Are you ready for some Football??

Well, it's Monday night and there is no more DWTS - so here we are at 8:00 watching the Monday Night Countdown to Football - the Saints and the Pats (sorry Melissa - go Saints - don't tell Justin, but I can't stand the Pats.) I probably won't watch that much of the game - I'll probably go in and crawl in the bed and read for awhile. Speaking of football - this Saturday will be a football day - I'm not going to say who I will be routing for because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings - but I definitely know who I want to win. That's all I'm going to say about the subject.

Work was SLOW today - it was awful - nothing to do - I ended up folding brochures all morning long. Not that many people came into the park - I don't know if that had to do with it being the Monday after Thanksgiving or because the restaurant is not open on Monday's and the tram doesn't run either. Doesn't really matter what caused it - there weren't any people in the park.

After work Dan and I did go down to Lake Placid and get the rest of the Christmas crates to go through - then I couldn't find the mail that Melissa brought to me (Melissa, Dan found it in the truck). Anyway, I did get some decorating done in the 'house' - the table is now fixed and Dan finished putting up the lights outside. Tomorrow we will probably run into Wal Mart and pick up some bigger crates and see if we can consolidate everything we are going to keep into a couple of crates instead of five. We'll see.

We also need to order our medicine and I need to call the dog sitter in Dowling Park - if I don't do it soon I won't have anyone to keep the pups in January when we go on our cruise. I need to make a list of all the phone calls I need to make. I also need to balance the "black book" - I don't think I ever posted the figures for the month of October so in the next couple of days I'll post both months figures (it might be a good way to compare and contrast where we spend and were we don't). Anyway, looks like it will be a busy time after work for the next couple of days.

Well, it's time for some football, so I will sign off for tonight - oh, before I go, I just want to say thanks to those of you that continue to post comments - it does help me to keep going knowing that you guys are still out there reading. Okay, I gotta run so ---------------------

Talk to you tomorrow!!

Another Sunday at Work

Well, I promised a picture of our Christmas tree today - and here it is. Also, if you notice the TV in the background you will see that I was watching the Viking kick some Jay Cutler butt (how's that Crystal??) I bet that some of you that play on the fantasy football league wish they had picked up Brett Farve as your quarterback don't you - HA! Oh you of little faith - thinking the boy can't play anymore - guess he is showing you huh???? I do love to see that boy play! I know- some of you are saying that today wasn't much of a test - but he has played well all year (the best quarterback rating in the NFL - thank you very much!)

Work was very busy today - so much so I looked up and it was 20 minutes after 1 - and time for me to go home - Dan worked until almost 3 today - we had so many people leaving that they had to clean the bathhouses twice. Anyway, we did get some things done at the 'house' today, but not everything we were thinking we would get done. Dan did get his decorations done outside - lights on the awning over the picnic table - now he wants to go buy some bigger crates so we can put all our stuff in just a couple of crates instead of having three or four crates. So, I guess we will do that tomorrow after work - we might even go over to the storage building and get some other crates to go through. (Crystal, if you want anything else in particular, you better let me know.)

I'm hoping to get everything gone through in the next couple of days and then get the outside of the unit cleaned up and straightened up - I don't like things to be in disarray, whether that is inside or outside. We should have everything done in the next couple of days - I know that we still have a lot of crates to go through - but it shouldn't take me long to go through them- I really don't think I want anything else here - so it will just be making the decision if I want to keep the stuff or give it away. I'm in the mood to get rid of stuff instead of keeping stuff and people who know me know that when I decide to go through stuff I get rid of it. I don't keep a lot. Too bad I couldn't have another garage sale - bet I could make some more money. Oh well.

Speaking of making money - Dan has decided to sell the 'big' bike - I got home from work today and he had put a sign on it - "For Sale - $2,200.00" - YEAH!!!!!! Now, if we can just to sell it - I might put an ad on Ebay or Craigs List - I think Craigs List is free. We'll see what Dan wants to do.

Well, I don't have much else to report - if any of you know someone who wants a nice bike just let me know and I'll give you more information and I'll even post a picture or two. Until then ----

Talk to you tomorrow!

Saturday 11-28-09

Our cousins, Faye and Woody, came and visited with us today - it was nice having a chance to catch up and spend time with each other. We ran up to Panera Bread and had lunch - GREAT Black Bean Soup. While we weren't able to spend a lot of time together it was really nice to be together. We will get back together before the holidays and before we go back up to Dowling Park.

This afternoon I decorated our Christmas tree - I'll have to post a picture of it tomorrow - Dan is still working on putting lights up on the awning over the picnic table - he should finish them up tomorrow afternoon after work. (Yes, we have to go back to work tomorrow. Oh well, we all have to work at some time or the other.) We bought a new tablecloth for the picnic table and we went through some of the decorations - Crystal now has a box and Melissa has a box and then there is some boxes that they will have to go through together and pick which decorations they want. There are still boxes over at the storage room that we haven't been through yet, but that is something I am determined to get done. We have talked about it for years and now is the best time - I have decided that what the girls don't want and we don't have any use for is going away - far, far away. I am not going to keep things that won't be used.

I've tried with the ace bandage on my ribs the last couple of days - it's fine while I'm sleeping, but by now - after wearing it all day - I'm tired and my back hurts. I'm not sure if I will be able to wear this all night tonight or not - we'll see.

I also got the laundry done today (except the towels which I will do tomorrow after work). I think we got a lot done in the last couple of days. Now, we just have to find out what everyone wants for Christmas and see how we are going to handle that. Don't know how that will work out yet, but we'll do something.

