Dinner at the Lodge!

Dan and I worked this morning - it really wasn't that busy, but we did have customers in and out. I did a little bit of work for one of the rangers and got some inventory put away. It was enough to keep me busy and before I knew it the shift was over. Carol and Neil came in around 2:00 this afternoon. We did some running around and caught up with some of the things going on with family and friends. We were going to go to some of the stores, but many of them had already closed (by then it was after 4). So, we weren't able to go to as many places as we had wanted - but then we came back to the Lodge and had dinner (YUMMY!). Then it was back here to sit around the campfire and talk for awhile. We will meet them back at the Lodge for breakfast in the morning (our first time eating the breakfast buffet). Then they will hit the road to go back home - Carol has to be at work on Friday. It is really good to see them and I wish they could stay longer, but I also understand that you have to do what you have to do.

I really don't have much to report tonight - so I'm not going to keep going. I hope you guys are having a great time this week - and ----------------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!

Being a Camp Host

Today we spent a lot of our day here in the park - Dan actually worked when we weren't on duty - he decided that he needed to get some of the fire rings on our "loop" cleaned out. So, he worked on that for a little while today - still need to do some more work on them and we'll do that probably the first of next week. We work tomorrow morning (don't know how busy we'll be in the store). I don't know if Dan will do anymore with the fire rings tomorrow while on duty or not, guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Tomorrow afternoon Neil and Carol should be here - they are only staying one night and one day - so we will have to make the time count. I'm sure that we will pack all kinds of things in to this 36 hour period (the least of which will be sleep)! I'll be sure to let you know what is going on.

We did go into town to mail the application to Texas and our tax return (I didn't want to wait until the last minute to mail it - even though we had to pay). Then we went down to Wal Mart to pick up a couple of things. We ended up getting some things in the RV department - including a water filter that fits on the hose outside. So far, I think I can tell the difference. Yes, I know that we have a Brita pitcher, but it is a pain in the you know where to keep having to fill it up and it cost a small fortune to buy new filters every two months. The replacement filters on the one that attaches outside lasts for six months - much more cost effective (plus they cost less). We'll see how it goes, but so far I like the new filter better.

We also met another couple that are full timer's - we talked to them for a little while in the store. They were going to go up to Franklin and spend a week and look for some property - they are looking to buying a place and "nesting" for a while - they have been full timers for 10 years. We gave them Ray's name (a friend of mine that is still in Real Estate in Franklin) and they are going to get with him and see what they can find. I wish them good luck.

I fixed chicken fajitas (don't know if that is spelled right - probably not) with Santa Fe rice for dinner - they were really good. Need to really watch what we are eating the next couple of days because I'm sure we won't stick to the diet for the next 36 hours. Oh well, we just have to really hit it this weekend.

Well, I don't have much else to report - I'll try and post some pictures in the next couple of days of all the things that are starting to bloom around here - forsythia is beautiful! The Bradford pears and crab apple trees are blooming - so things are starting to be a little colorful around here. Look for the pictures!

Hope you all are having a great week and--------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!

Feeling better

Today was a cold and windy day. However, I really think that spring is on the way - there are some trees that are beginning to show their leaves - just budding out a little, but in a couple of days - a week at the most- there are going to be leaves busting out all over the place.

I spent most of the day on line today - trying to get a job lined up for this coming winter (November 2010 thru February 2011). Dan talked about maybe changing our plans and not wintering in Texas - and maybe doing the northeast next summer, but he changed his mind again this morning. He decided that he wanted to go back to the west next summer - maybe Oregon, Washington state or even northern California. So, we will try and get something in Texas this summer. Then next winter (2011) we would stay on the east coast and go up into the northeast during the summer of 2012. Now, I know that is planning WAY ahead, but it is good to have a goal. As soon as I know that we have something lined up for this coming winter I will start looking for a spring position and summer position for 2011. It will probably be this summer - maybe while we are still in Alaska when I get all this lined up. But, you know me, I don't like not knowing. Whatever happens, I'll keep you informed.

I did get the formal application ready to mail to Texas tomorrow along with the authorization for a criminal background check. A lot of states are doing background checks on the volunteers now, and I can't blame them. We don't have a problem with it and I wouldn't think anyone would that doesn't have something they want to hide. Anyway, I hope to know something soon - but it probably won't be until June or so before we find out anything definite. I do have some leads for the summer of next year in Oregon. We will see how that plays out.

I did not feel well all of last night and most of today - I took a couple of doses of allergy medication and I feel much better this evening - hopefully I will actually be able to sleep tonight. I was so achey last night and my head felt like it was going to explode - but it definitely was NOT a migraine - this was in the back of my head (not behind my eyes). Anyway, like I said, I took some allergy medicine and I feel all better. We even went out and took the pups for a walk around the campground after dinner - trying to tire them out before bed tonight (I'm going as soon as I finish the blog tonight - I'm bushed!). Speaking of dinner - Dan fixed some country ribs on the grill tonight and we had some of the left over baked beans to go with it. Yummy!!!

Our friends Carol and Neil are coming up Wednesday - it should be fun - we'll take them around to all the neat places that we have found around here - and of course we'll eat at the Lodge - no cooking while they are here - Carol won't let me do that! We look forward to seeing them - we traded shifts with another host couple - so we will work the morning shift instead of the afternoon one. It will be fine and then we will be off duty by the time they get here.

