RV MOD & SOME CHRISTMAS…

Melbourne FL…First day of winter in paradise= High 80 Low 71

Cookies…

I got busy this week and made a couple batches of these cookies…I have made these for my children and grandchildren for years…it is something of a tradition…and now have to make a couple batches so everyone gets some….

Tried something different…
this year…and it did not go over so well…lol…sent out my son and his family their package…then yesterday got a call from son telling me they got the package…and then informed me that I should not mess with his cookies again! It seem that he did not like the peppermint  candy cane kisses that I used on a few of them….

And now to the Mods…
after many, many, to many…knee and back breaking ball retrievals I had enough…so off to Home Depot…I went…Maggie girl loves to play ball in the RV and her balls (for her little mouth) were just the right size to roll under the slide out…so after awhile I noticed she would deliberately roll them under there just to have me retrieve them for her and throw them back the hall…a fun game for her ..not so much for me!!!

So at  Home Depot I got a 2x2 furring strip..had them cut it to 6 1/2 feet,,,then home I went got out my tools and started my project…furring strips are rough and have a lot of potential splinters…so go out my laminate router have had it for 20 years or better …it is one of the few tools I have not gotten rid of…any way routed all edges and then hand sanded it until it was pretty smooth…

When I measured for this project it look like it would fit perfect…and when I got it out to the RV and tried it out…was a nice snug fit…so when I was thinking about the routing it  on edges…I wondered if it would still be a nice snug fit…well I went ahead and did it any way and ..yep it was no longer a nice snug fit…so I put some velcro on the ends and it is now attached to the floor and does not move…I still need to stain it…but it works great!!! And I do have a note at the slide button to remove it before sliding out…

And the rest of the story….
To day I am going over to Wickham CG and spend the night…need to empty tanks…and Miss Mermaid said something about some sewing projects…if it is nice out and it sure is going to be a beautiful day…so  need to get ready to hit the road…thanks for looking and come back soon …blessing to all G&M

LOOK WHAT IS….

Left after the moving sale…
This is the dinning room…I had card tables set up all around the room with furniture and other large items in the middle…this looks wonderful to me….the desk in the front right corner is the one I am taking with me….

And this is what is left in the living room…the totes and boxes mostly have what was left from  outside on the tables… if you remember I could not walk thru these rooms before sale…

And again I forgot…
to take pics before the sale started…I think it is because people start coming before the time you state in the paper… then it is to late….so this is at the end of the sale…

This patio set did not sell…I was selling it all separate and it was cheap…the chairs are original 1950’s not repos..they had few paint chips…the table is of a newer variety with a glass top…few rusty paint chips…the umbrella is new…this is a shabby chippy set…but next year I am going to sand and paint it..the chairs will be pastel colors..like pink, green, yellow or blue..what ever I fancy at the time…and I will sell it…and not cheap either…I had about 6 of these chairs when I had my store..painted them each a different pastel color and put them out in the yard at the store…and with in an hour they were gone…sometimes I really miss my store and refurbing (if that is a word) furniture …but it is really way to much work for me now…very hard.. you work all the time even when store hrs are over…I am retired now..lol… 

And the rest of the story….
This has been  a very busy summer…and a few weeks ago I was up set with myself that I was not getting enough done…even tho I did not meet my goals…I can now look back at it and see that I sure got enough done that now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel…that being next summer I can wrap it up and still have some travel fun time in the north…in fact I feel pretty good about everything…want to do two more things this week…rest of dry lock on and paint the lower hall way…then the next week and 1/2 ..pack up RV…close up house inside and outside…and get on the road to the south….I am sooooooo glad there are not more yard sales, moving sales, or flea market set ups….for this year…!!!!!!!!! Also next week I will make up a list of what is left to do…can you believe I am almost done with this…all in all I have been working on getting rid of stuff starting with getting rid of what was in my store when I closed it up , down sizing, fixing up house for the last 6 YEARS!! WOW  is all I can say…Even tho the house is not sold yet I feel like a 10 ton elephant has been lifted of my back…Well this is it for now …thanks for looking and come back soon…blessings G&M

MORE BIRDS. PLANTS & A SWEATER…..

I made  this little vignette….
fixed up in a corner of my porch by the railing…I like RWB and usually all my porch decorating is in red white and blue…this bird house  I made purely for decorative purposes only…

So this morning …
while sitting at the dinette in the rig eating breakfast and watching the news…I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye to the right….turned my head and saw 3 house sparrows..checking out the bird house…they would go in and out of it …taking turns,…there was a third bird standing by watching..as I tried to move the curtain a bid and get a better pic …I scared them off…I wonder if I will have more babies…?? it was so funny watching them checking it out…like  “does this suit you honey”? Or would you like a bigger one in another color…lol lol…cracking myself up….