Well, I don't have much else to report so I'll sign off for tonight - I'll post pictures tomorrow of our Christmas decorations. Until then - have a great Sunday and ...................................

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!

Day after Thanksgiving

Dana, Mark and the girls came down to see us today - we took them for a ride on the big golf cart and saw some turtles and the momma alligator with just one of her babies - that picture is below. We fixed some hot dogs on the grill and had some macaroni salad along with potato salad and potato chips. It was a little cool on the ride, but I hope everyone had a good time.

Here is momma again - see if you can find the baby.

After Dana, Mark and the girls left we took all the fall stuff down to the storage building in Lake Placid - saw Melissa and Justin for a few minutes - picked up some of the Christmas boxes to start going through. If it were up to Dan we would have put the tree up today - as it is, we will probably do that tomorrow IF I can find the right box of decorations. That will be the question - I mean, I only have about 20 crates of Christmas decorations to go through.

I think that Dan's cousin is going to come down and see us tomorrow - and I do need to do laundry as some point so I will have my uniform clean for my new work week. Dan has gone into town to get me an ace bandage (we'll see if this will help with my pain issue) and some Tylenol.

I'm going to sign off for tonight - enjoy the pictures.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Hello everyone - I hope that you all have had a fantastic Thanksgiving - Dan and I sure did - we spent the day at our youngest daughter's first home - with her husband's family and my mother. It was a GREAT day - This is a picture of her dog Brady - who is a really good dog - even with 18 people in the house and two other dogs (and four of the people were little ones) she did great - and she didn't even get any food off the table (no pumpkin pie leaves this year!)

This is Melissa and Justin's dining area in their new home - this was taken before all the craziness of all the food hit - we set up four tables down the open area behind the couches and put all the food on the table and served things buffet style------------------------------

This is a quick picture of Melissa and Justin as we were trying to get everyone together to bless the food - Justin did a great job of saying the blessing (we all have so much to be thankful for!).

This shows the tables and the food - lots and lots of food - ham, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, candied yams, green beans, carrots, cream corn, broccoli casserole, cranberry sauce, not counting all the desserts! Good food!

After dinner and dessert Dan and I came home and I'm going to take a couple of pills and probably go to bed and rest for a while. Once again - I hope that you all have had an absolutely fantastic day - tomorrow we start getting ready for Christmas!

Talk to you tomorrow!!!!!

Pain

Okay - I've been asked to show pictures of the new unit again - so I have posted just a couple - hope this gives you an idea of the size of the new one - I haven't changed the picture on the heading of the blog - I probably will do that in the future.





For those that missed it - that is Dan sitting under the awning - we are still working on getting everything put away where we want it - and now we will have to start thinking about what we are going to do as far as decorating for Christmas - those that know me know that I love to decorate at Christmas (well, actually anytime) and that has been one of the hardest things for me to get accustomed to - well, we will see what we can do.

If you are wondering about the title of the blog tonight - well, my ribs have really been hurting today - there are times that I feel so badly I just want to sit down and cry - but, no not me! Anyway, when I got home tonight I did actually take a pain pill that we had left from one of our visits to the doctor (probably one of Dan's little "accidents") and it has helped quite a bit - still hurts, but I can function now. It is a good thing that tomorrow is the last day of work for this week. Of course, I will be going down to Melissa's and helping to get Thanksgiving dinner ready - but that should not be that difficult - plus MeMe (my mom) will be there also.

Dan is going to stay here at the 'house' to meet with his daughter -Dana, Mark and the kids are coming down for the day - Dan bought some hot dogs and some potato salad - and will fix stuff on the fire tomorrow for the kids while I am at Melissa's working on Thursday. I'm sorry that I will miss seeing Dana and family, but I'm sure they understand.

Well, I'm not going to stay on long - I'm trying to watch DWTS (GO DONNIE!!!!!!!!). We are suppose to be really busy tomorrow. I'm not sure if I will take the computer with me tomorrow to Melissa's so, if I don't Dan and I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!! And, I'll talk to you on Friday!!!!!

Got the truck back, Finally!!!

We got phone call this morning that our truck was FINALLY fixed, and the best part of all - there was NO CHARGE!!!!!! Not even for the rental car! I was very pleased to say the least - now we did have to pay $102.00 but that was for the oil change that Dan asked them to do - it had nothing to do with the problem with the truck. I was so expecting some kind of charge - I mean every other dealership we have taken it to have charged us everything from $200.00 to over $500.00 plus we even had to pay for the rental car - but Bartow Ford said that all charges would be covered under our warranty - Fantastic!!!!! Now, let's just see if it is indeed fixed.

On the way home from Bartow, we went by our cousins house in Lake Wales - we haven't seen them in a while, so it was really nice to be able to visit for a little while. Hopefully, they will be able to come down and see us on Saturday - maybe we'll go out and eat or I could fix something here - the main thing is we get all caught up again and stay in touch with each other.

Work went well today - it was a little slow, but it should pick up in the next couple of days - I have been told that this Wednesday and this Sunday will be extremely busy - only time will tell - but when we are busy it sure does make the day go faster. So bring it on!!! (I may regret saying that on Wednesday - but I'll let you know!)

Well, I don't have much else to report - I'm trying to watch DWTS while I am doing the blog - so it is taking me forever to get this written - (GO DONNIE!!!!!!!) but I have not voted all season - that is a first I think. I think I'll sign off for tonight.

Talk to you tomorrow!!!!!!

Finally pictures of deer!