Well, that's about it for today. Hope you had a good Monday - I know that many of you that are in the school system had a GREAT Monday - you are on Spring Break! I hope that you really enjoy your week and get all rested so you can finish out the school year. Oh, and Happy 16th Birthday Matt! I'm off to bed - enjoy the evening and ----------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Party Anyone???

Last night we had a little cookout here at the "house" for the hosts that were leaving today. It was the first time that we have had a group here at the house and I think it very well. We grilled hot dogs on the grill and Dan fixed some Chili on the camp fire. I also fixed some baked beans in the crock pot and fresh peach cobbler. We had all the fixing's for the hot dogs and sour cream and cheese for those that wanted that on their chili. I made a pot of coffee for dessert and I think that it went well. This is a picture of the table after everyone finished eating.


Here are some of the other hosts sitting with Dan - both of these couples are the newbies - they came in to replace Tom and Susan and Sharon and Bob (who left last week).



I'm not sure what Susan was talking about, but she had every one's attention! It was a little chilly last night - as you can probably tell with everyone bundled up - but we put the sides up on the EZ Up and it protected the food and it was pretty warm if you happened to stay inside.

One of the rangers came by and had some chili with us before he had to leave to present a program - the one on snakes (Uck!). Glad I didn't have to be there. The other day we watched him feed the snakes some little mice (gross!). Just NOT my thing!

Today Dan and I worked (actually this morning). It was POURING down rain all morning!!!! We did have a couple of customers - but not very many. I kept busy though by stuffing Easter eggs for the hunt this coming Saturday. I ran out of hard candy with only 23 eggs left to stuff - we had to have three batches with 168 small eggs and 10 large eggs. I got two batches done and then ran out before I could finish the last batch (I did do the 10 large eggs - I just didn't have enough to do the last 23). Oh well, we have the week to get it done!

I'm getting ready to go get in the bed - I'm really not feeling that well tonight - I ache all over and I just don't feel good. So, I'm going to sign off and go get in the bed. Hope you guys had a good weekend and -----------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!

Old Sautee Store

I know, I know - I didn't post last night - I really don't have an excuse other than I was tired and I went to bed. I wanted to make sure I posted tonight though - so here it is.

Yesterday we drove around some to see the country side. We really haven't done any just riding around and Dan was about to have a fit - so we just decided yesterday would be a good day to do that (on our way to Ingles to turn in our movies). Well, we found this old store - the Old Sautee Store that was established in 1872 and has been in continuous operation since then.

It was really a neat store - the front part was set up just like it was back "in the day", but the back part was a regular store. They had some really neat inventory - really pretty things - in fact, I bought a pair of crocs that are lined with a "fur" like material (might be nice when we are out in Alaska) and a couple of things for the "house".

When we left the Sautee Store we went across the street to another couple of stores - one had "western" wear - you know what I mean - the leather, fringe jackets and sterling silver with turquoise. Dan loved a couple of jackets, but none of them were big enough for him. Then we went by a pottery museum - we decided that we would not go in yesterday, we just didn't have the time. We'll go back at a later time.

Then we saw a sign for a covered bridge - now, as most of you know, there are not many covered bridges left and even fewer in the south. So, we headed down the road looking for the bridge and three miles down the road we found .................................


okay this is the river the bridge crosses (and yes, they have a "modern" bridge that is used now) but we also stopped and walked across ..........

the covered bridge. It was really neat - of course, there is all kind of graffiti on the inside. But it was really cool to be able walk across this old covered bridge. Okay - this is not the original bridge - the original bridge was washed away in the early 1900's by a flood. This is a recreation of the original.

After we left the bridge we headed into town to return our movies. I also decided to pick up some bar-b-que chicken for lunch. After we got home and ate I did a load of laundry and was straighting up the house when I looked out the window and saw...................................

Dan taking a nap outside. I guess I was making too much noise cleaning - so he decided to go outside so he could sleep! Men!!!!! (but I let him sleep!)

Today we went back into town to pick up a few things - we are going to have a "cook out" here at the house tomorrow night. We have one of the other hosts leaving on Sunday and while we normally go to Lodge for dinner with all the hosts Tom and Susan did not want to do that. So, we decided to have a cook out here at the house - just something simple - hot dogs, potato chips, baked beans, chili, and peach cobbler. We visited all the hosts and invited them to the cook out - all say they are coming - so it should be a good time.

We work tomorrow afternoon - so I'm going to do a lot of prep work in the morning - brown the hamburger meat for the chili - put the baked beans in the crock pot. Clean the house AGAIN - straighten up outside. It'll all get done - I'll let you know how it goes (of course, depending on what time people leave, I may not post tomorrow night.).

Okay, I think I have caught you up on everything. Take care and -----------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!! (Maybe!)

2012 - not my cup of tea!

Okay, tonight we watched 2012 and it was not exactly our cup of tea. We did watch it all, but it really was not what I thought it would be. I knew that it was a "disaster movie" but come on! Between having to turn the sound up to hear the speaking parts and then WAY down so the 'special effects' didn't blast us out of the house it seemed to be a constant battle. Anyway, like I said, it just wasn't our cup of tea.

