Country Life

CONTENTS

COUNTRY LIVING

LIFE HACK

BAKERY REVIEW

RV PARK Revisited

BOOK REVIEW

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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!
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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.
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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.
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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

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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.

What have your done with the Buskirks?

"a smile from a politician served the same function as the noisy tail of a rattlesnake."

Excerpt from Changing Woman

Yea, it's been a while. I just think of ourselves as "normal" people now. Why would anyone except our parents want to read a blog about a retired couple living in Tennessee? I have been pleasantly surprised at the many friends that have said they look forward to my continued blogging.

How weird to not have a section called "RV Life". Our RV is a mess! We have been emptying it as we need things. Our solar panels are finally being used! The RV is not hooked up to electric. We keep the fans going so the RV isn't so horribly stuffy and we use the lights to look in the nooks and crannies of the RV to find things to bring into the house. I'm making an "RV pack list" for items that need to be replaced since bringing them into the house.
We've been in our 1500 square foot house for a month and I'm so glad we didn't go large. I am so overly concerned about bringing too much "stuff" into the house. Scott & I have had two arguments since moving in. We RARELY argue, so 2 in a week's time in very unusual.
I'm so afraid of having too much in too little of a space.

We've spent a lot of money. There are certain things we won't compromise on.  Our two large expenditures being $1000.00 on a mattress, $1000.00 on a sectional, pet friendly couch. Reviews will follow once we've used them for a while.
What a great feeling to be able to order items on line and not worry about where we'll be and if the RV park accepts mail delivery.

I'm quite disappointed in the lack of yard sales and the disappointing flea markets and thrift stores. I was hoping to purchase most of our furniture second hand. The Goodwill was mostly clothes. The household items were just piled up and no furniture. The Habitat for Humanity "ReStore" was very disappointing, although I did see a couple of lamps, but Scott nixed them. The flea markets are either dirty junk yards or more organized and way too high priced. So after a month of hoping for yard sale bargains, it looks like we'll have to purchase or make pieces ourselves.

I am loving our property and very happy we made the transition to a house again.
This wasn't much of a post, but it's a start. Things are going well.
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AUDIOBOOK REVIEW:
The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

There is probably some great ending to all this talk, talk and more talk.
The plot was really interesting, but then the years rolled on without much progress. Is he guilty? Is he falsely convicted? Does he have an alter ego? What is the real story. I'm curious, but not enough to keep listening. Couldn't finish.

BOOK REVIEW:
Changing Woman by Aimee Thurlo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Having visited the Navajo nation and learned about Hogans and the Dineh, I really enjoyed that aspect of this book. I enjoyed the main character who is a female Navajo police officer. It's interesting to see here deal with both the traditionalist trying to keep things as they have always been and not wanting to lose their uniqueness, and also living a more modern or "anglo" life.
The drama itself kept my interest and I look forward to reading the next book in this series.

We live here????

This post will be "all over the place". If I try to organize my thoughts too much, I'll never get a post out. So bear with me until things slow down and living in a house becomes normal.

RV LIFE:
Oh the disgusting mess our RV is in!!!! We've just been transferring items a little at a time from the RV to the house as we need them. The RV is stuffy. Scott has the solar panels charging the batteries, so we are able to keep the fans running in the RV. But what a mess. The cabinets are open, the bed is unmade, the plastic storage boxes are in the middle of the floor waiting to be sifted through. What should stay in the RV and what should go into the house. And when it goes into the house, will we need that in the RV when we go on a trip? Lists for things we need for the house, lists for what we need for the RV, a list of what we'll have to pack when we decide to travel.

At least our now neglected RV has a safe place to rest. There is a short steep incline up our driveway. Scott assured me our truck could pull the RV up that. So the day we do pull the RV to the house, Scott is a nervous wreck. He tells me he's so nervous about getting the RV up the driveway, he feels like throwing up. Now I'm just furious!!! He assured me prior to purchasing the house, it would be no problem. I would not have bought the house if there was a problem storing the RV on our property.

We all made it up the driveway. Just a tiny scrape and our Ford F-350 didn't even break a sweat, unlike Scott. He knew "the wrath of Debbie" would be upon him if things didn't work out.
The RV fits beautifully between two of our garages and there's even room to let the slides out.