Today was a pretty easy day at work - it was really slow until about 10 o'clock. Then things picked up some and the day passed quickly. This morning, while things were still slow we had a couple of visitors at the ranger station. Finally I was rewarded for taking my camera with me to work everyday - the picture above was taken out the back door of the 'office'.

This one was taken as the two deer ran across the road and headed back into the woods.


A little later these same two deer crossed the road a couple of times further up the road away from the station.

This is taken out the back door also - the two heard a noise and that's when they turned and ran across the road - I really didn't do a good job of putting these in the correct order - but I think you can figure it out.

Everyone keeps saying that this week is going to be very busy - with Thanksgiving on Thursday - we will have to wait and see - we didn't have anyone check in today and we did have about 10 campers leave today - so we'll just have to wait and see.

I called my mom today - she is staying with one of her friends in Lakeland - and gave her the directions to the state park - Dan and I figured it would be easier for her to find us than to find Melissa's house plus she hasn't seen our new unit - so she will come here on Wednesday around 1:00 and then I'll bring her to the camper - show her around and then go to Melissa's. I'm going to spend the night there Wednesday night and then Dan will come down on Thursday. It will work better than trying to explain to her how to get to Melissa's house - there are quite a few twists and turns - plus I'll be there to help Melissa get things set up and get Thanksgiving dinner ready.

Well, Faith is singing - so it's time for Sunday Night Football!!! (I'm sooooooo happy that we have the Dish working - I've really missed my football) - Today has been some strange games - they were talking about the game last week - Dan and I went to bed thinking that the Pats had won the game against the Colts - but you never count out Payton and of course Belachick (or however you spell his name) made that call that no one understands. Anyway, it doesn't matter - the Colts won!!!!! (Sorry, Justin and Melissa - but he's over it by now cause the Pats won today). I'm still routing for my Brett - he's having a GREAT year and I hope he keeps it up. Well, I'm going to sign off for tonight - after all I have work tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy the pictures (in fact, I enjoyed the one of the deer crossing the road so much I put it on here twice - sorry!) Take care and -------------------------------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!!!!

Everything unloaded and in the storage room

Today was a rough day - it took almost all day to get the truck unloaded and everything put away - then we had to take the furniture that Justin and Melissa is going to use over to their house and get that unloaded. But everything is done - and the truck has been returned. I even got our laundry done over at the house today before I came home.

Dan brought the other motorcycle here - I don't know what he has decided to do with it - I'm still hopeful, but like I have said before, it is up to him.

When we got home we had a note from a teacher that Dan once had - Nancy Taylor - she had come by to see us and, of course, we weren't home. Dan was really sorry that we missed her, but hopefully she will come by again on another day. Linda, if you are reading this, let her know that we're sorry we weren't home but hopefully she will understand.

I'm still very sore - especially on the right side. I didn't do any heavy lifting, but I did help pack the cabinets. Good thing I did - we have so much stuff!!!!! I really thought we had done a good job of going through all our stuff and that we had not kept that much - but after today - I sure don't think that anymore. We really need to go through all the decorative stuff - I know that the Christmas stuff will be gone through and I really intend on getting rid of most of it. I need to do that with the Fall stuff - I just haven't brought myself to do it yet. With Christmas almost here it will cause me to go through some of it anyway.

I don't guess this is a very good way to spend your anniversary (yep, seven years today!) but at least we won't have to worry about trying to get our stuff down here anymore. Now, we just have to celebrate the holidays that are quickly approaching and be thankful for all we have.

Tomorrow is back to work - I hope this week passes quickly - and then we have Thanksgiving on Thursday - that should be a hoot - right now it looks like there will be around 20 people at Melissa's. It should be interesting!

Well, I don't have much else to report - so until then ........................................

Talk to you tomorrow!

Moving

Loaded almost everything in Dowling Park Thursday afternoon and Friday morning and then drove home Friday afternoon - Dan has already left with the truck headed to the storage unit in Lake Placid. I have to get dressed and head that way myself.

Sorry I didn't blog the last couple of days - I didn't take the computer with me and I was just too tired last night (was in the bed by 8 o'clock). Will catch you up on all the happenings tonight.

Until then - have a good day!

Leaving for Dowling Park

Our second work week is over (Yeah!) and this week went really very quickly. I was surprised that it passed as quickly as it did. Anyway, we will leave in the morning for Dowling Park and pack up the storage shed. We rented the U Haul on line so it will be there for us to pick up tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully we will be able to load at least 1/2 tomorrow and then finish up Friday so we can drive back home Friday afternoon. At least that would be the plan - the U haul people are only giving us two days. So we have to plan our time well.

Melissa came over and picked me up this afternoon and we went into Lake Placid and bought groceries for Thanksgiving. We should have everything that we need except the fresh vegetables - I ordered another turkey (Melissa had only had one but it was a little small so we all decided we needed another one) and we also have a nice size spiral cut ham. I also ordered a vegetable tray from Publix which we will pick up on Wednesday afternoon (yes, I will have to fight the crowds). MeMe (my mom) should be here Wednesday morning and then she and I will go down to Melissa's on Wednesday and start with the preparations. We will both spend the night and then Dan will come down on Thursday morning. It should all work out. Melissa says the guest count right now is at 17 and could go up to about 25. I just hope we will have enough food (we should, but you never know).

Well, I really don't have much else to report tonight - I am feeling better but I am still very sore - I'm hoping it doesn't interfere with the loading of the truck tomorrow and Friday. I'll let you know. So until then ......................................

Talk to you tomorrow!

