Sold!!

We have been toying with the idea of selling the sofa sleeper in the RV and replacing it with a computer desk and comfy recliner. So before the park garage sale held yesterday I took some pictures of it and placed them on a display board. $1200 new-$300. We figured if it didn't sell we would try again next month. To be honest we didn't figure it would sell at any price and it probably would not have anywhere but here.
Anyway some folks came in and wanted to see it. A friend at their park had seen the ad and called them about it. So I sent them to see it and Butch handled the sales work. They said they would have to go take some measurements etc. But an hour or so later they called and said they wanted it!!
So at this point it is not in their possession yet but we are considering it sold. What a surprise!!

Myrla's Big Adventure

My sister Myrla called yesterday after her heart procedure. Myrla had a heart attack a few years ago and still has heart 'issues', of course. They were taking a look at her heart scoping for blockages. Her tests came out pretty good, she tells me.

Myrla has an older neighbor who has a heart defibrillator and a mean dog. Myrla is good with dogs and when her neighbor has medical emergencies, and that happens frequently, Myrla is called upon by the EMT's to corral the dog. Myrla says that after a couple of encounters with her, the dog has become much better.

Tuesday Myrla's neighbor(Let's call her Mabel) comes over to her house to call in for her defibrillator. Mabel only has a cell phone and you need a land line for the defibrillator. The medical personnel told Mabel that her defibrillator had activated 4 times in the past 24 hours and they do not know if the defibrillator is defective or if her heart needed a jump start that many times. The woman is a walking time bomb and she knows it. She said she was not going to have her grandchildren stay with her because she wasn't sure she would make it through the night and didn't want them to be the ones to find her.

Wednesday, Myrla goes to the hospital for her heart procedure. She had a bad reaction to the sedative the last time she had this done so the doctor touched base with her on this point and assured her she would not have a problem this time. She said everything went well but she was really drugged up and it took a long time for it to wear off. The nurses lowered the lights in the room and left a small lamp on. She was in and out and resting nicely when a pink lady came in and said,"You have company!" Myrla fought to get her eyes open and 8 inches from her face saying,"I'm here!" was Mabel. Myrla said that running through her mind was "#@%&, I must not have made it...but why did they send Mabel...where is Mom(deceased)...or Jayne(deceased).... Mabel has a nice halo around her head,created by the glow of the lamp. Myrla said it took her awhile to comprehend that she was still alive and that Mabel really was there. She knew this when she became awake enough to see Mabel's daughter and granddaughter beside her.

Now maybe it is peculiar to my relationship with Myrla and the way our family is and always has been but she and I found this whole situation hilarious. We laughed till the tears were rolling down my cheeks. I wanted to share the story with you. You may find this scenario a bit off kilter but it is the way we are...and I still think it is funny!

Rummage Sale

I have been knee deep in stuff. We humans are accumulators and there is no doubt about that. When your living space is small that becomes a problem so I am going through 'things' and making the decision to keep or sell. This is a time consuming project and making all those decisions is tiring. On the plus side, after next weekend we will have more wiggle room in our humble abode.

Gratitude

Even for families who don't normally say grace or ask a blessing
over their family meals, the Thanksgiving holiday meal seems
to be one of those times that a prayer of thanks is given out of
gratitude for the gifts and blessings received throughout the year.

If you'd like to offer a prayer this Thanksgiving but don't usually
do that at your family meals, perhaps this short prayer of thanks
by Emerson could be read at your table. Maybe it'll even begin
a new tradition for your family and guests.

THANKSGIVING

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson

No News is Good News

I am not a news freak. If anything I am an anti-news freak. It is my belief that too much focus on the news creates and/or intensifies a negative attitude. When medical people treat depression the first thing they do is suggest the patient stop reading newspapers or watching news on TV. But for you news freaks who do not agree with my way of thinking here is a website tailor made for you.
A click on the website below will let you know what strange & dangerous things are happening in the world at any given time. The site updates every 6 minutes, 24 hours per day, 7 days a week. You can move the map around, zero in on any one area & actually up-load the story of what is going on. You may be surprised at what is happening right here in the U.S., perhaps even in your own state or city.

Global Incident Map: There is a lot happening in our world every minute:

http://www.globalincidentmap.com/home.php

QMags

Okay folks, this one has me a bit excited. I used to be a magazine freak. I bought several every month and clipped out articles of interest etc. Well, when we went full time I gave them up for many obvious reasons. But recently I discovered you can get your subscriptions online! Now I suppose this has been around a long time and I didn't know about it but it is new to me!! We have always enjoyed Motorhome magazine but it was one we gave up for the cause so to speak but this morning I ordered it and read it from cover to cover. It comes in Adobe Acrobat Reader .pdf file and it took a tiny bit of study on my part to easily read it. So if you would rather get your magazines online click on QMags and see if they carry the magazines you like. Save a tree!!

A Saturday in November

Butch built a 'clothesline' for me. No, we are not that clever on our own. We saw one that friends Vern & Dorothy Wendt had and copied it.


