More of this and that!

Not much happening in the last few days, but I am so thrilled with the spice shelves that Dick made, and I wanted to post pictures for all to see.  I know we have gotten ideas from other RVers on how to improve our space, and I hope we can provide ideas to others.  As our friends and family know, Dick does most of the cooking (I am a great "go-fer" and "cleaner-upper"), and he must have numerous spices.  It is great to have all of these containers off our cabinets!

The weather is beautiful - cold (20s last night), but not as windy, and clear.  Dick and I took a driving tour yesterday through most of the other COE parks on Lake Waco, with a stop to visit our friends Terry and Joan (and Nano, their dog) along the way. We are both playing "catch up" today and Dick hopes to go fishing tomorrow.  As Joan said yesterday, we always heard "retirees" say how busy they stayed and, now, we know the truth of that statement!  Until next time!  ~judy~

2012 Has Been Busy So Far!

Since we have moved over to Reynolds Creek Park, Judy and I have begun regarding the campground as “our yard” and take special pride in making sure there is no litter to be seen when a visitor drives through.  Each day, we patrol and pick up after those whose mother always picked up after them.  Sad, but why can’t everyone teach their kids to leave an area as clean, or even cleaner, than they found it?  I’m still trying to find the culprit who parks his vehicle on one of the back lanes to drink a 6- or 12-pack of blue Bud Lights, only to toss the empties in the weeds nearby.

The other day, I mentioned I needed a lawn mower to cut the grass in my “front yard”.  The next thing I knew, we had a full crew out here with mowers, weed eaters, trimmers, etc. doing all of the work for me.  It seems that I am not “certified” for power equipment.  I kinda like that idea!

The animals keep coming.  Night before last in the deep gray of dusk, I spotted a gray fox on the road less than 100 yards away from the RV, and I finally saw one of the bobcats near the creek at the back of the park.  The night before, a great horned owl swooped down after a small animal (field mouse or similar) directly behind the house in our “back yard”.   Deer, as usual, are in abundance and we see many here at Reynolds on almost every drive-through. 

 That great blue egret is now allowing a close approach and almost poses for me.

 The "fluff" seen on his beak is actually fish scales that remain after he "spears" the fish with his beak!

 Two nights ago, once again, we were serenaded by neighborhood coyotes. As near as we can tell from all of the scat and chewed up deer bones, there are about 6 or 7 that patrol the 40-acre tall grass pasture that we call our “back yard”.

The weekend before last was the annual January “Youth Hunt” put on by the Corps.  It’s sad that only 7 kids in the whole state took the Corps up on their offer for a free weekend of deer hunting and there were 15 slots available.  There are plenty of deer to go around because the herd here is really huge and needs some serious culling.   Jay, my Volunteer Coordinator, had asked if I would take pictures of the kids.

With space for 15 boys and girls, it was sad to have only 7 participate.
I would have given my eye teeth for an opportunity for a hunt like this
with either of my kids.

Blinds were furnished by the COE, Waco Lake

Time for Father & son quiet time

GrandPaw passing experience on to his grandson

  

Jay Morris (COE)  looks on as the biggest buck of the weekend is dressed out

Along the same lines, I am currently working with one of the rangers putting together a water safety billboard.  It seems my photographic background and Photoshop skills are being called upon.

The last 2 weekends have seen me on some hikes trying to get in shape for Colorado.  The first weekend, I took a 4-mile hike and, this past weekend, I held up for over 7 miles.  I guess the hunt spooked most of the deer, because I saw almost none during the hikes.  The winds were so high that most birds kept cover, as well. 

Red Tailed Hawk

White Pelicans

 

Cedar Waxwing

Northern Mockingbird

  

I did manage to find a couple of eagles nests.  They appeared to be abandoned, but there is one across the lake (about 3/4 mile) that I managed to get a picture of.  If you look closely, you can see the Bald Eagle pair. Still, the hikes were enjoyable.

Mom & Pop are home
on this one!

One of the abandoned nests

One of the hardest things I have had to come to grips with is the abandonment of some really beautiful and functional campsites due to the lack of funding.  However, this does make for neat sightseeing in the back country.

This abandoned site requires a 3-or 4-mile hike down some heavy underbrush and infrequently used paths.
I would love to tent camp under this ancient oak.