Explanation

Okay, let me explain. First of all yesterday morning started out just fine - I got ready for work and was waiting for Dan to come in to take me to work. Instead I walk outside and Dan has "my" motorcycle cranked and wants me to ride it to work. I told him I didn't want to, but he insists (later he admitted he was trying to show off). Well, the next thing I know I have crashed into a picnic table and the camper next door to us. No, I didn't hurt the other guys camper - or the picnic table. To tell you the truth, yesterday I thought I had cracked a couple of ribs, but now I think I just bruised them. I do have a huge bruise on my inner thigh, and I am really, really sore - but I'm fine. Really! You don't have to worry anymore - we sold the motorcycle last night so I won't be on it again. Just in case you are wondering - yes, I went to work and stayed my whole shift.

After I got home from work I did take a couple of pain pills and then we had to go into Bartow to take the truck in and see IF they can actually fix the problem - whatever that is. We got a rental car to use while they are working on the truck - but the problem is, we don't know how long it is going to take to fix the truck - when we called them this afternoon to see what they had found - they had no idea what the problem is. We are suppose to call again in the morning and see if they have found something yet. (It sorta worries me that they haven't found anything, it makes me think that they will just make something up to make us "feel better".) Anyway, we really can't plan our trip to Dowling Park until we find out - we'll see tomorrow what is happening - but the fact of the matter is - we don't have any choice - we HAVE to go to Dowling Park this weekend - next weekend is Thanksgiving (DUH!) and the next weekend is the first of December and I don't want to have to pay another month's rent on the unit in there. Plus there is some furniture that Melissa and Justin is going to use in their new house and they would like to have it before all the people come to their house for Thanksgiving.

This afternoon we went over to Melissa and Justin's and made the grocery order for Thanksgiving and Dan helped Justin put some stuff on the wall while Melissa and I unpacked the Thanksgiving dishes. Then we went and ate a quick dinner before Dan and I came home to watch NCIS and the result show for DWTS. I'll take a couple of pills and go to bed soon. Will let you know what we find out about the truck tomorrow. Until then .............................

Talk to you tomorrow!

CRASH!!!!

The title says it all - will explain more later today - let's just say that I can now get back on the computer!

later!

How about some Football!!!

I know, I know - football is all I seem to talk about - right??? Well, I am so excited that I have actually been able to watch football that I want to talk about it all the time. Today is the first day that I have been able to sit down on a Sunday afternoon and watch some games - of course, the games that I was able to watch weren't that good (I mean come on - Green Bay and Dallas, please). However, the point is I WAS ABLE TO WATCH THE GAME!

We were really busy at work today - it was after 12 o'clock before I had a chance to even look at the clock. (Which made the morning go really fast!) We did have a problem with speeders today - the speed limit in the park is 15 miles an hour - well, people were just not following the limit. Well, our local law enforcement officer was in the park and wrote several tickets (at least five before I left work at about 1:10) at around $189.00 a pop. Things really did change after he showed up.

In case you are wondering - I am feeling 100 percent better today - I still don't want to eat much or eat anything with any kind of spice to it - but I feel so much better that I really don't mind. Let's just hope it keeps up.

Right now we are planning on heading up to Dowling Park on Thursday and get the stuff we have in storage there and bring it down here to Lake Placid. We will share a storage unit with Melissa and Justin. We plan on getting there Thursday - load the truck on Friday and come back on Saturday and unload (we might even try and get back here on Friday so we have all day Saturday to unload and get the truck back). I'm not sure yet - but we'll see. Dan also went to Bartow Ford and talked to our salesman last week when he went to Lakeland. He explained the problem we are STILL having with the truck and they want us to bring the truck in and let them have a go at fixing it. I really am not sure if Dan will keep this truck - he has been looking at other trucks (a GMC 3500 Diesel with an Allison transmission). He has heard that these trucks have more power and get better fuel economy. Like I said - we'll see. I figured after the truck broke down on us and left us stranded that Dan was starting to think about getting rid of it. Then when it wasn't fixed after two trips to the shop at two different dealership I figured it was just a matter of time. I'll let you know what happens.

We did make a quick trip into Wal Mart tonight and picked up a few groceries - Dan got a pizza and I got some mac and cheese (thank goodness for Banquet frozen dinners!). Only spent about $80.00 - oh, in case you are wondering I do have the black book caught up except I haven't done the breakdown. Will try and do that in the next couple of days (of course the last time I said that I got sick!).

I'm not even sure if you guys are still reading - I know that not much exciting is happening right now, but like I said - it's the good, the bad, and the ugly - this is the bad - boring. I know that - but when I don't hear from anyone it makes it hard to keep writing. I hope you guys are still there and I will try and make it interesting - but sometimes life just isn't - even on the road.

I really don't have much else to report - I hope all of you that have to work have a good week. Oh, and just a quick note to Crystal - sorry about the results of the game - maybe next week???? Hope you guys had a good time in Nashville anyway.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Football Saturday!!!!

We have TV!!!!! Last week before I got sick I called Dish Network and told them that our receiver was fried (must have happened when the power inverter fried). Anyway, they UPSed us a new one - it came in on Thursday (we can actually have things mailed and shipped to the ranger station). So, while I was lying in bed Dan actually got on the phone and talked to Dish and had the received activated AND got the local channels. We really didn't think we would be able to get any reception on the Dish - but look - it works!!! I have actually been able to watch football all day today - including the Alabama game tonight (and the Florida game this afternoon).