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BROWSING THE WWW:

Actually, my Father sent me this link to the tallest flag pole displaying our American Flag. It is amazing that this red, white and blue cloth can stir so much emotion. Of course, it's because of what it stands for. Our freedom and that freedom is because of the sacrifices made by families whose loved ones have fought for our freedom. I cannot imagine what it is like to be dropped off in a strange country and then have to fight for your life and kill people that are fighting for what they think is right also. And on top of all that...many are not even of legal age to drink, yet they can carry a gun, kill and defend our country. It is a necessary evil. My heart goes out to all those that have been sent away from their country to fight to keep our country free. Thank you.
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TENNESSEE LIFE, our little piece of heaven:
We really live here??? Every morning I can sit out on our covered porch and look out over the lawn and into the woods. Our property is full of birds and bugs and lizards.

Checking out the new "digs". And no, Devin did not "mark" anything.

I'm panicking about bringing "stuff" into the house. Scott is all gung ho. He bought a dish drainer. I had a hissy fit. I don't want that ugly plastic thing on the counter. Scott also bought a small plastic garbage can for the bathroom. I probably could have gotten one at Goodwill for $1.00. Wait!!!! Scott wants to go to home depot and start buying gardening things, and household things.
W-A-I-T!!!!!!! Geeze, give me a chance to get to Goodwill. Some things do not have to be new!!!! Nor does it have to be now!!!! We rarely argue, but we've already had two arguments about signing up for a landline and internet. He was going to sign up for land line without long distance. Why bother? We RARELY use the phone and when we do, it is to call out of area. I actually yelled at him NO! Relax! Wait! We've been living in an RV for 3 years and have done just fine! Just wait and let us settle in a little and we'll realize what we really need and don't.
As I write, Scott is already out shopping. I can see his purchases over $100.  in my email. I get notifications from the credit card company. I really am quite stressed about bringing in things that are not needed.
You can all keep Scott in your thoughts and send him calming vibes to deal with me. I don't think I'm all that pleasant to live with right now.

Scott is not good with money. I was surprised to hear him tell our realtor that if it wasn't for me, he would never have considered retiring at 55. He didn't think about saving or investing. I am quite conservative in my spending on most things. I think before I buy. Many times I see something I want and I'll give it a few days. If I keep thinking about it, then I must really want it, but many times I don't bother purchasing that item.  I do have a weakness for Silk & Alpaca hand dyed yarns though. Scott's weakness is electronics.

Scott went out two days ago to buy temporary fencing and a lawn mower. Surprising he did a great job! He originally was going to buy a new riding mower, but happened to pass buy a lawnmower service and stopped in. Jeff (owner) was a real nice southern gent. He happened to have a John Deere on consignment. It's 10 years old, but only 300 engine hours. It was sitting in a garage for many years and he got it back in good working condition. This mower cost $4000. in 2004. We got it for $1500. I was a little nervous about this "deal". He couldn't take a charge, because it was consignment. He did take a check, but no receipt given. He said he would deliver it, free of charge, the next day. Hmmmm. Let's hope so.
All's good. His word was good and we now have a new toy for Scott.

We put up 400 feet of temporary fencing. Our dogs don't challenge a fence, so 4 foot high and not real sturdy is ok, until the foster dogs start to arrive.

The woods in the back is ours also. We plan to thin it out a little so we can walk easily through the woods down to the lake (which I haven't seen yet!). 

And what do our dogs do now that they have freedom to run around???? Typical Lyla, just lazes around and watches.

 Go play!!! You have a huge yard now!

Some things never change. Devin watches over the yard in the blue chair and watches what we are doing inside on his green chair.

We are starting to feel so "country". A Green and yellow, John Deere riding mower, installed wire fencing, getting to know the locals, etc.
I can't believe we live here! Come for a visit. We have room for your RV.
Enjoy the view of our place below.

Front yard

Side front yard

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CRAFTS: 
I have not had much time to do any crafts. I knit in the truck when we travel 30 minutes to Jackson for shopping. We actually sat together, each in our own lawn chair in the living room and watched a movie and of course I knit during the movie.
This area is quilting country. Maybe I'll start quilting? There is a nice quilting/fabric store in town that invites you in to sit and chat and meet local ladies and find out what everyone is making and groups to join and lessons offered. I sure do miss my NJ Knitting groups though.