A scene not far from the abandoned campsite.

Have I said it before?  I  love it here!

Until the next time…~dick~

A little of this and that!

Since my last posting, I got over the cough, etc. and started with the watery, itchy eyes and sniffles.  Now, my challenge is NOT rubbing my eyes!  It was so bad last week that blood vessels burst in my right eye, which is still totally red (where it should be white) after almost a week.  I promise not to post that picture, which looks like I could be in a vampire movie.  Gotta love the cedar trees at this time of year!!  SO I am living on allergy meds and have scheduled a medical appointment in 2 weeks – when I hope we can find a “fix” to at least control the allergies, so I can get outside and enjoy the area.

Last weekend for the youth deer hunt, the weather was clear and crisp.  The hunt was at another park near us, and Dick was asked to take pictures of the hunters and their “trophies”.  On Saturday afternoon, our friends Dave and Sue came by to visit, and Dick and I invited them to go with us to join the hunters, their parents and rangers for a chili dinner that night.  It was fun visiting and eating!

Sue, Dick and Dave w/puppies

Sue, Jay, Dave and Dick at chili dinner

A great night for a campfire!

While at the dinner, I was asked to volunteer some hours each week assisting in the COE office.  After training, I committed to volunteering a few hours on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday afternoon until mid-February.  This is definitely not “work” – answering phones, assisting visitors and helping, if needed, in the office – and everyone is so friendly and appreciative of our assistance, plus I can read, etc.

This past Thursday night, Dick and I were invited to join our friends Dave, Sue, Paul, Terri and Joe (workampers at the park where Dick and I previously volunteered) to have a “going-away dinner” for Joe, who moved back to Dallas on Friday.  We met at The Pizza House of West and had some great food and a great visit, but are sorry to see Joe leave and hope to meet down the road.

Joe, Dave and Dick - the guys

Dick, Charles (who stopped by), Terri, Paul,
Dave, Judy, Sue and Joe

Judy, Terri and Sue - the gals

This past weekend seemed strange with no company and just hanging out at the RV in the park.  I played “catch up”, read and rested while Dick finished a project for me.  He made a shelving unit for the curios we were able to keep, and it is exactly what I envisioned - right down to the exact color of our cabinets.  Naturally, when we travel, the shelves will come off the dash and the curios will be packed away.  While settled in one place for some time, it all goes back in place so the RV has our special keepsakes from home that make the RV home.

Today is more “catch up” for me while Dick is building shelves for behind our kitchen counter to put spices on.  I am excited to get these bottles off my cabinet – since we found that Dick does not know how to cook without numerous spices on hand!

We are in the process of reorganizing and looking ahead, as it is exactly 3 months before we head for Colorado.  Time sure does fly when we are having fun!

Thanks for stopping by and see y’all next time!  ~Judy~

Happy New Year!

Finally, I am feeling well enough to post updates to our blog, which will not be very exciting, but that’s our life! Unfortunately, I was under the weather with allergies (or whatever it’s currently called) during our trip to the Houston area and Louisiana. Fortunately, the worst of the ailment hit me on Thursday, December 29th, after we had visited most of our family. Unfortunately, we were not able to make repeat visits or visit friends in the area.

To begin our trip, Dick and I traveled to Tomball to the home of our son Mike, his wife April, our 3-year-old grandson Ben and our almost 5-year-old grandson Colby on Christmas Eve. We attended church, together with April’s parents (Jay and Sue), and then met their friends (Michael, Julia and their 4 children) for Chinese food. It was an awesome evening, but very cold and rainy! I realized that this was the first time I had “dressed up” since my niece’s wedding reception in July! Wow!

Colby and Ben - Dressed up for Church

Grampa and Ben in Church

April and Mike

Sue and Jay

Julia, Michael and children

Mike, April, Colby and Ben

Once back home, Mommy read the "Night Before Christmas" to Ben and Colby, and it was then time to get settled down so Santa Claus could visit.

It was a short night, as the boys were awake by 5:30 a.m. to see their Christmas goodies, and Grammy naturally wanted to be there, too. Even Grampa joined us! Later in the morning, Michelle and Logan drove up from Seabrook and Jay and Sue joined us, too. Following a late breakfast, we all exchanged our gifts, ate dinner and had a relaxing afternoon and evening while the boys played with their gifts. My big gift from Dick was a total surprise – a Panasonic camera, which I am totally loving (especially since my flash quit working on my old camera).