Dan went into Lakeland today and picked up the little cycle - I think we are going to try and sell it - Dan says that if someone in the campground takes a 'liken' to it we would see it for the same price that we paid Dale for it. Then we will have to decide what we are going to do with the other cycle - I would also like to sell it, but we bought it for Dan and he will have to decide what he wants to do with it. If he does decide to sell it, I hope that we can get what we paid for it back.
After I fixed dinner (which I didn't eat - will explain that later) he went down to the circle to hear the bluegrass band that is playing in the park tonight. (opps, he just came back in - he forgot to carry a chair and a over shirt - he said that it was a little cool outside.)

While I am feeling better than I have for the last two days - I can tell that I'm not over whatever it is that I've had. I haven't felt like eating much (which is why I didn't eat supper) but at least I have been out of the bed all day and I did get the laundry done (I absolutely HAD to get the laundry done or I would be going to work without my uniform). I didn't go down to hear the music with Dan or go to Lakeland with him - I just didn't feel like getting that far away from home - plus I would have missed the Florida- South Carolina game. I certainly hope that I'm better tomorrow since I do have to work - and we will have lots of people checking out - the campground has a lot of people - mostly a church group I think. Anyway, at one point today all the kids were on bicycles and there must have been over a hundred - but I didn't have my camera where I could get a picture, but it was pretty neat. My stomach is not better yet but at least I don't have the chills like I had on Thursday. I don't know what this is, but I have heard that several of the other volunteers have had the same thing. I'm at about 75 percent today and hopefully I'll be at around 95 to 100 percent tomorrow.

I hope you all had a good Saturday and I'll talk to you then.

Sick

Sorry I haven't blogged in the last couple of days - I have not been feeling well AT ALL!!!! Have spent the lat two days in bed, but I am feeling much better today - so I will try and get caught up on all the stuff I should have done the last two days done today.

Will blog more tonight - just wanted to let you know why I haven't been on the blog!

Talk to you later tonight!

First week over

Today was a pretty good day - Dan didn't have any real "messes" to clean up today - and it was busier that I thought it would be. There were quite a few people who wanted to come into the for free. The nice thing was staying busy makes the day go faster.

After work I came home and straightened up the 'house' and got all the fall decorations that I wanted to put out - those that know me know that I can not go without decorating some and I just had to decorate the house. Of course I can't decorate like I used to do when we had a "stick and bricks", but I have some out and it does give us a 'homey' touch.

We are suppose to have some cooler weather the next few days - that will be nice as it has been fairly warm here. Anything under 80 degrees will be nice and it's suppose to be in the mid to upper 70's through the weekend. Tomorrow I'm going to finish working on the black book - I know that I've been talking about it for a week -but I did start on it today - shouldn't take me too long tomorrow and I'll have those figures tomorrow night.

Friday I am going to go to Melissa's classroom and talk to the kids about our summer - and even show some of the pictures. She had told her classes what Dan and I did this summer and the kids were interested - so, I'm going to go and show them. It should be interesting.

Well, I really don't have much to report so I'll sign off for tonight. Before I do I just want to say thank you to all our veterans and our current military personnel for their sacrifices - I do appreciate all that you have done to guarantee our freedoms.

Talk to you tomorrow!!

Day 3 - 11-10-09

Each day is getting easier and easier and I'm learning more and more everyday. Today I learned how to take reservations on the pavilions and rec hall. I continued to answer the phone and the admissions to the park. I still have a lot to learn (like how to check campers in to the park) but that will come in the future. I have faith.

Dan also continues to learn new things every day - and he is still getting to ride around in the woods in the golf carts and "Mule". We talked about it today, and while we really enjoyed our job in Idaho, we are actually liking our job here more. We do different things every day and work with the public. Although, this morning Dan had a mess to clean up in the bathroom - not a good thing - but he did his job with no complaints (at least not to me). We'll continue to see how things go.

We heard from the job in Oregon - I don't think we will get this one - they are looking for people who will do the entire season (June through October), but she told me to contact them when we were ready to leave Alaska as they might have a cancellation and they might have a position for us. That would be a good thing for us. We'll just have to wait and see - but we all know how patient we are.

After work today I straightened the 'house' some. Then we went into town to the store - and picked up some groceries (you know, stuff for breakfast and lunch). I still haven't sat down and balanced the check book and caught up the 'black book' - I have to do that soon as the bills have to get paid on time. Anyway, I'll try and get that done tomorrow and let you know how the month looked last month and how we are doing so far this month.

Tonight is NCIS and the result show for DWTS - then I'll be off to bed. I'm tired - didn't sleep well last night - hopefully, tonight will be better.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Day Two

Today was a little different than yesterday - I worked with a different ranger today and it is definitely true that each ranger does things a little differently than the next. Not that it was bad it was just different than yesterday - the ranger yesterday was very talkative and the ranger today was NOT. I did get a little more responsibility - I got to answer the telephone - yahoo! Some things I didn't know the answer to and had to ask, but for the most part I was able to handle anything that was asked.

Dan worked a lot with the rangers - he still had to clean bathrooms, but he was able to spend time outdoors working and driving the "mule" - he was in hog heaven. Tonight he is complaining about being sore and his back hurting - but it this will be good for both of us. It requires us to do more walking than we are used to and Dan, especially, is having to lift things and use muscles that he hasn't had to use since he was working on the house in North Carolina. We have both said that we will get used to the work - it will just take some time.