Now- The Blind Side was FABULOUS!!!! It was, by far, the best of all the movies we have watched in the last few days. I would definitely buy this one - even Dan said he would like to have it. One minute your laughing and the next your crying. It was a really good movie. So, I would recommend it to anyone!

I worked today - and it was really very slow AGAIN! I think I had three sales the whole shift - and one of those was my own sale. I did have one cash sale - for a total of $.85. Just wasn't our day.

After we came home - I fixed lunch - chicken salad - then made the egg salad so we will have things for lunch the rest of the week. I fixed a chicken and rice dish for dinner (along with a salad). Now we have a few dishes in the refrigerator that we will need to eat in the next couple of days. I also took some country ribs out of the freezer for Dan to fix on the grill. We should be able to have those in the next couple of days.

Well, I really don't have much else to report so I won't bore you with our boredom. Hope you guys are having a good week - We are suppose to have rain move in tomorrow and rain through Friday. I'll let you know - in the meantime - you guys take care - stay warm and dry and ------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!

The Blind Side

I guess I'll just start naming the blog for whatever movie we are going to (or have) watch(ed) that day. So, as you can tell from the title, tonight will be The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock. I have been wanting to see that movies since we were down in Sebring, but I just never got the chance. I even thought that it could be a "girls night out" movie when my oldest daughter Crystal and Kim came down to Melissa's for Christmas - then Dan had to go and ruin all our plans by getting sick and going in the hospital - silly man. Seriously, I was not able to see it while we were down in Sebring and the movie came out today - we were lucky enough to get it this morning when we took back the other movies. (Also rented 2012 - will watch that tomorrow night)

We had to go into town first thing this morning - as we ran out of propane yesterday afternoon while I was trying to cook dinner. I had two burners on the stove going (one for the spaghetti and one was browning the meat for the sauce when the fire went out. Dan went out to turn to the other tank and realized that both tanks were empty. (Oh what am I going to do with that man???) Anyway, he took the pot with the spaghetti outside and put on the grill and I got the electric skillet out and did the meat and added the sauce - it all turned out good (except the bread - I had one of those refrigerated loaves of bread that I tried to cook - but it was over six months old and it just didn't turn out. I had bought it while we were still in Idaho and it had gotten put in the back of one of the drawers and I forgot it was there. Anyway, it ended up in the garbage.) The rest of dinner turned out okay - we just had to improvise a little.

The rest of today has been somewhat of a wash - it has been really cold here today - the wind has been bad out of the northwest - cold! If you weren't in the wind and the sun was shining it wasn't too bad, but that wind was wicked! I did a load of clothes and got them all put away. Then I straightened up the house. I also bought a couple of books for my nook - I like to get a couple at a time, so I don't have to worry - when I finish one I can jump right into the next one. I have sorta gotten hooked on J.D. Robb murder mysteries (don't ask me why I'm into murder mysteries - I have been for a little over a year now - just different authors - first Mary Higgins Clark, then Box, now Robb). I sometimes go to something different - like I read Stephen King's "Under The Dome" and Michael Creighton's "Pirate Latitudes". Also "The Lovely Bones" (okay another murder mystery) and "Dear John". I've even read a couple of books at the store here in the campground (I don't want to take my nook down to the store). Anyway, I've read a few things since getting my nook for Christmas.

I really don't have much else to report - we did go up to the Lodge for dinner tonight - you just can't beat the price for the soup and salad bar (although I didn't have soup). Tomorrow we work again - morning shift. Will probably be another slow day as there is no one in the park. Oh well, maybe Jessica will have bought the candy to stuff the Easter eggs with for the Easter egg hunt. Anything to keep me busy. I'll let you know tomorrow - right now it's off to watch the movie.

Hope you are having a good week, and ----------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Julie/Julia and Snow

Today it snowed. No, it did not stick to the ground - I mean the temperatures were up to seventy on Saturday so the ground was too warm for the snow to stick - but it snowed off and on all day. Just a spit every once in a while and then it would come down really hard - in fact, this morning, it was snowing so hard it was almost like a blizzard - no seriously! Anyway, it was "colder than kraut" today (this is an expression of Dan's and I have no idea what it means other than it was really cold today)! I'm just ready for the temperatures to get a little warmer - I really don't want it to get hot, but a little warmer than forty would be very nice.

Tonight I am watching Julie/Julia and really laughing - this movie is really cute. I just love Meryl Streep and she is so very talented! Not to mention Amy Adams - she is so cute!!! Anyway, I think I really like this movie and would go and buy it to add to the collection (our vast collection of about 20 DVD's).

I know that some of you will be surprised that I did not go up to the Lodge tonight to watch TV - the season premier of Dancing With the Stars was tonight, but I decided that I could watch it on the computer tomorrow - I can just be a day behind. I'm not looking to vote for anyone any time soon - if it gets to that point then I start going down and watching it, but I really don't see myself being all involved in this year's cast - no one I like. Oh well - it''s okay. There are other things to occupy my time.

