It’s been a whirlwind for us the past few weeks since DeWayne’s Mom fell and broke her hip. It’s been a hard road for her and it looks to be a long recovery, but I’m thankful for any improvement.
She was moved from the hospital to a nursing home on Tuesday where she can regain her strength and possibly begin to walk again in time. The nursing home is only a few blocks from her home, so it makes it easier for us to check on the house and “Molly”, her Schnauzer as well.
We decided to move the RV back to OKC so that we can have our little home to stay in and not have the upheaval of having our things scattered in three different places. We always have the option to stay at her house and we will, if need be, but we prefer our own comfortable little cottage on wheels. And especially our own bed that we’re hopelessly spoiled to.
After 10 visits to the Chiropractor, and only temporary relief after each visit, I gave up on the venture. It was “plan A” for getting relief in my lower back, so I moved to “plan B”, which was to go back to Texarkana and get the series of three spinal injections that gave me such long term relief five years ago. So we made the trip back to McAlester last Saturday to ready the RV to be moved, then we both drove to my folk’s place on Sunday. DeWayne took me to Texarkana on Monday for the first injection since anesthesia is involved and I can’t drive myself after the procedure. Then he drove me back to DeKalb where I would spend the night, and he drove the truck back to McAlester, hooked on to the RV, and hauled it back up here to Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City.
I spent some time at the folk’s house visiting with Donna and Teresa, my two sisters who had driven in from west Texas to visit for a few days. Teresa brought husband Billy and Donna brought daughter Hanna, so it was fun. It was great to see them again and spend some time visiting. Sister Sharron lives close by and came to visit also, so we had a nice mini-reunion. It’s great that Daddy and Eula have such a huge house with plenty of beds. They certainly come in handy at times.
I left the next day I went by the office and visited with my co-workers, then drove to McAlester to pick up Bentley from Ginger’s house and I stayed the night before making my way back to OKC. Bentley was obviously in hog heaven, being in such a big house for a couple of days and from all accounts, he pretty much “took over” the place. Ginger has two cats already and they weren’t too impressed with Bentley’s presence, so they had a time keeping them separated to keep the peace. Thank you Ginger, Curt, Jana and Casey for taking such good care of our little rascal.
Bentley and I came back to OKC the next day (Wednesday) and it was great to be back in the RV with all our “stuff” in one place again, including the cat. He immediately went to his scratching post and rubbed all over it like a long lost friend, lol. He’s so funny. He didn’t like the carrier in the car and I had it in the passenger seat next to me all the way. But he would reach through and pat me on the arm and meow a lot, then got aggravated and started clawing me after a while. So I let him out of the crate, but he just climbed under my seat and got even louder. Back in the crate he went, but this time he decided to settle down and nap the rest of the way.
The wind has been blowing really hard the last two days her in OKC, but the weather is warm and I’m enjoying my shorts, t-shirts and flip flops again. And I love being able to open the windows and get fresh air again. Bye bye Winter! Good riddance! Some of the trees are getting leaves again and the wild plum and red bud trees are blooming. After all the snow and ice melted in McAlester, it was almost as if you could watch the grass outside turn greener by the minute. I love seeing the world come back to life in the Springtime with all the pretty colored blooms and the lush green.
I will miss the abundant wildlife on the base at McAlester and especially all the space we had there. Tinker FamCamp is a much more congested campground that stays pretty full all the time in contrast to us being the only campers most of the time at McAlester. Nothing like having an entire campground to yourself, let me tell ya! On the positive side, it is nice to again have a more social setting and there are lots of really nice folks here at Tinker. It all comes out in the wash, right? Anyway, we are booked for the next month and we’ll wait and see what we need to do from there.
That’s about all the news for now. But the day we left to make the trip south, there were wildfires everywhere around OKC. We stopped on the interstate long enough to get a picture of the sunset glowing through the smoke, so here it is.
And, of course, here is one of the latest pictures of Bentley chillin out on our bed.
He has it so rough, don’t you think? Poor baby…..
Anyway, that’s it for now. I’ll post as I can, but in the meantime….
HAPPY TRAILS!