After work Dan rested for a little while, then we went into town to Wal Greens and picked up those pictures that I had ordered over the Internet (354 out of 2789). I sure can't get all of them especially right now - I mean that would be over $200.00 IF I had a coupon for them at 10 cents apiece. I'll have to go through and sort and see which ones I really want to have printed for the scrapbook. It will just take some time - which right now I don't have. I'll work on it when I get the chance. (Maybe in January or February while in Dowling Park). Anyway, after we picked up the pictures we went over to Melissa's and picked up our mail - we got the information packet from Alaska - we will need to read over it and send some paper work back but that should get that all finished until it's time for us to head that way. I also applied for us a job in Oregon for August, September, and maybe October of next year. I don't have any idea if we have a chance to get it - but you never know until you apply.

That's about all that happened today - they are working on paving the roads - finally! Don't know how long that will take. We have two days down and two days to go for this week. I don't know who I will be working with tomorrow - but time will tell. I learn a little more every day. It will get better. Well, I'll sign off for tonight -

Talk to you tomorrow!

First "official" day at work

Today was a lot better day than yesterday - I slept better last night and we were up on time - took my shower and got ready for work. Dan fixed us breakfast and after he ate, he headed off to work. Which left me to clean up the kitchen before I left for "the office". I walked down to the ranger station and was actually there about 10 minutes early. While walking toward the "office" a young doe ran out of the woods and came right toward me. She got within about 50 feet before she saw me and stopped. She just stood there and watched me for a good minute before she turned around and ran back into the woods. Of course I didn't have my camera with me and I told the ranger that I worked with that I was going to have to start bringing my camera with me every morning. We also saw two other deer while I was at the ranger station (a doe and a young buck). There is quite a bit of wildlife around here and you know that Dan is loving it.

Learning what to do in the ranger station was not too bad today - I actually got on the cash register right after I got to work. I only made two mistakes - at least two that I know of. It is really just slowing down and making sure you look at what you are doing. After you know the sequence of keys you need to push and follow that sequence you can't mess up - it's just I didn't follow the right sequence to begin with. The rangers said I did a great job - but we'll see how things go tomorrow.

While I was slaving at the office Dan was out playing with another ranger - being taken on a tour of the park and shown all the neat places to go. When I finally got off work Dan met me with one of the golf carts and brought me home. He still had one more bathroom to clean (because he had been out playing), so I came in and fixed lunch so it was ready when he got finished and came home. When he came in we ate lunch and then he had to take the golf cart back to the maintenance building. Well, little did I know that he was going to pick up the "Mule" and come back with it. He came in and asked if I wanted to go for a ride - and he would show me around.

Well, off we went into the park and, of course, I didn't take my camera with me and I didn't even think about it until we were quite a distance from the 'house'. So, we saw two deer running down the road and again no picture. Then we went back to the dam and saw one small (about 3 foot long) alligator. The fish were jumping everywhere. Dan was just a happy little camper.

Then he wanted to take me to the small canal - but before we did - I convinced him to come back to the house so I could get my camera - we didn't see any more deer but we did see ...........


some alligators - this is a momma alligator and if you look very carefully you will see a couple of babies (one is right below her mouth the other is over to the left - they actually look like sticks in the picture here, but believe me they are the babies).

This is the other gator we saw at the canal. I guess the thing that sorta bothers me is - they were not the least bit upset with our being there. You know how when you come up they usually run off into the water - well, these just sat and didn't pay any attention to us at all. It may have to do with the fact that the public is not suppose to go back into the area we were in (ahhh, the advantages of being an "employee") and that they were on the opposite side of the canal from us. I also took some pictures of some big turtles that we saw.

We have three more days at work - Wednesday should be a very easy day for me - everyone gets into the park free on Veteran's Day. In one way, that will be cool, in another way it will be very boring - not interacting with the public. Anyway, I think it is a good gesture for the public that the parks are doing.

Well, that was our day. I'll try and remember to take my camera with me when I go to work in the morning from now on so I will have pictures for you to see. Hope you enjoy the ones I have posted here.

Talk to you tomorrow

Sunday Morning

Sorry I didn't post last night - was just too tired. Today is our first "official" day at work. Will let you know how it goes tonight - will also fill you in more about the festival yesterday. Just wanted to let you know that we are alive and well.

Talk to you tonight!

Shopping in Sebring

Today we went into town and bought the "blue boy" (finally!) and it was actually less than the one we looked at earlier - and it is made by the same manufacturer and, to make it even better, it is larger! Dan did not set it up yet - that will be a job for tomorrow (maybe). I say maybe because we have so many people in the park right now - we have the festival tomorrow and a lot of people have come in for that. I don't think that they will all be here after Sunday - which is my first day of actual work, but we will have to see.

Tomorrow, as I said, is the big CCC festival and we have been told to expect 2,000 - 3,000 people here for the day - the festival starts at 10 and runs till 4. I told Dorothy that I would help her with the vendors in the morning (7:30 - what was I thinking??????) then I was asked this evening if I could help at the ranger station from about 11:30 till 2:00 - that will get all my time in plus some. Anyway, I don't mind - if they need the help that is why we are here - to help were they need help. I'll let you know tomorrow how it went. I might even take the camera out with me at some point and take some pictures.

Dan and I also went to Books-A-Million today and to Bed Bath and Beyond - we bought a couple of books each (I had finished all my Dan Brown books - how did you like Angels and Demons, Crystal?????) and then we went over to BB and B - I wanted one of those paper towel holders that is weighted and you don't have to hold it to tear a paper towel off. Anyway, we got it and a bunch of other stuff that we decided we HAD to have and walked out spending about $150.00 - oh well, it's only money - right???