They would have had even more blooms if I hadn't dropped it on its head a few days ago. Still looking mighty fine though. These are "rescue" flowers from Snow Mountain Ranch last September.

Audio Books

I have been a fan of audio books for many years and if I were impaired in any way I would most certainly take advantage of this program. Please pass this along to people who may benefit from it or know someone who would benefit. You may help enrich someones life.
Barb

TODAY'S TIP:
Audio Books for the Visually Impaired

A friend who is completely sightless, has used this perk from our
government for many, many years, and I only today heard from him that it
is available for anyone who has a disability. I thought it was only for
those who had been blinded because of being in a war, but it is for all
of us who qualify because of physical reasons.

The Library of Congress will provide (free) audio books upon request. My
friend has been able to get them even if they were not already on tape,
by simply making his request and the LOC will have it made for him.

Home Page of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically
Handicapped http://www.loc.gov/nls/
 

Latest mumblings

We are walking twice a day, a little over a mile each time. I am feeling the benefits of doing so. It is also an easy way to be nosy about what is happening in the park.
Don and Judith Raglin who were workampers 2 years ago are back this year. They have both had some health issues taken care of but are doing fine now.

There are several older mobiles leaving the park for one in Mission. It is a new park over there and they are recruiting units from other parks. Ours has some empty spaces now and some pretty nice loacations if you have a hankering to bring in a new one.
Shuffleboard starts tomorrow at nine. It will be the first time on the newly surfaced courts.

The forecast is for a cold front to come through. The high tomorrow is projected to be 74 degrees. Sounds good for a change. We will be able to turn the AC off tonight.

The Fix It Club

The Fix It Club
Accidents happen. Things break. It's just part of life. But, you don't
have to give up on your broken household items or waste money by calling
the repair man. The Fix It Club will tell you everything you need to
know about fixing items around the house. It offers 145 Fix-it guides
and a whole bunch of categories that will guide you through everything
from fixing your electric heater to sewing on a missing button. Each of
the fix-it guides goes through how each item works or operates,
identifies the common things that can go wrong, tells you what tools you
will need to fix your problem, and then goes step-by-step to teach you
how to fix it yourself. It's a great way to save money.

The Fix It Club
http://www.fixitclub.com 

THINGS YOU DON'T HEAR ANY MORE

THINGS YOU DON'T HEAR ANY MORE

Be sure and refill the ice trays, we are going to have company after while. Watch for the postman, I want to get this letter in the mail today. Quit slamming that screen door! Be sure to pull the windows down when you leave, it looks like it might rain --and bring in the clothes on the line, too. Don't forget to wind the clock before you go to bed. Wash your feet before you go to bed, they are nasty from playing bare footed outside all day. Why can't you remember to roll up your pants legs? Getting them caught in the bicycle chain so many times is tearing them up. You have torn the knees out of that pair of pants so many times there is nothing left to put a patch on. Don't you go outside with your good school clothes on! Hang up your Sunday School clothes, you know you need to pass them down to your brother in good condition. Go comb your hair. It looks like the rats have nested in it all night. Be sure and pour the cream off the top of the milk when you open the new bottle. I need it for baking and Pa's coffee. Take that empty popbottle to the store with you so you won't have to pay a deposit on another one. Put a dish towel over the cake so the flies won't get on it. Quit jumping on the floor! I have a cake in the oven and you are going to make it fall if you don't quit! Let me know when the Fuller Brush man comes by, I need to get a few things from him. You boys stay close by, the car may not start and I will need you to help push it off. There is a dollar in my purse, go by the service station and get five gallons of gas when you start to town. Open the back door and see if we can get a breeze through here, it is getting hot. You can walk to the store; it won't hurt you to get some exercise. Maybe you will learn to be more careful with your bicycle. Don't sit to close to the TV it will hurt your eyes. If you pull that stunt again, I am going to wear you out! Don't lose that button, I will sew it back on after while. Wash under your neck before you come to the table, you have beads of dirt and sweat all under there. Get out from under that sewing machine, pumping it messes up the thread! Do you want to go get me a switch? Be sure and fill the lamps this morning so we don't have to do that tonight in the dark. Here, take this old magazine to the outhouse when you go, we are almost out of paper out there. Go out to the well and draw a bucket of water for me, I've got to do the dishes. Don't turn the radio on now, I want the battery to be up when the Grand Ole Opry comes on. No! I don't have five cents for you to go to the show, do you think money grows on trees? Eat those vegetables; they will make you big and strong like your daddy. That dog is NOT coming in this house! I don't care how cold it is out there, dogs just don't come in the house. Sit still! I am trying to get your hair cut straight and you keep moving and it is getting botched up. Hush your mouth! I don't want to hear words like that. I will wash your mouth out with soap again! It is time for your system to be cleaned out, I'm going to give you a dose of Castor Oil in the morning. If you get a spanking in school and I find out about it, you will get another one when you get home. Quit crossing your eyes! They will get stuck that way! Soak your foot in this pan of Epsom Salts so that cut won't get infected. When you take your driving test don't forget your hand signals each turn. Left arm straight out the window for a left turn, and left arm bent up to the sky at the elbow for a right turn and straight down to the side of the door when you are going to stop. It is 'Yes, sir!' and 'No, sir' to me and your elders young man, and don't you forget it! While we are at Aunt Mary's and Uncle John's you kids eat when the adults get through and I don't want to hear, 'I don't like this stuff'. You better keep your mouth shut and eat everything on your plate. Well, that ought to keep us remembering some of the finer things of the past, some good and some not so good, and young man if I hear you repeat one word of this I will beat the daylights out of you, do you understand that?! Yep, too bad we can't have some of them back without going to jail. I'm gonna add some more ...............Stop that crying..........I said stop it..........or I'll give you a reason to cry. 'When we get to Grandma's, don't you DARE ask for something to eat!' 'Child, did you forget that I have eyes in the back of my head!!! That's how I knew! '10 p.m. is late enough, nothing stays out later except rats and cockroaches' 'Don't talk with your mouth full' 'Sit up straight' 'Go outside and play ' 'Don't interrupt when grownups are talking ' 'Pull up your stockings ' 'Put on your golashes..it's snowing' 'Close the door! Were you RAISED In a barn!? 'Don't talk back! ' Ahhhh, those were the days !!!!!! LOL