This is our new hangout:
DeWayne's mother fell 9 days ago and broke the femer bone next to her hip, so we have been in Oklahoma City most of the time since then. She is still in the hospital after surgery and contracted pneumonia, but is doing better every day.
So, our travels are temporarily on hold until she is rehabilitated and her well being is secure. I'll post updates as I can, but in the meantime....
HAPPY TRAILS!!!!!
Spring is in the air!
It’s been so long since I last posted, I’m having to look back on my last post to see where I left off.
Quite frankly, the weather was so lousy for two weeks that I was just in too bad a mood to write anything. I know just about everyone suffered the effects of the winter storms that cruised through the nation, so I’m sure that most can identify with my winter weather blues.
Our “blizzard” moved through and left us snowed in and sub-freezing temperatures and wind for four days, then before all of it had a chance to melt away, we got another bout of snow and freezing temps. The second “attack” was shorter lived and after what felt like an eternity of winter yuk, the temperatures rose and the sun was shining again.
Finally!
So the views out our window looked like this for most of two weeks.
So, it was a winter wonderland around here, but I can’t say that we enjoyed it much. Although we had heat tape on the incoming water source and it continued to work okay, the pipes between the kitchen and the bathroom froze, leaving us with no hot water at all and no water in the bathroom. So we trudged through the snow to the public shower every night and had to both go into the men’s shower room because the heat wasn’t working in the women’s. Since we were the only occupants of the park during all the bad weather, it wasn’t a problem. We just went together to the same one. I gotta say it wasn’t bad for a temporary inconvenience and it gave us a chance to “get out of the house” for a little while. And it could have been much worse. We managed to stay nice and warm and we had plenty to eat, so we survived just fine.
Bentley, being his usual self, took turns either sleeping the day away….
Or getting into trouble with his uncontrollable bursts of energy that just had be burned off…..
As you can see, he was literally “climbing the walls” at times. He certainly keeps us on our toes. He’s so curious that we have to watch every time we open a door, a cabinet, a closet, or even the shower because he tends to want to run right in and explore. If we aren’t paying attention, he gets locked into one of the above mentioned and we spend a while trying to figure out where he is. We bought a laser light that he loves, so when he gets energetic and looking for trouble, it gives him something to play with and burn off some energy. Can you tell he has us trained already?
I’ve been making my appointments with the Chiropractor when the weather and roads would permit, so I have three visits left and I can tell it’s doing some good, so it’s been worth it.
A very dear friend of mine passed away last Friday, the same day that DeWayne was attending the funeral of one of his life-long friends. So the past week has been a sad one for both of us. Judi was my age and was suffering from early onset dementia for the past several years and had lost the ability to talk very quickly in the progression of the disease.
It was very hard to deal with the fact that Judi was not Judi anymore, and I know she didn’t have any quality of life, but I will miss her so much. I could go on and on about what a great person she was and the good times we had, but I won’t. I’m working on getting past the grief and focusing on the good memories. Her funeral was very nice and a wonderful tribute to her life. Rest in peace, Judi. I’ll miss you.
We made it home from the funeral on Tuesday and we’ve spent the week catching up on projects, doing some cleaning and enjoying the warm weather. I finally got a chance to run the car through the car wash last night, so I spent part of the day cleaning the inside of the car and the windows. Now my little red wagon is sparkling again and that makes me feel better.
I spent the rest of the afternoon sitting outside in the warm air and sunshine. Oh, it was so nice! I put Bentley’s harness on and took him out to play in the pine needles and chase leaves or anything else that moved. I had him hooked to a 12’ lead, so he could roam only so far. Well, he wasn’t happy with that for long, so I watched him as he pulled hard on the lead, turned around, and proceeded to wiggle right out of that harness. Ginger was here by that time, so she helped me get him all hooked up again. Within 10 minutes, he shed his bindings once again, so I had to put him back in the house. Then I had to look at his pitiful little face as he sat and looked out the screen door. Poor baby.