After we left there we had to go to Wal Mart - Dan needed some things there and I said that we didn't need any groceries - wrong - by the time we left Wal Mart there was another $200.00 gone. We have GOT to go to work so we will quit spending money. We did buy a longer water hose - so now we are actually using the type of water hose you are SUPPOSE to use for drinking water and I did buy a pair of black jeans to wear with my gray uniform shirt. I also bought some hair color (it's about time to color my hair again - darn gray roots!) I did make sure I didn't get anything that said "copper" on it anywhere - no more red hair for me! We also bought a few groceries - but we should be set for awhile.

Melissa came over after she got off work and we went back into town - to Books-A-Million - she wanted to pick up the new book in the series she is reading - then we went to Wal Greens because I was going to download my pictures from my external hard drive and get prints made because I had a coupon from Wal Greens that 4 X 6 prints were .10 each with no limit - well, thank goodness, the prints wouldn't load from the hard drive. We came back home and started to download them from my computer to the web (actually the pictures I had "syn"ed to the web on Picassa - when we realized that I had over 2,000 pictures (like 2,147) - Dan said that was over $200.00 just for pictures - soooooo, I am going to have to go through them and decide which pictures I want to print out and make a new folder then get the pictures printed. I'll get more offers from Wal Greens for .10 prints so I'm not going to worry about the deadline on the coupon I have now.

Well, that was the extent of our day - tomorrow should be exciting and tiring. I'll let you know.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Finishing Getting Set Up

I promised that I would post pictures of the new unit today and so, here they are. We also put up the awning over the picnic table and the grill - Dan is so proud of his new grill. If you look closely you will see that I have also put out our Thanksgiving flag and on the front of the unit is our name tag. As you can see, this side of the camper only has one slide ..................................................................................

but the other side has three. You can also see some of the campground which is pretty nice. The stick in the foreground with the little red flag is for the road pavers - and just in case you are wondering - no they don't have the roads paved yet. Probably they will start with the actual black asphalt on Monday.

Saturday is the big festival and we will help out some - but I really don't think we will work all day - we shall see.

What else did I do today - well, I cut my hair a little - actually, I just cut some bangs. However, I did do my first full haircut ever - I cut Dan's hair. At first he wanted me to buzz cut it, but I didn't really want to do that - so, I just cut it instead. It actually looks pretty good, even if I do have to say so myself. Dan even said that he liked it and we both agreed that if he didn't like it later I could always buzz cut it then.

We went over to Melissa and Justin's tonight for a little while - I cooked dinner for us all. They were babysitting a friend's little boy - Zacharia (I'm not sure if that is the way to spell his name) but anyway, he is a cute little fellow - just three years old. He likes the pups and they do pretty good until he starts to run around and get a little loud - then Jessie gets upset and starts barking and shaking. She is just not used to being around all that activity.

Anyway, after dinner and straightening up the kitchen Dan and I came home - he is in the bedroom watching TV and I'm getting ready to join him. I think we are going to go into town tomorrow and see if we can find the "blue boy". We also need a longer water hose for the camper. I will also try and balance the checkbook and balance the "black book" for the month of October. I really don't know how we did last month - but the only way to tell is to go back and add the expenditures up. I'll let you know.

Talk to you tomorrow!!

Meetings

This morning Dan and I, along with the other hosts, had a meeting with Ranger Mike who had the duty of showing the hosts how to clean the restrooms. I decided that I would accompany Dan to the meeting just to lend moral support. I actually helped clean one of the bathrooms - then while they were working on the other three buildings I came back home and cleaned our own bathroom along with the rest of the house.

Then at 1:00 we had a meeting with the assistant park manager - which lasted about two and half hours. We did tour the maintenance facility and see some of the things that we are allowed to use - like the golf carts. (Which makes Dan very happy!)

Saturday we have a big festival here and we are going to help out with that, even though we don't technically have to go to work until Sunday - I'll probably help Dorothy (the volunteer coordinator) with parking cars. Dan hasn't decided what he will do yet - we'll see.

We went into town tonight (Sebring) and bought a few groceries - actually very few. We talked about cooking at home tonight, but by the time we went to Home Depot (tell you about that in a minute) we decided that if we went to Publix hungry we would buy the store out - soooo, we ended up going to Sonny's Bar-B-Que and eating dinner. The good thing about that is we didn't buy a lot of junk food at Publix, the bad thing is we spent $25.00 for dinner. Oh well, that's our time to eat out this week.

Okay, why were we at Home Depot? Well, Dan wanted to pick up some gloves to wear while he is cleaning the restrooms and we ordered an area rug for the living area in the 'house'. We had looked at them in Atlanta, but didn't want to special order it until we got down here. Actually, by waiting, we got it cheaper - it was on sale! We wanted to get an area rug to help save the carpet in the living area - plus it is a way to put our "stamp" on our 'house' since we don't have a lot of ways to decorate. Anyway, it should be at the store in around a week. I'll take pictures when it comes in.

Tomorrow night we are going over to Melissa and Justin's and help them hang some pictures - and I'll cook dinner. It should be fun - we also need to pick up some mail that actually was delivered to their house today - YEAH!!!!!

Well, I don't have much else to report - we are just going to try and get things settled tomorrow before we go over to Melissa's. I'll also see if I can take some pictures of the outside of the unit and the park so you can see where we are camped.

Talk to you tomorrow!!!

We're Here!!

We have finally made it to Highland Hammock - but let me let you know how we got here.