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Thank you all for your congrats on the house and encouraging me to still blog. Hopefully, I'll find enough things in Tennessee to blog about and you'll want to come visit and experience a little bit of Tennessee life with me.

Too tired to blog...

Just a quickie to let friends know, all is good. Just too tired to blog.
Things are going very well with the new house. I'm more happy everyday with our decision.
Just so sore and tired from moving and fencing.
I have gone from a sedentary RV life to working around our property.
Just walking up and down the hallway all day is at least 20x's more activity than living in the RV.

Last day :(

Parkers Crossroads RV - Yuma, TN

July 14 - 15, 2014

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RV LIFE:

We are once again home owners. The big difference this time is that we are NOT house poor, we are not working, we do NOT have high taxes, we cannot see our neighbors and we are NOT IN NEW JERSEY!
We had a bit of a stressful time yesterday.
While RV'ing we have had a Capital One 360 internet only checking account (formerly ING). This has served us well. We pull money out via an "All Points" ATM. If we need to make a deposit, we took a photo of the check or mailed it in. We also still have an account in a regular bank in NJ. With on line banking, this has not been an issue. We have transferred money to and from these accounts from all over the USA. No problems, until this past Friday.
I made sure to plan ahead for the settlement money for the closing of the house.  Taking into account the weekend, it should be delivered Monday morning. Our closing is Tuesday. All's good. Since the only way to do this was through a cashier's check overnighted, I made sure we had sufficient time to have the money by closing. In fact, the money would be received the day before closing.
I receive an email from Capital One stating the cashier's check has been sent out overnight delivery on Friday 7/11 & UPS tracking # included. I am to receive an email when the package is delivered.
Monday was our last travel day from KY to TN. After arriving and setting up, I settle down to check email and make sure the check was delivered. Hmmm, no notification. I go to the UPS site and check the tracking #. 9:30am tracking registered. 1pm tracking voided!!!!!What???? I go to my on line account to see if the money was withdrawn and I'm locked out & my account is frozen! it is 3:30 in the afternoon. I call the bank, and explain the situation and then sort of yell that this is not my fault and I need the money by tomorrow. Someone messed up. I was never sent an email stating the cashier's check was cancelled, nor did I receive a phone call. And yes, I checked my spam folder.
The bank decided that this was too large amount to transfer when my transfer address was not from my home address computer. Well, duh! I've been transferring money from around the country for three years without issue.
OK, I'll make a long story short. An exception had to be made and they agreed to wire the money to the closing bank in the morning (too late today). They could not guarantee receipt until 5pm. It could get there sooner, but no guarantee. I call Amy at the closing office for the info for transfer. She was so sweet and said no worries, the bank is next door and the money will be there. Amy was just wonderful.
And yes, the money was there bright and early in the morning! All is good. We now have a house again with a dream piece of property.

I'm about to cry! 

I really do want to have a house with a real kitchen. 

I'm looking forward to our covered porch.

I'm happy our dogs will now have space to run.

I'm happy I won't have to pack up my laundry and save quarters for the laundromat.

But do I REALLY want to settle down??? I've got to do some soul searching and go through the stages of grief. We will no longer have the freedom of the road. Even if we travel, we still have the responsibility of the house. Is it ok? Is the lawn being mowed? Is the house being broken into?

I hope I will learn to enjoy the most of both worlds. 

We researched for 6 years about eventually living the RV Full time lifestyle. We waited for retirement,we purged, we sold our house in NJ (yeah!!!!). Our 3 years of RV/FT has flown by!!!! We "could" continue, but then I could see myself thinking of staying put more often and wanting a larger kitchen.

RV'ing has made me very lazy. I would only go hiking during the most optimal weather conditions, which is low humidity, not over 80°, not too steep, and so on. 

I very rarely cook. Only 1 person at a time in the kitchen. Scott is the main cook. I spent many hours in the RV and the only change of scenery was from the living room to the bedroom and if  "perfect" weather, I'd sit outside. A lot of sitting doing computer work, a lot of sitting while crafting. We lost our enthusiasm for sightseeing. We spent too much time in the SouthWest. We had a terrible Winter stuck in the RV trying to stay cozy and not stir crazy. Constant moving causes constant repairs needed. 