Then yesterday….
while Maggie and I took a break from working in the bedroom…we were lying across the bed looking out the window…and saw another sparrow… bug in beak…taking it to this bird house….this one is attached to a white picket fence I used as prop in my store…I just set it beside my shed and left it…”it decorated up the shed a little”..any way guess we have a family in there also…I did not have camera to take pics…

Thought I would show you….
my vegetable garden  this year…all done in containers….I guess if you lived in an apartment you could still grow a few things…here I have a couple tomato plants, a basil plant and somewhere in there is a chive plant also… tip for container gardening…fill large pots about 1/4 with packing peanuts before putting in soil…you will use less soil and it wont be so heavy to move around…I have been doing it for years…

And now to the sweater…
I got Maggie in Sept. and it was starting to get chilly…when she was a puppy she did not have all the fur she has now…so she would get cold…my DD got her this tiny sweater…(it was for a teddy bear toy)..she let me put it on ok…but man she did not like it at all…she immediately threw herself on the floor and tried with her teeth pull it off…she would even try and get her little hind paws under it to pull on it…was sooooo funny… more cracking myself up thinking about it…..lol lol…

“Hey stop looking and me….
She finally resigned herself to it and gave up trying to get it off….I found it the other day while sorting and think I will keep it and make a scrap book page with it along with these pic’s…

Well its back to work for me…I got the curtains washed and hung out…so now better get to the scrubbing of the wood work…so thanks for looking and come back soon
blessing G&M

NEAT KAYAK & SOMETHINGS…

One of our day camps…
This is one of our favorite day camp sites over at Wickham…I was walking back to the park from the campground and see MySweetDream…sitting there waiting for us to come back….looking good  across the pond we parked by.

This is a very neat kayak ….
This is a crazy kayak that I saw at the home park last weekend…a man and his two sons were going out fishing…the black rig looking thing is some kind of fishing rig filled with fishing equipment …it is to large for the kayak..so it looks like he put a couple floats on each side of the kayak to keep it sturdy and up right….right click to make larger..he has one son in kayak with him….

And the other son…older ….
even tho he was the older of the two…they still were not old enough to be out alone…so the father tethered the older boys kayak to his…right click and you can see…the older boy did a good job with the paddles so he was never being pulled along by the other kayak…

And Maggie girl….
And here is my Maggie girl playing with her new bunny…she got it for Easter….I have never seen a dog that plays with toys like she does….from the very first day I got her…she knew that the couple toys by her bed were hers and she knew what to do with them..she taught me how to play doggie games…lol…she was only 8 weeks old…she was playing while I am working in the RV..

Where oh where is bell???
Wondering where is bell…hope she did not take any “party” detours along the way…here are a few friends waiting on her arrival…Where are youuuuuu????

I am still working on packing and arranging and rearranging the RV…taking things out and putting things in…I was going to take along things to make …but then decided this is a work trip for me…so took that stuff out..most of it anyway…I am excited and nervous at the same time…my first long solo trip…I think I will be stopping at WM, Sam's, Cracker Barrel etc.… for over nights…I need all my $$ for gas!!! It is getting warm (hot to me) and muggy so I am  looking forward to some cool northern weather….  all for now thanks for looking and come back soon.
blessings G&M

NATURE…

NATURE AT ITS BEST
While I was walking a trail at Wickham Park the other day…I was so surprised to see this stark contrast'. Click and enlarge pic.
At some point in time there was a fire in this area of the park. Look at the black trunks on the palm trees.
And then when you take a closer look …what do you see but the bright green of nature revitalizing itself. Wow what a contrast this was…my pic’s are not near the beautiful color I saw that day. But click on it to see better. You get a good look at the charred pine tree next to the palm. Charred palm with new bright green shoots sprouting.
THE WATERING HOLE…..
And another thing I saw that day was these little watering stations. This one is stainless steel bowl bolted to a wood bench. A few others were same bowls bolted to cement blocks. I am not sure who puts these out …the park rangers, maybe? The all had fresh water in them for the wild life.
BUG EATING PLANTS….
That is what the sign said on these plants I seen at the festival I went to over the weekend. Strawberry Festival. They are called Pitcher Plants and  are a carnivorous plants whose prey-trapping mechanism features a deep cavity filled with liquid known as a pitfall trap. So the internet says. These were grown in a nursery and very large. I think they are pretty and very interesting.
And that was about it for the weekend…the steps on the rig stopped working again…but I took the ones I got at Home Depot back because they were not wide enough…I am looking for another portable set…I will get the ones on the rig fixed sometime in the fall…I have been looking for some steps anyway as I don’t like these ones on the rig…Maggie has a hard time with them and so do I ..not big enough…
Well that’s it for now thanks for looking and come back soon.
blessings G&M

BEEN AWHILE

WE WENT UP THIS WAY TO GET HAIR CUT
It is in Veria ..The Avenue shopping center. A lot of window shopping was done. Very little spending of the money was done. Pic below is one area of the shopping streets. It reminds one of a quaint little village. LOL full of updated stores...


Cool retreat in the middle.
In the middle of all the streets is a cool oasis. A nice restful place to take a break while shopping. Someone riding a gator! 


What money did leave my pocket went here.
I did get hungry and went here to get some lunch. Maggie was in her buggy so she could go in while I ordered.

