in the photo above, we did buy a sectional couch. This was mail order from Home Reserve. We could configure it any way we like.

 

Our layout

Notice our furniture before, a couple of lawn chairs and the easy chair from the RV.
We can also add to it if we want to go larger/longer. What sold us on this particular brand is that the cushion covers are all washable. They zip off, throw in washer, zip back on. This also means, that I can make my own covers if the dogs really wear and dirty them, or purchase more covers separately.  The seat cushion sections lift up for storage. That's a great place to throw clutter when we get unexpected guests, or a place for my yarn stash!

The couch came in multiple boxes and we had to put it together. We spent about 4 hours completely setting it up. Home Reserve does an excellent job of packing, shipping, quality control, instructions, etc. With each section, there is an instruction booklet, a pair of work gloves and a foam sandpaper block. I would highly recommend this company.

I called the 4 hour assembly, "quality time" with my husband. A couple of differences of opinions, but overall a memory made.
I like knowing what's behind the fabric and how it is built.
The dogs certainly are enjoying all the off the hardwood floor area. There's enough room for EVERYONE on the couch!

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CAMPGROUND REVIEW:
Lost River Campground - N. Woodstock, NH
Our rating for tent camping, 5 out of 5
We can't rate RV sites since we were not RV'rs at the time of visit.
RV's up to 32 feet.
Some full hook up sites.
Very wooded.
A lot of things to do in the area.

I was speaking of  the artist Stephen Huneck earlier. He is only with us in spirit now. About 10 years ago, when we were still tent camping, we stayed at Lost River Campground in NH. It is not big rig friendly, but if you have a smaller RV, this is a lovely, very wooded campground. Many sites are along the flowing brook. We loved camping here, but it was an 8 hour drive from NJ, so our vacation days were wasted in travel time.

Lyla was about 6 months old. Her first camping trip.

Ryley & Lyla

 There was a beautiful pine forest area right next to our site. We would let our Flat Coated Retriever, and our Irish Setter Ryley, have a blast running through there in the morning.

All the comforts of home?

DESTINATION REVIEW :
Dog Mountain - Saint Johnsbury, VT
Our rating 5 out of 5
Stephen Huneck's "Dog Mountain" was about 45 minutes away in Vermont. If you are a dog lover, this is a great place to visit. Mr. Huneck was in an accident that left him seriously ill with a long recovery time. His black lab at the time was his savior and gave him the will to survive. He turned his 150 acres into Dog Mountain and built a dog chapel, an art gallery, a gazebo and hiking paths.

Memory wall where you write your pet's name you've lost and sentiment

When we went, it was free (donations accepted). I did not know if it still existed since the artist's death but looking at the sight, they still have activities up there.
There are no leash laws on Dog Mountain. Owners are encouraged to let their dogs run free and enjoy the land and water.

The art gallery can be pricey, but it is fun to look at all the whimsical doggie items. Check out the bathroom. The faucet is a dog's mouth if I remember.
I ended up buying a t-shirt for $15. and framing it instead of buying a print for $35.00.

Chance, our Flat Coated Retriever loved the water! Best dog I ever had!

Chance was in doggie heaven on earth!

Lyla's first swim. She was not happy.

I'm sure there are places to RV, but that was before "our time". New England is a lovely area to explore, vacation, relax.

So it seems, I can still find things to blog about...

Food, Friend and Fido

TRAVELER'S WOODS of New England

Bernardston, MA 01337

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RV LIFE:

As my post title states, we've been enjoying eating with & the company of our friend from NJ, now relocated in MA. Have enjoyed the jubilance of her two yellow labs also.  Devin has found a playmate for the week and a fenced yard to run around in!

Having to plan around a working schedule brings us back to the realization, of how lucky we are to be retired at a fairly young age and have all our time free.

Our friend still owns a beautiful home in NJ, custom renovated to her taste. It was quite a surprise to see the house she bought in MA. Definitely not a home, just a house. But this will not be her final house, so the best is yet to be.

We've gone out to dinner twice together and she will be dining at our home/RV this week. Scott plans to make his delicious scallop dinner in a white wine sauce.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and it will be nice enough to eat outside instead of cramped in the RV.

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ELECTRONIC WOES RESOLVED & PRODUCT REVIEW:

Computer: I had mentioned in an earlier post that my computer died and could not be revived even by Computer Dr. Scott. So I purchased an HP LAPTOP. 

Decided to downsize since we are living in an RV. Maybe I'll got back to a regular computer if we ever settle in a house again. But to be honest, I am VERY HAPPY with this laptop.  I love the option of being able to take it to to bed or in the easy chair or outside. The battery life is between 6-8 hours which is plenty!  I like that I can close the lid when not using it to protect the keyboard from Lyla's paws. She tends to put her paws on the dining room table, where my computer is, when I go outside, so she can watch me out the window.