DeWayne thought we should give it another try, so he helped me get Bentley back into his harness and held him while I adjusted it to a point that we were fairly sure he couldn’t wiggle out of it. So kitty was free again to get into whatever mischief that suited his fancy and it didn’t take him long. He managed to pull the small cooler over that is sitting outside on a stool and it spooked him pretty bad. So back in the house he went, but this time he didn’t sit at the door. Nope. He was so spooked that he made a beeline to the bedroom and hid under the bed for a while. Again…..poor baby. lol
We’re thinking that it’s time to get back on the road in the next week or two. First destination – Georgia. Then we’ll move up the coast to Maryland to see Tracy and Tom, then as the weather heats up, move on up the coast to Connecticut (probably).
So we’re getting all our projects done in preparation of moving on. I’ll try to post again before we take off, then I’ll have lots of “traveling news” to report.
Well, folks, that’s all the news for now, so I’ll sign off. I hope everyone is enjoying weather as beautiful as ours has been and you too can smell spring in the air.
Catch ya next time, but in the meantime…..
HAPPY TRAILS!
The weather has been beautiful here the last couple of days and the forecast, at least until next week, is for more warm weather and sunshine. Love it!
We’ve been really busy doing whatever suits us at the moment, so I can’t say we’re very tired. It’s been fun to get acquainted with Bentley and watching his antics as he thinks the entire RV is his playground. He is getting the message to stay off the kitchen counter and he has selected his favorite toys and favorite nap locations. Mr. Bentley has made himself at home.
He likes the big window in our bedroom and loves to settle in on his cushion to watch the squirrels, the birds, and the ever present turkey and deer.
Such a rough life, don’t you think? Poor Kitty. He tends to want to stay in our bed after we’re up and around. I end up having to make him move so that I can make the bed.
And when it’s time to change the sheets, Bentley thinks the circus has come to town. Have you ever tried to make a bed with a cat chasing the sheets or anything else that moves? Let me tell ya, it ain’t easy. He’s quite the little clown.
But he’s equally as lovable. He loves to cuddle up in our laps and sleep or snuggle up close and pat my face with his paw. Here we are relaxing in my chair.
I’ve noticed a lot more deer lately that are a lot closer to the RV. I guess we’ve been parked here long enough that they have accepted us as part of the scenery.
Here are a few pictures I’ve taken lately from the windows of the RV.
I’m still watching for the cougar that frequents this area, but with no luck. I’m still hoping to see it again and get some pictures. Ginger said it was a gorgeous cat when she saw it just up the road from the RV park, so I’d love to get a good picture.
We had planned to make the trip to Arizona and stay there until Spring, but we both have family members with health issues going on, so we’ve been hesitant to get back on the road. And there’s another reason.
Ever since my three month stint in the the hospital, I’ve had problems with sitting for very long at a time. And I wasn’t looking forward to another trip in the truck on my “butt pillow” that doesn’t really help much. So I decided I’d had enough and made an appointment with a local Chiropractor to see if he can get me straightened out. I’ve had lower back problems for years and I’m used to frequent discomfort, but this “pain in the butt” is a whole other thing.
So I made my first visit today for the evaluation and initial adjustment. Wow, I didn’t realize just how much my lower back has been bothering me until after the visit. It felt wonderful!
Now, I’ll be going back for ten more adjustments, if it takes that many, but I feel confident that by the time we hit the road again, I can retire the “butt pillow”. Now I’m just asking myself why I waited so long.
That’s all the news for now. We’re seriously thinking about a day trip to Hot Springs to get a nice long soak in the mineral springs and a good massage. Not sure when we’ll do it, but I’ll keep ya posted. Until then….
HAPPY TRAILS!
We knew that we would have a new grandson by the 17th, if not before, so we weren’t really surprised to get a phone call early on the 14th from DeWayne’s youngest son Kevin. They were at the hospital and Tricia was in labor. So I jumped out of bed (DeWayne was already up), got my shower, some breakfast, packed our duds and we were off to Norman.
We arrived to find that Jonathan Kale had been born at 11:58 a.m., weighing 6 lb., 2 oz. And what a beautiful baby boy his is!
Here is “Gramps’” first glimpse of his new grandson as Dad and big brother Jaxon look on.