It's time to settle down for a while. As I've said before, we are young enough that in 5 - 10 years, we may do this all over again with renewed enthusiasm!

With all the reasons we're settling down, I still feel a let down. All the years of dreaming, all the years of planning, all the years of waiting and finally living the RV Full time dream come true, and now it's over. 

We hope, if I can keep my foster dog numbers under control to see the Upper Peninsula in the Summer of 2015. By then, we'll be comfortable in the house, know our home town area and may feel comfortable enough to leave our home in the care of neighbors. Time will tell. 

Tonight is our last night as RV Full timers. We are no longer part of that special group. Sigh. What will I blog about? 

Thank you fellow RV'rs for following us in our travels.
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BOOK REVIEW:
Murder at Pride Lodge: A Kyle Callahan Mystery by Mark McNease
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Once I got passed the surprise and acceptance that this is a gay based book, I really enjoyed this murder mystery.
Don't be put off by the gay pride reference in the title. This book is not about gay rights, or flamboyant gay exhibitionist. This is a murder mystery. The references to gay couples are just matter of fact, no hot sex scenes. I easily accepted the characters and liked the character development. Now that we are past that, let's talk about the murder mystery. I enjoyed the twists and the who done it possibilities. Only a couple of items that were unrealistic. A body is found at the bottom of an empty pool. The person was a recovering alcoholic. For a good part of the book, everyone is questioning whether the person had a relapse and killed himself. On and on, the question was brought up. In any unusual death, an autopsy would be performed with bloodwork. That drinking or not drinking question should have been resolved quickly by a test for blood alcohol level.
Being brought up in NJ and visiting New Hope, PA often, I could imagine this lovely B&B as a wonderful, romantic weekend away. I will most likely read the next book in this series. It solved the murder, but definitely had a open ending for curiosity of what is to come.

Whiskey Rebellion by Liliana Hart
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Thank goodness this was free. I just couldn't finish. This story caught my interest from the first page...drama and humor combined. The story line was really good and I really wanted to find out what happened, but I CAN'T STAND THE MAIN CHARACTER, ADDISON!!!!!
Oh my gosh, what a DITZ, an airhead, so irritating!!! I have no patience for a person that causes their own trouble. And Addison is a high school teacher????
She breaks the rules and wonders why she gets into trouble?
She takes a 2nd job as a stripper and wonders how word gets out in this small town.
She eats a banana split while driving through morning traffic. Not a cone you can eat with one hand, a banana split, that takes a utensil. She cuts people off, almost gets into an accident.
She can't keep promises or secrets. Ugh! Steer clear of this immature 30 yr old. She sounds like a high school student herself and even then an immature high school student.
If the author had just toned down Addison's antics, I would have really enjoyed the book. A little bit of a klutz or airhead is fine, but one right after the other and her inability to understand why things happen to her was just too much.
As I was reading, I said to myself, oh no, here it comes. I can see another mini disaster about to happen because Addison will make the wrong aka STUPID decision. If she does, I'm done with this book. She did. It was very anti-climatic to only be able to delete this book off my Kindle. If this was a paperback, I would have enjoyed tearing it apart in the same childish manner of Addison.

Get real!

Columbus-Belmont State Park - Columbus, KY

June 2 - 15, 2014

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CONTENTS
PET PEEVE
CRAFTS
BOOK REVIEW
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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??
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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Nuttin much

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

James H. Muehlbauer

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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

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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.

BRANSON STAGECOACH CG - Branson, MO: RV Park Review

RV PARK REVIEW:

Branson Stagecoach Campground - Branson, MO

June 16 - 29, 2014

Site#49   Price $22./night

Our rating 3.75 out of 5

This is just an average RV park, but because of the price and the nice owners, I gave it a slightly above average rating. Also, if we had been in one of the middle of the park sites, which are much nicer, the rating could have been higher.

Discounts: Passport America honored for the whole 2 week stay.

Sites: Sites vary in size and quality. Our site was very tight, with no shade. But we were very close to the grassy area for the dogs, which made it enjoyable for Devin. Other sites were larger & shaded. They had concrete pads, with river rock landscaping which was very nice.