I love having the extra space under the table. Where my CPU used to be, I now have my sewing machine stored. I also don't have to keep unhooking my monitor and placing on the bed for travel. 

So besides the convenience of a laptop, I actually like the workings of the laptop.  

The keyboard is comfortable and I can type quite fast on it. 

The screen is large enough for me to be able to have multiple windows open and switch easily between them.

The computer itself is way fast enough for me.

Has plenty of data storage space.

I think the only negative is that the USB ports are all on the sides and towards the FRONT of the laptop. I use a track wheel/mouse instead of the touch pad. So to use the USB ports on the right side, I have to be very careful not to bump them while using my mouse.  It would have been smarter to put the USB ports near the side back or in the back.

But overall, this is a great computer and I'm not sure I'll go back to a big, clunky model again.

Direct TV/Tivo: We are technically on our fifth satellite dish since our full time life began 1 year ago.  3 blew over and broke. The 4th was the WINEGARD CARRYOUT from Camping World. This little satellite was convenient, easy to store and worked adequate. So we thought we were finally all set...and then...our Tivo receiver died. Scott had already replaced the power supply once. But this time we decided to get a new unit, since our non-working Tivo was purchased in 2003 and was really obsolete now. 

We ended up switching from Tivo to Direct TV DVR. We really love Tivo, and it was a difficult decision to switch over. This meant having to learn the DVR programming and would it be as user friendly as Tivo? Even though our 2nd Tivo, in the bedroom still worked, we had to have compatible units, which meant purchasing a 2nd DVR and of course, since we were upgrading, we now have high definition also, which means we needed the high def satellite unit, so our Winegard Carryout, although in great working condition, is of no use to us. Anyone want to purchase our Winegard for $60.00? 

Why did we switch to Direct TV DVR? Mainly because they offer MORE recording options. Tivo allows recording 2 shows at once and able to watch a recorded show at the same time. Our DTV/DVR allows FIVE shows to be recorded while watching a pre-recorded show. I still like Tivo's programming for the most part but the DTV/DVR is fairly easy to navigate and learn. I like the screen on screen that allows you to look at the menu/list and what you are currently watching is still heard and seen in the top corner. There are pluses to both and would recommend either.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Our rating 4.5 out 5.  Really deserves a 5 out of 5, but I'm too cheap sometimes.


Although pricey and not our usual type of restaurant. I would have worn a nicer shirt instead of an Irish Setter T-shirt if I had known. It was a great experience (especially since our friend treated us). We do not avoid pricey restaurants, but tend to like a more relaxed down home atmosphere.
Lovely historic New England brick building. Didn't expect such a quality upscale establishment.
Wait staff very attentive, knowledgeable and pleasant.
BLOODY MARY: Average
POMEGRANATE MARTINI: Excellent!!!! I want to go back just for that!!!!!
CHEESE ASSORTMENT APPETIZER: Pricey for the amount of cheese provided, but very nice assortment of 4 cheeses. A brie type, aged cheddar, blue cheese, and another hard cheese. Crostini supplied in mini bucket. Glazed almonds and dried cherries garnished the cheeses. The aged cheddar was the standout for me.
DIM SUM APPETIZER: Impressive display of 4 bamboo steam containers stacked. Most of the 4 items were plentiful and delicious. A little disappointed in the shrimp over pasta. But the other 3 were tasty.
SCALLOPS WITH LENTILS: Absolutely delicious!!!!! Scallops were sweet and cooked perfectly. Roasted corn nibblets as a side and the sauce over the lentils was amazing! A LIGHT Mascarpone cream based sauce with a touch of tart sweetness (Apple Cider reduction). Amazing combo. It was actually an appetizer, but we ordered as a meal.
RIB EYE: Average+. Cooked medium rare as requested. Roasted corn nibblets on the side very nice. Mashed potatoes, excellent. Arugula salad on the plate also, but lacked any dressing, so was more for show.
SPRING CRISP: Blood orange and blueberry served warm in a crock with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Very tasty.
For the price of the meals, I think it would have been nice to have a salad included.
Would definitely return even if we had to pay for it instead of being "treated".

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STORE REVIEW: 

Bernardston Farmers Supply:  Stopped here mainly for dog food. I ended up with grain free dog treats on sale, parrot food, and a great price on Taste of the Wild grain free dry dog food. Price was about $4.00 less for a 30# bag than where we purchased all over the country.

Great assortment of dog training devices, thunder shirts (which are difficult to find, except on line), variety of health products, shampoos, etc. 

Great store for dog supplies.

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MEDICAL ALERT:

Remember  this the next time you have major surgery  and need a blood transfusion.

This is good  to know...

Australian  Medical Association researchers have found  that patients needing blood transfusions may benefit from  receiving chicken  blood  rather  than human blood.

It  tends to make the men cocky and the women lay  better.

So sorry. I'm on my second glass of wine and am feeling quite silly.