Let me tell ya. This little guy didn’t have a care in the world.
And here his is with his mother, who looks tired, but smiling.
And more of our newest little star of the family…
So whadaya think? Isn’t he a handsome little guy? We think so, of course.
We spent the night and visited the hospital again on Saturday before taking care of errands and heading home. We can’t wait to see more of little Jonathan and get lots more great pictures. Congratulations Kevin, Tricia and Jaxon!!!
One of our errands involved something we had been discussing, which was to get ourselves a cat. We both, especially me, miss having a pet and we have heard that cats are better for the travelling lifestyle than dogs, so we decided to adopt our own kitty.
We found “Bentley” with granddaughter Carlie’s help at Petsmart. Thank you, Carlie! We wanted a younger cat or kitten that would adjust better to our lifestyle, but I was also looking for one with a very laid back personality. I didn’t want to get one that would be hiding out all the time and afraid of it’s shadow. And I wanted a calmer cat to lessen the chance that it would be traumatized by a moving vehicle.
Out of all the cats that we saw, Bentley was so laid back that we had to ask the clerk to go inside and wake him up so we could get a better look at him. He was so pretty and only 8 months old, so we asked to hold him and check out his temperament.
This little guy was so lovable and cuddly! And he was so relaxed and purring up a storm that it was unanimous. Carlie liked him, DeWayne liked him, and I was already in love. We asked Carlie to suggest a name and Bentley was her first suggestion. We both liked it too, so it stuck. We made out the adoption papers, gathered up all the kitty supplies (litter box, food, litter, toys, bed, carrier, etc.) and headed for the checkout.
I’ll have to say that we spent more to bring home a cat than my hospital bill was for the birth of my first born. My how times have changed! But our little Bentley has a clean bill of health, all his shots and is fixed already, so the price of the adoption was a bargain at $65. Where the real money came in was for all the supplies!
Anyway, we think he was worth it and I was so pleased that he rode in the car like a little trooper. I even took him out of the carrier for a while and he just lay in my lap and purred.
After the trip home, we had to leave him in his carrier for a while til we got the litter box assembled and ready to go, but once we opened the door and let him out into the RV, he just acted like he had been here forever. Not skiddish….not nervous….didn’t run and hide. In fact, he was a busy little guy for a while just taking it all in, playing with his new toys and having dinner.
It had been a long day for all of us, so off to bed we went…..all three of us. Bentley settled down drifted right off……until….
About 4:30 in the morning, it was play time! And he wanted to play with DeWayne (he never bothered me at all). So the ritual began….walking around on DeWayne’s head, playing with his feet if they moved, then back up on his head…
Needless to say, DeWayne had to get out of bed earlier than he had planned and when I got up after a great night's sleep, I found DeWayne nodding in his recliner and Bentley sound asleep in his lap. Best buds.
Bentley has taken his place in our little family like he has always been here and has made himself right at home. He’s lovable and sweet, then in the blink of an eye, he’s into something and in trouble. I think it’s safe to say he will be lessening the boredom factor in this household.
All pooped out and snoozing In his bed…
And napping in DeWayne’s chair…..
DeWayne took Casey out for ice cream today after school, so he wanted to come and meet Bentley, but Bentley was still in nap mode.
So we are now a family of three in our little home. And loving it!
That’s all the news for now. Stay tuned for the latest news and the latest antics from Bentley. And in the meantime…..
HAPPY TRAILS!!!
McAlester current temperature is 24 degrees at 1:30 in the afternoon. The high today is supposed to be all the way up to 26, but I have my doubts it will make it. Brrrrr!
I hope everyone had a great New Year and have settled into 2011 with ease. We stayed in for New Year’s Eve and out of the path of any drunk drivers. We watched movies and DeWayne was asleep before midnight.
Since my last post, I made a trip to the folk’s house for a couple of days and helped SOS get ready for the annual financial audit, then stayed around while the auditor was there. Everything was in great shape, as usual.
I came home just in time to hand the car keys over to DeWayne so that he could take his son Scott to Memphis. They were there to tour Graceland since Scott has wanted to do that for a long time and their timing was great since it was Elvis’ birthday.