Hook ups: FHU. Really great water pressure.

Bathrooms: Private, large and clean.

Laundry: Beautiful!!!!!! The laundry was a separate building with about 8 washer/dryers, tables to fold clothes, an iron and board for our use. There was a book exchange, as well as a comfy couch and TV. 

Pets: Very pet friendly. Yet another park that has plenty of room to set up simple fencing for dog play. Lots of grassy area, with doggie bags provided.

WiFi: Multiple available, included. Worked fairly well.

Verizon Internet: Good.

Sprint Internet: No signal

Satellite: Plenty of open sky.

Verizon cell: 4 bars

AT&T cell: 4 bars

Book Exchange: In the laundry room

Activities: There is a beautiful pool that is made to look more like a pond among the rocks. Also a hot tub that is trying to look like it's in a natural setting. A nice touch.

There is an onsite restaurant, called Rosie's Tumbleweed Outpost Grill,which I reviewed in a prior post.

Mail delivery accepted: yes

Area/Town/Sights: Well, duh! It's Branson! Lots of touristy things to do. Musical shows, variety shows, Silver Dollar City, riding the ducks (trucks that are also boats), Table Rock Lake activities, College of the Ozarks, wineries...

Overall a nice park, especially for the price and if you want to be in the Branson area, but not amid the chaos, hustle and bustle of Branson.

The trouble with dually's

Branson Stagecoach Campground - Branson, MO 

June 16 - 29, 2014

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RV LIFE:
Now why didn't I think of that!

What a great idea!!!! Take a photo of where you've been in each State. Instead of just crossing out the state, or filling in the blank with a marker, cut out your own photo in the shape of the State and tack it on the map! I so wish I had seen this 3 years ago!!! I may try to search out my photos and try my hand at this anyway.

When we first were planning our RV life, and after we decided to live in a 5th wheel instead of trailer or motorhome, we knew we would have to get a truck to pull the 5'vr. Scott was totally opposed to a dually. For those who may not know (as I didn't know at the time), a dually is a pick up truck that has 6 wheels instead of two. Two wheels in front and 2 sets of double wheels in the back. This makes for a very wide vehicle. Since this would be not only our towing vehicle, but also our run around town vehicle, we did not want the bulkiness, which would cause problems maneuvering around small towns and fitting into parking places.
So our plan was a 250 pick up, with crew cab. We ended up with a 350 crew cab, long bed dually. Even though parking is a PIA, I'm so glad we went with it. I feel more secure with the double wheels in back and also the extra power of the 350. Maybe if we weren't fulltiming and pulling so much weight, a smaller vehicle would have been fine. With all the above being said. Look what I found on my windshield the other day!

Here's proof of the problem parking a dually truck. "Please keep vehicle between the lines." Really? Maybe the lines should be spaced just a touch further apart.

Hey parents and grandparents! Here's a very cool idea for the youngins. I found this from Land of Nod. No, I wasn't LOOKING for children's items. There are no children in my life and that is fine with me.

How cool is this!!! My brother and I used to love to make takes in our bedrooms. We'd take the blankets off our beds and use chairs to drape them over to make our own tent. Do you notice, there's even a fake fire? It looks like a pillow. Oh to be young again. But I still would not have had this tent. My parents couldn't afford it.
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TN HOME:
While doing a little window shopping in old town Branson, I picked up my first purchase for the house.