We got a new work schedule today. You know that I asked that we have the afternoon of the 23rd, all day the 24th, and the morning of the 25th of April - well, on the new schedule our last work day will be on April 22nd and we are scheduled to leave on the 23rd. This was somewhat of a surprise to us, but it will work out okay. We are thinking that we will go ahead and move down to Fort Yargo State Park for the weekend and then leave from Atlanta on Monday, April 26th. We would then start on our way on our great adventure! Well, we will see how it goes.

Well, I'm going to sign off for tonight - I hope that all is going well. Melissa - make sure you let me know what the doctor says tomorrow! Everyone else take care and --------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

You Have GOT to be Kidding Me!!!

Boy on Boy - I'm starting to think we need to start building the ark. I mean, come on! It has done nothing but rain (and I don't mean sprinkle) all day today - it was so bad this morning that Dan decided he didn't think we needed to drive two hours into Franklin and then two hours back in it, so we did not go to church this morning. I was really looking forward to going, but I do think that you do have to think about safety on the roads when you have a lot of rain to contend with.

So, instead we just sat around the house and watched movies and read. I did a little of my word searches and Dan worked as little on his Suduko. This afternoon, when it did decide to let up a little we headed into Cleveland to buy some groceries. We went to Wal Mart and to Ingles and picked up the few things we needed and then it was back home. We picked up a couple of more movies at Ingles - "Have you heard about the Morgans" and "Julie, Julia". We watched "Have you heard" tonight and it was rather cute. Actually, it was much better than "Old Dogs" or "Up in the Air". Dan and I were both rather disappointed in both of the ones we got the other day - we really thought that Old Dogs would be funny with John Travolta and Robin Williams in it, but it was pretty lame. Up in the Air was NOT a typical George Clooney movie - maybe that was why he was up for an Academy Award - but I was not a fan (don't get me wrong - I still love George Clooney, and still think he is drop dead gorgeous, but this was not my cup of tea). I'll watch "Julie, Julia" probably by myself - this is not Dan's type of movie.

Well, you have pretty much heard about our day - not much happening except rain, rain, and more rain. Oh, and just FYI - the weathermen are calling for snow flurries here tomorrow - what happened to Spring - did I miss something????? OMG!!!!

Well, I'm going to let you go - I'm going to bed and read some more - take care - and I hope you had a good weekend and will have an even better week ahead. (Melissa - I hope you are feeling better - drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest!)

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Blue Ridge

Sorry I didn't post last night - all the hosts got together last night and had dinner at the Lodge to say good bye to one of the hosts that is leaving this week (Tuesday, I think). Anyway, we all went to eat and the Lodge was swamped - and understaffed. The waitresses asked if we could lend a hand and bus tables for them - so all of us girls pitched in and started cleaning tables - we worked for about 2 hours just as fast as we could. It seemed like just as soon as we would get one table done there would be someone sitting at it and another two needed to be cleaned. Now we are talking about three dining rooms - there were four of us girls and we worked our little buns off! The good thing about it was - we helped the girls at the restaurant when they needed us - and I really didn't mind. Plus, I slept good last night!!! However, by the time we got home all I wanted to do was climb in the bed and relax - I only read for about 15 minutes before it was lights out and sleepy time for me.



The store was not that very busy yesterday morning, but I did have one really good sale - over $100.00 - so that made my deposit look good. The host that came on duty after me had a repairman coming to his unit here in the campground, so when the guy got here I went back over to the store and covered for him while he came over with the guy working on his refrigerator. I only made a couple of sales while he was gone and they weren't that big - but at least we are helping each other out. While I didn't have people in the store I went into the store room and cleaned and straightened and label crates so we would know what is in them. It was something that really needed to be done and it looks soooooooooo much better now - I don't know if anyone else will notice, but I think it looks better.


I had promised a couple of days ago to post pictures of the site where we are and I hadn't done it yet - today was an absolutely beautiful day and so I thought I would get those pictures for you. If you look closely in this one you will see that lamp that Dan made for outside along with our plant that we bought for the table. Yes, you can see Sam and Jessie walking around too.

This is out near the road - These are the daffodils that we planted - the pot was already here - I think it probably had some kind of fall flower in it and the other host left the pot (that's why it has a hole in the side - weather). Anyway, we figured we could just use the same pot and plant our daffodils in it - conserving. We also planted some under the host sign but they aren't quite blooming yet. But we do have our "Daschund crossing" sign up and if you look real close you can see the solar lights that I gave Dan for Christmas - they really do work and it's nice to see them as you are coming in at night.

This one shows the lights better along with our "Happy Easter" flag and my daschund sculpture that Dan gave me for my birthday a couple of years ago. It goes with us wherever we go.

Dan decided for some reason that he wanted to fix breakfast outside on the grill today - so while I was taking my shower and getting ready we cooked outside. It was really pretty good - food tastes so good when you don't have to cook it - and there is just something about cooking outside. Anyway - it was good and then I helped by cleaning up the dishes.