We got up this morning and had our coffee and breakfast and then I did a couple of more loads of clothes - which actually caught up our laundry. Dan checked with the park about staying past the check-out time, which was not a problem. We left the park at 1:27 and headed for the dealership - At three o'clock we were finally on the road headed for Sebring.

We reached the park around 5:30 and were able to get set up before the sun finally set - of course, we only have 30 amp service instead of 50 and we don't have sewer - Dan is going to have to go purchase a "blue - boy" which will be about another $200.00 - but we might need it when we get to Alaska (we don't know what amenities we will have there). We have a couple of meetings tomorrow - Dan has one in the morning to learn how "to clean the restrooms" - that should be interesting. Then we all meet tomorrow afternoon for more information.

We have a big festival this Saturday - we are told that there will be 3,000 people here - that should be fun! Anyway, we will get more information tomorrow so I'll let you know what is happening.

Until then........ I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Orlando ????

What are we doing in Orlando - actually Winter Garden - instead of Highland Hammock State Park???? Well, let me tell you the story.

We got back from Lake Placid yesterday with no problems - did our running around - went up to the house and took Ashley her birthday present- went back to the 'house' and decided to turn the air conditioner off and just have the fantastic vent last night. Everything was fine. We got up this morning - had our coffee and sat down for breakfast when Dan noticed the light on the refrigerator was blinking - he went over to look at it and saw it said "Low DC". He couldn't figure out what that meant - until he looked at the battery indicator and saw that they did not have any power. He went into the breaker panel and saw that the power inverter circuit was off - so he turned it on and immediately there was a burning electrical smell in the house. He flipped it off and we called our dealer. Well, to make a long story short (I know, a little late for that) we had to come to Winter Garden to the closest dealer to get the unit looked at. Turns out that the power inverter is fried and will have to be replaced. Of course, the dealer did not have the inverter we need, so it had to be ordered from the warehouse. It is suppose to be here, in Winter Garden, at the dealership tomorrow at 1:30. The dealer says that we should be on the road down to Highland Hammock by 3:00. If that's true we should be there about 6:00 tomorrow evening. We'll see.

We are in a campground right down the road from the dealership for the night - and, of course, we had to pay for it (Dan doesn't think that is right, but what can you do??). We went out to Outback for lunch/dinner (we had not had anything since breakfast). To tell you the truth, I'll be glad when we get settled and I can get back to cooking dinner (okay, I know my family is having a seizure - my MOM COOKING!!!!) My oldest daughter has been know to say that it would be a Christmas miracle if her mom was in the kitchen cooking anything, and in the past, that would have been true. I used to say that the only reason we had a kitchen was - it came with the house! Well, I have gotten to the point that I would rather cook at home than eat out. Right now I just feel that we have been in turmoil for about a month and I'm ready to get things settled.

Oh, one of the things that I didn't tell you was that when the power inverter fried it looks like the Dish DVR fried also - it won't even turn on. When we get down to Highland Hammock we'll call and see what is going on. We'll see about the service and see what happens.

Well, I'm tired - to say that I was a bit nervous todayd would be an understatement and now, that things are settling down, I'm drained - so I think I will sign off for tonight.

I'll talk to you tomorrow, hopefully from Highland Hammock!

Back in Lakeland

We left Lake Placid this morning - didn't get pictures of Melissa's house due to having company again last night. Arleen came over to help hand out Halloween candy but we didn't have the first Trick or Treater. I think they all went to the Fall festival at the city circle. Dan and I really like Lake Placid - it is a neat little town where everyone knows everyone else. We think it will be a good place for the kids to live. We also really like the kids house - it is a lovely home and fits the kids well. We are very happy for them!!!

Anyway, when we left this morning Dan wanted to go by Highland Hammock State Park again and look at the spot they want us to park our camper - it is really going to be a tight squeeze to get our 37 foot RV into this spot because of the location of the trees. Dan says he can do it, but it will take him some time to get it in. We'll see how it goes. They still don't have the park paved yet - which is the reason that we are not there now, but we're going down tomorrow anyway. We will get set up and get settled - check the park out, especially since I will be working in the ranger station I want to know what I am talking about. It will be interesting to say the least.

After we left the park we came back to Lakeland by coming up 27 instead of the way we went down on 17 - Dan thinks he likes 17 better because there are fewer traffic lights - I don't know which is best but he is the one who is driving so I'll go which ever way he wants. We also stopped at Dusty's Camper World to look at the "blue boy's" - those things are expensive!!!! But it will be something that we will need at this park and possibly at others down the road, so we are just going to have to bite the bullet and buy one.

When we got back to Dana's we went up to the house and saw everyone - Dana and the family was celebrating Ashley's sixth birthday today - we got here around 1:30 and they were already eating cake. I felt bad that we were late, but we did leave fairly early this morning - I guess it was all the side trips that caused the delay. Later we ran down to Wal Mart to get a card and a gift card for Ashley and pick up just a couple of things (like toilet paper) then Dan wanted to go by Publix and pick up Chinese - we love their Bourbon Chicken and the Publix at Lake Miriam is the only place that sells it. We each picked up a dinner and came home and ate. (I even drank a bottle of Publix sweet tea - yes, I said sweet tea!) We watched a little of the football game (Vikings/Packers - GO BRETT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) then went back up to the house for a little while.

Dan is now in the bed watching the World Series (Go PHILLIES!!!!!!) and I'm heading that way in just a few minutes. We will pack up and head down to Highland Hammock in the morning. I'll take some pictures of the campsite after we get set up and post tomorrow. All of you that have to go to work tomorrow - I hope you have a good week and to everyone else you have a good week also!

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!