Sure, I could make this, but for $25.00 I thought it was worth saving the labor. I'll have plenty of other things I can make. I plan on decorating the TN house with wood & stone and experiment with splashes of color on the 2nd hand furniture I'll repaint. I'm usually fairly conservative in my color choices, but I've seen so many samples on Pinterest of people with a unicolor room, but bam! there's a pink chest of drawers, or bam! those pillows are orange! It's only a can or two of paint. I can always repaint to a safer tone if need be.
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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
Billy Bob's Dairyland - Branson, MO
Our rating 3.5 out of 5
Just a "fast food joint" next to a gas station.
As I was searching Yelp as I usually do when we arrive at a new place, Billy Bob's had very good reviews. Scott loves hamburgers and these were supposed to be good. I've grown to enjoy cheeseburgers now. I used to prefer hot dogs at cookouts, but now, give me a burger. That is more of Scott's influence on me.
The burgers were a hefty size & juicy. You can get practically whatever you want on them. The platter came with a side of fries. The fries just looked like crinkle cut frozen, but boy were they good! I think it is something about what kind of oil they are fried in. We also ordered onion rings. Again, the batter was no big deal, but there was some subtle flavor that I think is from the oil.
Even though I was full, I ordered a malted milkshake to go. We wanted a Black & White (vanilla milkshake with chocolate syrup mixed in), but the waitress looked at us cross eyed. We both settled for chocolate malts. I was very disappointed in the shake. First, I did not taste any malt and second, it was so thick, that it was more like a Wendy's frosty or soft serve. There was no way to slurp it up through a straw. I ended up putting it in the freezer for later.
Since I heard about their fried pies, I also ordered a peach fried pie to go. Now that was a delicious snack. It was like a peach filled empanada or similar to a McD's pie. Really great crust that was deep fried. Not a heart healthy place to eat, but I would return definitely for the fried pies.

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MOVIE REVIEW:

Cinderella Man - 2005

Russell Crowe, Renee Zellweger, Paul Giamatti

Our rating 4.5 out of 5

With the temperatures being in the high 80's/90's and high humidity, I've been spending my days inside. Of course Scott almost always has to have the TV on. So I sat through a movie or two with him.

What I'll remember most about this movie is the GREAT ACTING!!!!! 

This is basically a boxing movie, but it is also so much more. The movie is set in the Great Depression years. It gave us an inkling of what life was like. Begging for jobs, borrowing from friends, not enough food and going without to feed your own children. In spite of the down and out times, the love that holds the family together.

What a man will do for his family. Work at whatever he can, no matter how he feels. Beg or go on public assistance at the cost of friends feeling sad for your current state.

A true story about a has been boxer, and then his comeback because of the strength from his family.

I concentrated on my knitting during the fight scenes. I just can't handle that. The movie is a definite roller coaster, emotional roller coaster that is.

Renee Z. did a phenomenal job of portraying the loyal, loving wife and mother in dire circumstances. I truly could feel her making the most of a sad situation.

And Paul G. as the trainer, manager was also wonderful. I could feel my chest tighten with emotion as he fought for his friend's reputation in the boxing world.

From cow to cone

Branson Stagecoach Campground - Branson, MO 

June 16 - 29, 2014

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CONTENTS

RV LIFE

CRAFTS

TN HOME

GIRL TALK

SIGHTS

FARMER'S MARKET REVIEW

RESTAURANT REVIEW

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RV LIFE:
We are still at the Cedar Creek Rally in Branson, MO. I'm starting to get socialized out. Our fellow Creekers (Cedar Creek RV owners) are in no way overbearing or needy. In fact most days, I spend inside with just socializing in the morning and evening. But that is totally enough for me. My smile muscles are aching.
Scott bought small rack of ribs that he's been wanting to smoke in his Cobb Grill, but every day there is either a large breakfast or dinner to mess up his plans.
Don't you love pot luck dinners??? There is usually always at least one dish that I've never had before. It's also fun to try the variety of the ole' standbys made slightly different by people from other parts of the country. There is usually some kind of pasta casserole, corn pudding, potato salad or deviled eggs with a person's own twist on it.
The rally hasn't been as organized as I'd like or as organized as the other rallies I've been to, but we're still glad to be here. Normally, we are given a welcome bag or at least a printout of the schedule for the week. We weren't handed a schedule (sort of) until Wednesday. A book discussion? When? What book? I didn't know. Crafting with Creekers? When? Where? I found out at breakfast, that the crafts were happening that same day right after breakfast. Things seem to be posted on the Cedar Creek Forum, but I don't want to search through Forums to figure out what's going on. There's gotta be a better way.

I keep thinking of the little conveniences of living back in a house again. I will always have an awning aka covered porch out and ready for me no matter what the whether. No worries about having to roll it up when the wind kicks up. As I think of these little conveniences, that does not mean that the RV life is bad. We have been very happy with the small inconveniences of living in an RV and reaping the huge benefits of little responsibility, travel wherever we'd like, no lawn mowing, quick whole house/RV clean up, meeting new friends, and dog rescue contacts. I would not trade our 3 years of  RV life, and in the back of my mind, I see us returning to that life again!
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CRAFTS: Crafting with Creekers
Toilet paper roll crafting

I almost didn't participate in this craft. But I'm glad I did. I really like the way this turned out! My tastes are simple and I would not be ashamed to hang this on the wall of not only the RV but our house also.  This was a very simple design. If you do a search for "Toilet paper roll wall art", you'll see some nice work.