As I said earlier, today was an absolutely beautiful day - temperature was about 68 degrees and sunny. So, we decided we would ride over to Blue Ridge and go shopping - we have been looking for a lamp for the dining room table. We had one that we were using, but we really didn't like it - it was one of those "make do" kind of things. Anyway, we had decided that we would wait until we got up to the mountains and see what we could find. Now, Crystal, there is NO way you could have ridden on the roads that we rode on today - you would have been sooooo car sick - if you think you got sick on highway 28 in Franklin - well, let's just say that was a piece of cake compared to the road today. Dan even complained that he was tired of driving on a curvy road -but we really didn't have much choice at that point - we were on our way home. However, while in Blue Ridge we walked around in some stores - I was about ready to give up in finding a lamp that we liked when we went into a store that had different booths in it - now this was not with used stuff or antique stuff - just one big store divided up. Anyway, upstairs we found a lamp - and not just any lamp - the exact match for the lamp we bought in West Yellowstone and have on the table between our chairs. We could hardly believe it. While we were out west we had gone back to the store we bought the original lamp in to get another one, but they had already sold it - so to be able to find the exact match was pretty awesome! So, we had a successful trip.

We got home around 7 tonight and our neighbor host brought us over a loaf of homemade rye bread fresh out of the machine - boy oh boy! is it ever good!!!!! Dan ate the rest of his roast that he had cooked over the fire last week and I ate a slice of bread (we ate lunch late, so I really was not hungry). He is in the bed now reading and waiting for me to finish up.

Tomorrow, I think we are going to go into Franklin to church - we have really missed our church in Franklin and we decided since it is only about an hour and a half away that we would go in as much as we can (when we aren't working on Sunday) and go to our old church. No one knows we are coming so I will be anxious to see the response from our friends there.

Oh, by the way, this is a picture I took on the road back home from Blue Ridge - we had to stop at a pull off so the pups could go out - and I thought you might enjoy seeing it. Trees still aren't blooming yet - but I'm sure it's not far away since today was the first day of spring!

Hope you are having a great weekend. Take care and --------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Just one more for the heck of it! Enjoy!!!!!

Steak and a Movie

This morning Dan went with Tom (one of the other hosts) and worked on a project here in the park, while I was busy cleaning up the house again. I guess when you live in such a small space you mess it up faster than you do a larger house. It doesn't take long for the house to get messy if you don't put things away when you are through with them - and to tell you the truth, Dan has a tendency to not put things away. But that's okay, it gives me something to do. After I got things straightened up I put some eggs on to boil so I could fix egg salad. Then I made a couple of phone calls that I needed to make - like to Quest Diagnostic to get them to update the insurance information.

After Dan got home, he warmed up some of his roast from the other night and I fixed myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (the egg salad wasn't finished yet). Then it was off to the store. Our first stop was the local store - Betty's- just to check it out. We had never been in the store and we had been told it was a good store. Well, 'she' had a little of everything and had a BEAUTIFUL meat department. We ended up buying a couple of rib eye steaks that Dan is going to fix on the grill tonight - I'll fix the baked potato and the salad - Yummy!!!

The next stop was Ingles - Dan had been told that they had a great video department so we thought we would check them out. In fact, they had a fabulous video department. Then I just had to find out what their procedure was to check out video's. Actually, it is very easy- you just need to have in Ingles card and show your driver's licenses. We now have two movies - Up In The Air and Old Dogs. Dan has been wanting to see Old Dogs for a long time - and we both want to see Up In the Air with George Clooney. I have a list of movies that I want to see - from Julie, Julia to The Blind Side. They had about 5 or 6 on the shelves we want to see, but only want to check out two at a time - one for each night. The Ingles store is a 24 hour store (which I didn't know they even had) and it is on "our" side of Cleveland - meaning we don't have to drive all the way through town like we have to do when we go to Wal Mart. Dan even said he wouldn't mind going to this store for groceries instead of always going to Wal Mart. So, I guess we have found a new store for groceries, at least while we are here.

Our last stop was Wal Mart (of course). I had a couple of movies that I needed to return - bought movies that I had duplicates of (What Women Want and Sleepless in Seattle). Then Dan needed his Bayer Back and Body and we looked for a nice spring plant to put on our table outside. After we took care of that we headed back home and I decided I would go ahead and do the blog so I can relax tonight and watch the movie.

Tomorrow is our last day to work this week - and we work the morning shift. It usually is a much easier shift - you don't have to worry about the closing paperwork. We've had quite a few campers come in today. I don't know if that will make a difference in the business I will have in the morning or not - only time will tell. I'll let you know tomorrow.

I hope that you guys are having a good week - only one more work day for those of you that still have to do that little activity. Remember "YOU CAN DO IT!" Take care ya'll and --------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!

Dinner

Today was a pretty good day at work - we actually had some people in (okay just a couple, but at least that is better than Monday) and I actually had a deposit! The next time we work will be on Friday morning and I'm not sure if we will be busier (weekends are usually busy - and this weekend it is actually suppose to be warm - 69 degrees - and sunny - that will be amazing since all it has done is rain, rain, rain!). Also the park is hosting a special event this Saturday - an astronomy thing - and we should get some people in for that. However, since we are working Friday morning I don't think we will get the business from this. The people that come in for the weekend usually show up Friday afternoon/evening - so, I don't know how busy we will be on Friday morning. We do have a few more people in the park today - I think about six different units came in during the day. I guess things are looking up. (Oh, in case you are wondering, I didn't have any problems closing up tonight - maybe I'm getting the hang of this thing!)