Then the “lovely weather” hit the day he came home and it’s been cold and nasty ever since. I think the temps will finally crawl just above freezing tomorrow and at least the sun is shining, but we have three small heaters going in the RV and the propane heat still kicks in once in a while.
Thank goodness for the fresh water tank because even with heat tape on the hose coming from the water spigot, our water still froze up. The spigot that the rv park manager guaranteed not to freeze up FROZE UP! So much for taking someone’s word for it, huh?
Let me see if I can remember everything else that has been going on for us. Oh yeah! Ginger stopped by here after work on Friday for a cup of coffee and when she left and turned out of the RV park, she spotted the cougar running alongside the street for a ways, so she got a really good look at it and said it was just gorgeous. Wish I had been there with my camera. Oh well, I’m still watching for the elusive critter to wander through the park again. Maybe….
I’ve noticed a flock of geese feeding outside a couple of times.
One day last week, I noticed the geese were out and the turkey were out too. Before long, they were mingling together, although leery of each other.
One indication that the cougar isn’t frequenting the RV park these days is the calmness of the other wildlife. I took this picture from the bedroom window of deer resting in the grass near where the cougar entered the woods just a coupla weeks ago.
DeWayne decided it was time for a new computer. He had a regular PC that took up a lot of space and was a real pain to pack away and then set up again every time we moved, so he decided on a laptop. We also decided to buy an external hard drive to store our 4,000+ songs on in the case of a computer crash (god forbid). He can also backup his computer to the external on a regular schedule, so if for some reason the computer is kaput, it can be restored.
The reason for keeping the regular PC was to store all the music on the bigger hard drive, but the external drive was only $60, so it made sense to downsize the computer and free up more space.
What I didn’t know was that he would come home with a MAC.
I’ve never used a Mac in my life and don’t know a thing about them. I’m usually the troubleshooter when it comes to the computers, so DeWayne is having to learn the Mac system from ground up, but is making good progress.
He got the external hard drive and now has that all figured out. And he also bought a new printer for us that is wireless, so I love that. Now we can print from either of our computers with no problem. And TWO LESS WIRES to string around. Love it!
We cleaned the old PC up, packed it and the printer up and took it to Jana for her to use with her new classes, so everybody was happy. I’m loving not having that big PC tower and monitor to look at and take up so much space.
The new laptop looks much better! The only thing left to do is to buy another external hard drive to back up my laptop and we’ll be set.
The weather deteriorated this past Sunday, as predicted. I started seeing little specks of snow that morning, then some light sleet for a while, then back to snow……big flakes of snow. It was pretty as it fell.
And as soon as the snow let up, the turkey were back in force. This one was right outside the kitchen window, scratching around in the snow.
I made a big pot of homemade soup and cornbread for the cold weather, then put half of it in the freezer for the next cold spell. DeWayne has been wanting me to bake some jalapeno cheddar bread but wanted me to use Eula’s recipe that he loves. Heck, the entire family loves it! Anyway, she wrote out the recipe for me, so on Saturday, I made the trip to Wal Mart to get the ingredients, then home to put it all together. Oh, it smelled soooooo good in the oven. I had to cut into it and slather a slice with butter before it cooled off.
We’ve almost polished off one of the loaves and have the other one in the freezer for a later time.
We both have a little cabin fever after all the cold weather and staying in, so I think we’ll be heading for Chili’s to eat this evening. I love their food and their sunrise margueritas are delicious!
DeWayne’s new grandson should be making his first appearance any day now, but will be arriving on the 17th for sure, if not before. We’re looking forward the big event and welcoming yet another grandchild into the world before we move on to Arizona.
That’s all the news for now, so I’ll shut up and get the coffee made for Ginger’s daily visit. So I hope everybody is staying warm and enjoying the new year. Catch ya next time, but until then…..
HAPPY TRAILS!!
DeWayne and I want to wish each and every one of our friends and family a very happy, blessed and prosperous new year. Goodbye 2010, hello 2011.
HAPPY TRAILS!!!!