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TN HOME:
As I window shop via the internet, one thing leads to another. Our home will definitely be furnished with 2nd, 3rd, or more hand items. I buy used cars, we bought a used RV. The savings are tremendous if you just purchase a gently used model. So, I've been on the lookout for Goodwill and Salvation Army stores nearby. The more I search, the more I find out about our new home area. Coming from living in congested NJ for 54 years, living in the "boonies" will be quite an adjustment. Full time RV'ing has helped to prepare us though. We have stayed many times in areas with little around, but nature. We've had to drive 30-45 minutes to find a decent grocery store. There have been times when I never left the RV park for 2 weeks. I am fine living off what's in the pantry. Scott, on the other hand, has to always have milk in the fridge and more options for dinner. Scott is the one that will take the drive to find groceries, and I reap the rewards.
In looking for 2nd hand stores, I have so far found plenty in our area!!!! I am thrilled that we are in the country, but within a half hour, there is a decent sized town with big box stores and 2nd hand stores.
I discovered another blogger who loves to renew used items. Second Wind of Texas was posting about ReStore, which is the Habitat for Humanity retail store. They not only have gently used items, but they also have new items. I put in my new zip code 38321 and search for the nearest ReStore. I have been assuming that most things I will have to travel 2 hours to Nashville or 1.5 hours to Memphis. I have been THRILLED to find most things I'm looking for are in Jackson, "just" 30 miles away. That will become our norm to drive 30 miles to go into town. In NJ, if we drive 30 minutes, we'd be going through 15 towns!
So far, I have found a ReStore, Goodwill, Hobby Lobby, Big Lots, & Walmart. There is a smaller town of Huntingdon about 15 miles from home. It will be fun to explore and learn our new area.

Just another little thing that feels good, is my REAL zip code. Now when I sign up for something on a website or when a cashier asks for my zip code, I can be proud to state 38321, instead of a TX zip code that I don't really relate to.
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GIRL TALK:
Help! They've fallen and can't get up!
Any guys reading my blog, you are forewarned, this is a girl subject. If you want to eavesdrop and maybe find out how to better understand the females in your life, read on.
A Little Off Color is a recent blog I've found and love. She doesn't post often, but she is raw and honest. She is a struggling stand up comedian, so her posts are usually spiced with humor along with her struggles of life and emotions.

Let 'em go! 
Supersized Sunday
     Mammogram Monday
          TaTas Tuesday
               Whip 'em Out Wednesday
                    Thrill him Thursday
                         Free 'em up Friday
                              Sagging Saturday





I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. I've said it before...he knows how to deal with my moods, he accepts my weight gain, he accepts my aging face. I feel very loved even though many times I avoid the mirror and when I do look in the mirror, I'm not happy with what I see. Even if I lost weight, I'd still have droopy eyelids that are no long large enough to hold eye shadow. Even if I lost weight, I'd still have the ugly skin tags that seem to appear. Even if I lost weight, I'd still have droopy tatas.

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SIGHTS:
College of the Ozarks aka "Hard Work U"- Pt. Lookout, MO (near Branson)
When most people think of Branson, MO, they think of all the music and variety shows, or tourist trap. I avoid the main strip if possible. I've seen enough shows to not bother with any more. But there are a couple of restaurants that may force you on to the strip.

We are in an RV park about 5 miles from the "wildlife" center of Branson. So we are enjoying the views. We are about a mile from Table Rock State Park, and we avoid the traffic.
Scott eyed a billboard advertising home made ice cream. Thank you honey! So off I went to find it. I'm sure glad I did. It opened up a whole new place to visit...College of the Ozarks.