I guess you could tell from the paragraph above that it rained here again today - I tell you what - this has been the wettest winter/spring I can remember. It rained almost the entire time we were in Dowling Park (January and February) plus it was COLD! It has rained here at least four days out of every week. Today was not a down pour - just a cold drizzle - but it sure did put a kink in doing anything outside. Tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday are suppose to be nice and then rain moves in again Sunday. Such is the cycle right now - I'll just be glad when things clear up some.

Dan and I planted some daffodils out by the camp host sign yesterday - and we have a pot of daffodils. I just love that flower - it sure looks like a bit of spring in the air when you see their pretty yellow blooms. I can't help but smile. I'll try and take some pictures tomorrow and post so you can see the campsite - I don't think I have done that since we have been here. If the weather is half way decent I'll get a couple of pictures for you to see.

We went to the Lodge for dinner tonight - I had the salad bar and Dan had the soup and salad bar. It is really good and the price is very reasonable. It's the first time we have eaten up there this week - I'll fix spaghetti tomorrow for dinner and Dan will eat off the leftovers from his roast on the campfire the rest of the week.

We will probably run into Cleveland to the Wal Mart store (where else, right?) to pick up Dan some Bayer Back and Body - his back is still bothering him from the painting the other day and he says these seem to help the best of any thing he has tried. We might also check out the movie rental places and see what you need to do to be able to rent movies - there are a couple of movies we want to see (Blind Side and Old Dogs to name two) and we are too cheap to buy them for $20 when we don't know if it is something we would watch again. We'll see - I know that they have one of those boxes at the Wal Mart store, but those are for only overnight and sometimes we don't want to have to go back into Cleveland every day. I don't know - we'll look and see.

We got our mail today from the mail forwarding service - it was really quick service- I called on Monday to have them send it and we got it today. Plus, it was really nice not to have to sort through all the "junk" mail - they do it for us and throw all that stuff away - that is worth the price of the service right there!!!! So far, I have been very satisfied with the service. Let's see if the level of service continues.

Well, I have pretty much caught you up on everything going on around here. Melissa, drive carefully on your way to Lakeland this weekend and give Aundrea a big hug for me at the shower! Cara, I hope you are feeling better. Everyone else - take care - and ----------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Scrub a dub, dub

Today was cleaning day - not only did I clean the 'house' but I did all the laundry also. In fact I am finishing up Dan's jeans in the dryer now. It was just one of those kind of days - not a whole lot of substance, but sure was a lot of work. Dan went with the other guys today and painted some stuff for the park. While he was gone, not only did I clean the house, I cleaned up the fire ring area. Dan had cut up a tree (well the rangers had actually cut down the tree, Dan just cut it up into firewood). It sure did give him quite a bit of firewood but it also made a huge mess on the gravel by the house. So, today I went out and cleaned up the mess so the outside looks half way decent also. Dan was even impressed, at least he said it looked good.

We had our host meeting this morning and it went pretty well. I guess I 'm going to be the Easter bunny on the Saturday before Easter (4/3) - I'm not really sure how I was "volunteered" to do that, and I don't know how it will work out with our schedule since we are suppose to work Saturday morning, but I am sure it will all work itself out.

Dan's medicine came yesterday - but mine had not come. Now, they had my prescription and when I called they said that the medicine had been mailed on 3/5 and I still hadn't received it. So, they said they would send me another shipment. They did not have Dan's prescriptions and had to get in touch with his doctor to get new prescriptions yet he got his. Anyway, guess what - my medicine came today - so now I will have a 180 day supply instead of a 90 day supply. I guess that's okay - I just won't need to order it while we are in Alaska. We will just have to deal with getting Dan's.

Dan decided to cook his roast over the fire this afternoon when he got home. So he cut the potatoes, onions, and carrots - put the roast in the cast iron dutch oven with the vegetables and beef broth - a little Everglades seasoning and cooked it over the campfire for a couple of hours (well, actually about 3 or 4 - we didn't eat until 7:30) but it was really good. He was going to clean up the kitchen, but he said his back was hurting and asked that I do it for him - which of course I did. He's in bed now and I'm getting ready to go join him and do some reading.

Tomorrow we work in the afternoon - I'll let you go how that goes. Hope you are having a good week and --------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Slow isn't the word for it!

Today was our day to run the store by ourselves - shift was from 11 to 3 and we had exactly zero customers - that's right I said zero, nada, zip, no one! That was the longest four hour shift ever! I cleaned, I swept, I refolded merchandise, and I read. I went outside and watched the deer, I made a couple of phone calls. Anything to pass the time. Anyway, the shift finally ended and we were able to come home. Tomorrow morning we have a host meeting (I guess they have these monthly - but this will be our first one.) So, at 9:30 in the morning we will experience our first monthly host meeting.

I did give Ellen a note today asking to be off the afternoon of the 23rd, all day the 24th and the morning of the 25th of April, so we can go down to Atlanta for Mom's 80th birthday. We'll see how that goes. Dan is also thinking about trying to leave before the 29th. He says that whenever our last day at work is we will leave the next day - That would be after we get back after Mom's birthday. He has even said that IF we are scheduled to work on those last days that we will see if we can trade days with some of the other hosts and be off those days (meaning the 26th, 27th or 28th). We'll just have to wait and see what the schedule is and see what happens.