Logan, Ben and Colby - waiting for Christmas dinner

The boys resting after Christmas dinner

Logan with Grampa

On Monday, Dick, Michelle, Logan and I headed toward Seabrook with a stop at my sister Betti’s house to celebrate Christmas with her, our nieces (Ashley and Shannon), great niece (Elena), my cousin Linda and “others”. Since I felt so bad later in the week, I was certainly glad we had this one afternoon together.

Cousins - Linda and Judy

Great Aunt Judy with Elena

Linda, Betti and Judy

Logan with his UT "gear"

After regrouping at Michelle’s apartment, Dick, Michelle, Logan and I headed for Lake Charles, LA on Tuesday to visit more family. After checking into the motel, Michelle, Logan and I went shopping to spend Christmas gift cards while Dick napped. Our sister-in-law Stephanie invited us for dinner, and we had a great visit with her, our nephew Bill and Stephanie’s brother Bryan – a yummy dinner of pasta with meat sauce, salad and bread. It was great to see them as we do not get together very often!

Dick, Stef, Michelle and Logan

Michelle, Stef, Dick and Bill

After a leisurely Wednesday morning (which we all needed), we met more family for lunch at Sha Shas. My 2 brothers (David from Beaumont and Jim from Lake Charles), their wives (Tresa and Sharon) and some of our nieces and nephews had a great visit and various gift exchanges. Michelle made lots of goodies, including some of my Mom’s favorites, as gifts from us (I supported the cause).

Sharon and Jim

Natalie, Scott, Virginia and Michelle

Daniel and James

Jim, David and Tresa

Dick and Judy - Finally a picture I like!

Logan and Josh

Jim and Michelle

After coffee and dessert at Jim and Sharon’s house, we went to visit my Aunt Ruby (91 years old). Michelle brought her some goodies, too, and I gave her some pictures of our family, which she always enjoys.

Aunt Ruby, Logan, Michelle and Judy

After returning to Seabrook, TX with Michelle and Logan, I began to really feel bad and all our plans for the rest of the week went down the tubes. I rested a lot and took over-the-counter drugs. On Friday, I road with Dick and we ended up in Galveston (not planned; just happened). We had lunch at Benno’s on the seawall – one of our favorites – and drove around the island. This was probably not a smart choice for me, but a nice trip.

By Saturday, I visited a Redi Clinic and was told I had allergies and to continue doing what I was doing. I felt so bad that Dick and I did not go back to Tomball to stay overnight with the kids on Sunday; we only made a short visit on Monday on our way back to Waco. On Tuesday of this past week, I called the Redi Clinic and, fortunately, they called in 2 “mega” prescriptions and, today, I can really tell I may be getting better. Dick spent yesterday afternoon at the doctor’s office, and was diagnosed with a massive ear infection and upper respiratory infection. We now know it is definitely “cedar fever” – which makes sense since we are surrounded by cedar trees! Looks like we will be taking Allegra daily during the season!

I did say our lives had not been very exciting, but I hope you stayed with me and enjoyed the family pictures!

Now, for our RV friends, our lives are not complete without another repair issue! Dick and I have been trying to get our toilet to stop leaking. After replacing one valve and being told we would need to replace a second valve, we realized a new toilet would be less expensive. Our repairman Ken ordered us a Dometic toilet and worked off and on this week to completely install it. Unfortunately, there were challenges and, yesterday, the job was finally completed. At this time, we would highly recommend this particular toilet, which Ken said is new on the market and is being used by many RV manufacturers.

On a lighter note, the weather has been beautiful – even though I’m enjoying it from inside – and this is the “calm before the storm”, as we have another major front on the way with temps in the 20s later this week. This weekend, numerous horse riders have taken advantage of the weather and are in the park riding, as well as a few who are camping (which is the only camping area open in the park during the winter). This next week, the COE is hosting a youth deer hunt in one of the Waco Lake parks, and they will be camping in our park, so it should be interesting.

Until next time, I hope everyone is having an awesome beginning to 2012! ~Judy~