Broke Down

We broke down and turned on the AC today. We have been suffering with the double H's....heat and humidity. We come down to the valley for warm weather. I know...we are just too fussy!!
Butch has been busy getting caught up with electrical chores for various park people. And then we had a stool breakdown. One of these days soon we may be able to think about a trip to Mexico or S. Padre. The weekend is not the best of times for that anyway.
I have been busy gathering up items for the next garage sale the first Saturday in December. Living in a motorhome it is a definite negative to gather too many things. So I am weeding out the excess and hopefully some kind buyer will come along and take it off my hands.

It's Mine!!

We bought Angel a new scratch pad today. To say she loves it is understated. She even made moaning sounds! I prefer the rope kind because they are less messy. This kind is loaded with catnip and it was obvious her preference was different from mine.

Busy!!

We indeed hit the ground running.
Arrived Sunday afternoon
Association meeting Monday morning
Coffee on Tuesday morning at 9:30
Golf at 11:00- we both golfed!
New shuffleboard benches-Butch volunteered to help.
Approached by 3 different people for electrical assistance (Butch)
Grocery store visit
Had a burger at Gonzales Burgers yesterday and they were every bit as good as I remember!
Wednesday -
Butch working on benches.
Barb doing laundry and computing...
And the park is still relatively empty! People will trickle in now until about mid to late December when the flood of Northerners arrives.
Hurry on down now, ya hear!

Our current location

Blooms


Click on any image for a larger view.

Royal Breakfast Hash

Yeah, I do this sometimes and if you are looking for good and easy recipe software, I use Regidean and you can download it here. Just click on Download and you are on your way.

Royal Breakfast Hash 11/5/2007
Ingredients
5 cups loose-pack frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 10-3/4-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup dairy sour cream
1 cup finely chopped cooked corned beef
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup finely chopped green sweet pepper
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
Paprika


Directions
1. Spread potatoes over the bottom of a greased 2-quart square baking
dish. In a medium bowl combine cream of chicken soup and sour cream;
stir in corned beef, onion, and sweet pepper. Spread corned beef mixture
over potatoes.

2. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until
bubbly and top begins to brown. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika just
before serving. Makes 4 servings.


Nutrition facts per serving:
calories: 551
total fat: 27g
saturated fat: 13g
cholesterol: 81mg
sodium: 1248mg
carbohydrate: 56g
fiber: 4g
protein: 22g
_______________________________________

Magnolia Park

We left Canyon Lake TX at 7:30 AM and arrived at the park about 2:00 PM.
We hit the ground running getting settled in and cleaned up so we are both a bit pooped this evening. We have had many visitors already getting us all up to speed on the changes that have taken place. The shuffleboard courts have been refurbished!! I know that will be a big surprise for a few of you. Larry has made new benches and they are talking of putting the scoreboards on the other end which makes sense all the way around when you stop to think about it.
There are other surprises too with people who do not plan to come back this year. Some have quit altogether and others are taking a year off. And here I thought I was going to have an easier time with the directory this year. NOT!!!
It feels good to be here and it always feels like home. The trip down was without incident and we are grateful.
I will try to post on both sites. I usually do personal stuff on www.brooker3.blogspot.com and Park stuff on www.magnolianews.blogspot.com. But it always seems to overlap. Aha!! I know! You will have to check both to see where we stand. Come on it isn't that tough as there is a link to the other one on each site. Right side near the top.

Pioneer Woman

Pioneer Lisa at St. Andrews bazaar

A Dam Walk

Beautiful walk this morning on the dam

Wurstfest

Smiling Boy



Pretty girl



Mike and Sharon