After the meeting tomorrow, Dan is going to work with Tom (one of the other hosts) and paint some of the trash cans and I'm going to clean house and do laundry. The laundry should take all day - I haven't done it in awhile and the laundry basket is full. We'll see how long it takes me.

Of course we work again on Wednesday afternoon and then again on Saturday morning. Should keep us busy this week.

I really don't have much else to report - we are watching a movie tonight - the TV is still not coming in well - I think it's because of the wind. Anyway, the movie is good and I'm going to sign off for now. You guys have a good week and -------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!

Franklin, North Carolina

Today, just for the fun of it, we decided to drive up to Franklin and just look around at our old "stomping grounds". Plus we wanted to see how long the trip was - we might be able to go up for church on Sunday mornings. Well, we found out it is only about an hour and a half away - so church would definitely be do able. To tell you the truth - it was really nice to be back in the neighborhood. We rode around town (not too much has changed) there are some new places to eat (fast food) and a new performing arts center that really looked nice. We rode out to our old neighborhood and went in and looked around. We went up to the cabin to see if Bob and Debbie happened to be home - they weren't, but we left them a note - so maybe they will get in touch with us. We also rode up to the road that our "big" house is on and went to Marge and Jim's house - I sold them the house when I was in Real Estate back a couple of years ago. They are actually Dan's daughter's in-laws. Anyway, they have moved up to Franklin full time now and so we dropped by to see them for a few minutes. We didn't stay long and then we came back home. We were gone about five hours total - three hours round trip and then two hours there in town. Not too bad - it was a good way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

After we got home I just spent some time on the computer doing what I normally do - some "farming". I also looked up some stuff for Dan - I ordered him four books on line so maybe that will hold him for a little while. We are finding it difficult to find the books that I got him hooked on - if I had known that it was going to be so difficult finding these books I never would have bought the first one. LOL!!! At least he is reading - just wish he would read books that are easier to find!

We didn't do anything else today - tomorrow we work - 11 to 3. At least we don't have to go in until late in the day and we are the only shift working. Right now there are not that many people in the park - I have only seen a couple of RV's so I don't know how busy we will be. I think I will take my book with me just in case!

Well, I don't have anything else to report tonight - I hope you all had a great and restful weekend. Have a great week ahead and-----------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Busy Day in the Neighborhood

I opened the store this morning. It started out to be a really good day - I was actually able to get the safe open by myself. (The last time I opened I had to have Dan open the safe - I couldn't get it open!) Plus, we were busy - there were actually people waiting on the porch for me to unlock the door. Anyway, whenever it would rain (which happened quite frequently) the store would fill with people. There was a boy scout troupe here this weekend and parents and scouts were in the store buying all kinds of things - from coats and rain poncho's to camping supplies to food items. The credit card machine was working (YEAH!) and things went well. When Judy came over to take over - my cash drawer balanced and the credit card slips balanced (double YEAH!). There is one thing about being busy - the time goes by much quicker. We don't have to work again until Monday - and then we have the store the entire time - we have shorter hours on Monday - 11 to 3 - so I both open and close the store. That should be interesting!

As mentioned above, it is still raining here - now today was not a total wash out - we did have times that it wasn't raining, but it never dried out. Plus, the temperatures are going back down - not into the twenties but to the upper 30's tonight. Here is a real kicker - the weathermen said that we MIGHT have SNOW FLURRIES tomorrow! Come on - I thought we were finally going to get warm - everyone is talking about spring. There are actually some daffodils starting to poke their little heads up - they are blooming in the valley. Now, we might get flurries - oh well, it will warm up yet - just wait and see.

After work, we came home and ate left overs for lunch - then I cleaned up the kitchen from lunch and breakfast. After that I took a pill and sat down with my heat thingy over my eyes and I took an hour and a half nap in my chair with the dogs in my lap. When I woke up I started dinner. We had chicken, noodles, with mushroom soup and cheese casserole and a tossed salad. I cleaned up the kitchen again (I seem to always be cleaning up the kitchen!) No TV again tonight due to the cloud cover (plus there is nothing to watch on NBC). Okay, I now know why they are in third place of the networks - they don't have any good programs on. When you are forced to watch that network you really see what they have and it's nothing worth watching - so most of the time the TV is off - at least that is one way to wean ourselves off TV.

I really don't have anything else to report - we don't have any big plans for tomorrow - maybe I'll do some more laundry. Hope you guys are having a good weekend and -------------


I'll talk to you tomorrow!!

Rainy Day in Georgia

Rain, Rain, Rain - all night, all day, and suppose to continue tonight, tomorrow, and Sunday. It sure does make good sleeping weather, but I do have things I have to do sometimes. Today I did a load of laundry - then we went to the grocery store. We didn't go to the local store - Dan was working on some stuff outside (in the rain) and when he finally came in he had to dry off before we could go anywhere.