We got this!
Had great lunch of Greek salad and a Cuban chicken panini. Was reallllllly goooooood!!!! We took it back to the rig and had lunch there and did some people watching.

Could not resist!
Since I am addicted to Cold Stone hot chocolate. When I see the Cold Stone Creamery I could not resist going in for a this . Got a cup of chocolate and peanut butter very smooth ice cream. Sat out side and enjoyed.

Did this last week spend the whole day there. Also went to the nice Wal Mart they have up there. Some days I am busy doing things and other days are boring with not much going on…maybe my busy days are boring also…any day I am not out camping or doing some day trip is boring to me..I wish the price of gas was not so high…I would be doing more day or over night trips… I have to save my money for gas when I head north to PA in about 8 week…Not really sure when I am  leaving..I want to take it slow and sure…spending a week at my DD’s in north VA. I am excited about this trip…even tho I will be doing a lot of work on my house and doing some doctor things….ugh…
looking for steps for the RV…as step still is broke I sure made a mess of it…found something at Home Depot but not really happy with it..did find some Rubbermaid at the Old Time Pottery…that folded but cost was $30.00 more than I wanted to spend…Saw an on site RV repair man while walking  at the campground so I added his phone to my contacts…Not sure what I will do this afternoon..maybe go to the home park.
Well that’s if from me and maggie …thanks for looking and come back soon
blessings
G&M

KAYAKING WITH THE GATORS

FIRST KAYAK TRIP HILLSBOROUGH ST. PARK
Kayaking with the gators and I am not talking about the football team!! So on Tues. I went on my first kayak trip. Liz(one of the Women RV girls) is a pro at this and she took me out and showed me the ropes… (or should I say the paddles) and the alligators!! I am using Tina’s(another RV girl) Sea Eagle Kayak. It is the small size and can seat two people. I love, love, kayaking but this one was a little large and hard and trying for me to handle. This is a pic of me on the Hillsborough River. Look at that still water…click on the pic to enlarge.
We had not gone very far and this slid into the water about 50ft in front of us!!!! Let me tell you I was scared, but held my own! Ha….Liz was cool as a cucumber ….we will just wait for a while until he gets across…all the while snapping pic’s like this is an every day happening!! YIKES! So he finally got to the sun on the other side of the river and we past by…with me watching over my shoulder the whole time….I did not take a camera because I know it would have ended up in the river. Liz took all the pic’s. This is such a fun and relaxing (with out the gators that is) I could not believe I was acutely doing it. I have wanted to for soooo long! And I love it…I see a kayak in my future.  I have more to post on my second day out on the river..but we just got home a little while ago and I am tired. I have more to share about the camping trip also. So that’s it for now thanks for looking and come back soon
blessings
G&M

MADE IT...

Well we made it to Florida. Left on wed morning after having breakfast with my sister. She made it for us. Then we got to VA about 3 pm to visit with my daughter. Went to dinner with daughter, grandson and his wife. Dad got a room at the red roof inn, and Maggie and I a good sleep in the van. Morning son in law took a half day off to see us off (he had to work late on wed) so him, daughter, dad and me went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Then before we left, had to check on getting a pair of shoes. No luck. Then a stop at WM to get a battery operated fan. It was really hot in the van last nite. This pic is of Maggie last week before we left. She had some real bad hot spots that she would not leave alone so I went to pet smart and got one of these E collars. She hated it but got use to it. Looks like she is giving me the harry eye lol.

All packed and ready to go including Maggie Girl.

We traveled to Richburgh SC. on Thursday, 7 hrs. Lots of miles. Dad stayed at a very nice Motel 6 and Maggie & me stayed in the parking lot. Sleeping in the van again. Good thing I bought that fan because the further south we go the hotter it gets. The fan worked out very well, but I can see I will need to get rechargeable batteries and a charger. I takes 8 D batteries, and only will last 24 hrs. For now it will be a must have, camping in these southern states.

 

My basil plant this year. I wanted to use some of it before we left ......

So I made this. Basil Mayo, mmmmmm good on a BLT or just a tomato sammy. Friday morning we left early about 6:30 am. Drove all day and made it to Melbourne about 5 pm. Let me tell you that was a lot of miles in two days. I will never do that again. My left leg and foot was numb all nite and the next day. In GA on Friday afternoon we ran into a swarm of love bugs, lasted way in to FL. You should have seen poor MzSavana. I had to give her a bath on sat. I have read on some RV blogs that they will take the paint right off when the get mashed into your vehicle. Dad is pulling weeds and getting ready to plant his tomato garden already, He sure made a transformation after getting home. For the good.

Got the van all unpacked and ready to set up my craft/art room. It will be in the Florida room again. I wish I had room inside the house for it, but to to be. It is very hot and muggy here, and rainy. Storms going thur all the time, one right now. Went to the post office a little while ago and the love bugs are in Florida big time :(

Well all for now thanks for looking and come back soonThanks to all the kind words expressed with the lose of my brother in July. I just don't have the words to say anything, it is still so hard for me.

blessings

G&M