The home made ice cream is made from cow to cone by the college students. This is a really interesting college. The students do not pay tuition. The are required to work 15 hours a week on the campus and one 40 hour week per semester. This is a Christian based college (been there done that). There are about 40 majors. The campus is also sort of a working farm. They mill their own flour, they milk and pasteurize their own milk from cows on the campus. They have an agriculture department where they grow veggies, flowers, etc.
The beautiful lodge is also a hotel. That is one of the college majors, hotel management and hospitality.

My biggest complaint is that once on campus, there is no real info. I drove all through the campus looking for the ice cream parlor. It ends up it is in a beautiful lodge just outside the entrance to the campus.
I also heard via people talking that there is a tour you can take to see the grain mill, basket weaving, etc. But I saw no brochures about how to take the tour.

I did find the Tractor museum which was next to the Farmer's Market.

Before restoration

After restoration

Samples of the thousands of type of barbed wire below.

We tried the ice cream, we ate at the restaurant and I picked up some items at their Farmer's Market. Reviews to follow.

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FARMER'S MARKET REVIEW:
College of the Ozarks - Pt. Lookout, MO (near Branson)
After Memorial Day on Fridays from 7:30 - 12:30  Cash only

Small indoor market, but beautiful fresh produce available. Also available garden plants, baked goods, fresh milled grains, fresh baked bread, jams, meats.
All the available items are from the labors of the college students, even the meat.
Good prices and worth the visit. Take a tour of the campus while you're there.
I picked up these two plants. One is a purple pepper for my garden I plan to have at our new property in TN. The other is chocolate mint! A lesson learned from having grown spearmint and and peppermint in NJ. Contain your mint! They are invasive!! So I will make sure to put my mint in containers above ground. I love mint plants. Add some mint to iced tea, yum! The chocolate mint I bought is amazing. It really smells like a chocolate mint candy!!! I had to buy it because I've never seen it before. Other mints I can get anywhere.
I also purchased some muffin mix, a rib eye steak, some bratwurst and also a 1/2 gallon of fresh milk!

Where the cows are milked.

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RESTAURANT REVIEW:
College of the Ozarks - Pt. Lookout, MO (near Branson)
Dobyn's Dining Room  
Our rating 5 out of 5

Beautiful rustic lodge look dining room in the beautiful Keeter Center.
Upon waiting to be seated, we were asked if we had any food allergies. That was a nice touch.
All wait staff was very attentive, although our waiter, Sam was definitely new and nervous. He had a heavy Asian accent and was TOO attentive. But he was so sweet, I held my Joisey attitude and smiled sweetly instead. Sam asked Scott if he could clear his plate...NO! Scott still had food on his plate AND he was in the process of cutting up his potato to eat!
The food was excellent!!!!!

Two wheat rolls and 2 cranberry muffins were in the bread basket, along with soft whipped butter and home made apple butter.
Salad does not come with dinner, but since we are now used to having salad every night, and since we don't go out to dinner much, we decided to splurge on the extras. We both ordered a simple caesar salad. Crisp, nicely chopped romaine with cheese and croutons.
We also ordered the signature smoked tomato soup with basil cream and the soup of the day being Asian Beef Veg. soup. The tomato soup was again, just a simple dish, with a definite smokey flavor. I liked it, but did not taste any basil..  Although the beef soup was very good, it had no Asian flavoring that either of us could tell.
For the main course, Scott had a 10 ounce prime rib which was delicious. This entree came with perfectly steamed broccoli and cauliflower, plus a baked potato. Very nice meal.
I chose to have the smoked catfish cakes, an appetizer as my entree. They were not only colorful and beautiful, they were also light and delicious!
For dessert Scott had the Coconut creme pie and I had the Chocolate cake with chocolate flan. Both were excellent!!!
This restaurant is higher priced that we normally go to, but I would not say it's really expensive. We're just cheap.
I would highly recommend you try Dobyn's Dining Room.

Nettie Marie's Homemade Ice Cream
College of the Ozarks - Pt. Lookout, MO (near Branson)

I was so looking forward to the cow to cone ice cream. The college students milk the cows, pasteurize the milk and then make the ice cream. Although the home made waffle cones were delicious, like eating a lovely butter cookie, the ice cream was just fair. I had the chocolate walnut. The ice cream had a deep chocolate flavor, but was lacking in walnuts. I sampled the espresso flavor which is delicious if you really like coffee. It has a very strong coffee flavor.