When we finally left to go to town - he wanted to go to Cleveland to the Carhart store (don't ask me why - he didn't buy anything and he certainly didn't need anything!) and then to the hardware store. Now, this was one of those stores that has just about everything in it including the kitchen sink. They actually had the clamp Dan has been looking for, so I think he will be able to finally finish his outdoor lamp (this thing has cost a small fortune!) tomorrow after work. Then we walked into the local drug store - it has a lunch counter and all kinds of neat things. Finally we headed to the grocery store.

Because of the weather I decided that I would make homemade soup tonight for dinner and there were a few things I needed to pick up to do that - so, our milk, eggs, butter, and bread turned into a full fledged grocery store run. That's okay - I won't have to worry about buying groceries for a couple of weeks now. Then on the way home a local bakery opened today for the first time this season and, of course, we had to stop. We bought some raisin cinnamon bread, some banana bread, and a chicken pasta dinner (that I will fix for dinner tomorrow night). Everything looked great and smelled even better!

When we got home, I put the groceries away and then started the soup. I also made some homemade bread to go with the soup. Not only did the soup and bread taste pretty good, it sure did make the house smell good! Of course, we have left over soup for lunch tomorrow (and probably for lunch a couple of other days) but the bread is all gone - Dan sure does like homemade bread!

Not much else happened today - we go to work tomorrow (we open) and then we won't work again until Monday. Hope you are ready for a nice weekend whether it's raining where you are or not. BTW - it's good to know that some people are indeed reading this - The China thing got a response from some of you. OH - you won't believe this one - another place in Alaska called us today and offered us a job. I had applied for it about four months ago (we were still at Highlands Hammock) and hadn't heard a word from them until today. He wanted me to take his phone number and if we had a change in plans to call him. I don't think so, but Dan says we can do it next year - at least it's something to think about.

Well, I'm going to sign off for now and go read. You guys have a great weekend and --------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!

1st day at work closing

Today was my first day at work where I closed by myself - and I think I did it right - I mean there really wasn't that much I could have messed up. The lady that had the morning shift did not have any business (zero, nada) and I had two sales - both cash - one for a jacket and the other for two bars of ice cream (that one was Dan and I). So, there wasn't that much I could have messed up - other than the paperwork that we have to turn in and I'm pretty sure I did it correctly - guess I'll find out the next day that I work. Actually today wasn't that bad - a little boring (I did read some) but I also straighten the shelves and refolded some of the merchandise. Just a typical day I guess. I'm sure that it will be busier when the weather clears - it has been raining here for two days and is suppose to rain through Saturday. Not many people want to be out in the rain.

After work - most of the hosts met at the Lodge for dinner - Dan and I had soup and salad bar again - I still say you can't beat the deal ($7.81 for both of us - which included dessert -I didn't have any due to the ice cream bar today - and drinks). After we ate we sat around and talked and laughed for about an hour. It was a nice relaxing evening. Only one of the couples didn't come - Don and Judy - Judy had a terrible headache (I can understand that!) - but maybe they will be able to go the next time.

Tonight Dan can't pick up anything on the television - probably due to the cloud cover and rain - so we are just chilling. I told him he could put a movie on - but he just wants to read his new book - the only problem with that is, he is going to read the thing in two days and then won't have anything to read again. Oh well -I'm reading a couple of books at the same time - one on my Nook (here at home) and the other is a paperback down in the store. They are both pretty good.

Tomorrow I think we are going to go into Helen and do some grocery shopping at the little local store - we only need things like milk, bread, and butter - maybe another dozen eggs. We should be able to pick that stuff up locally and not have to go into Cleveland to the Wal Mart Super Center. I don't think we have anything else planned for the day - since it is suppose to still be raining we will probably just chill here. Then we work on Saturday and off on Sunday. The schedule is one you have to really watch because there is no set framework to look at - but that's okay. We just have to make sure and keep track of when we are working.

I don't really have much else to report - but to tell you the truth I don't think anyone out there is reading this right now - not a single comment on my opportunity to go to China. Come on guys, that's pretty cool!!!! Bet if I had said that I was going to China I would have some comments!! Oh well, such is life.

I hope your week has gone well and you are looking forward to your weekend - take care - and if it raining where you are - try and stay dry!

I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Back Home

Well, there is no place like home even if you are sleeping in your own bed at your Mother's house in Atlanta. (Let me explain that little line - when we sold our house in Dowling Park there were a few pieces of furniture we kept - some of which we took to my mother's house in Loganville. Those pieces included our bed - so when we go to her house we sleep in our own king size bed - YAHOO!)

Let's get to the details - yesterday we decided that we would go on down to Mom's and see her and take Crystal out to dinner for her birthday. We left here around 10 in the morning and I called both Crystal and Mom on the way down to let them know that we were on our way. This time we didn't forget anything that we needed (I even remember to take the coffee beans that I wanted to try and get ground with me!) We got to mom's around lunch time. She didn't want to go with us to get some lunch - she said she had had a late breakfast so Dan and I went into Loganville to do some running around and eat.

First, we stopped at the post office to mail a package for mom and then it was off to Home Depot to return the lampshade that Dan had bought for his outside light. Then we went to Chick Filet for lunch (I love their chicken sandwiches!). After lunch we went over to Wal Mart where they had a nail salon (same chain as the one in Lake City) so I was able to get my nails done while Dan "shopped". This salon was very busy and it was 20 minutes before they even started on my nails - but they did a good job I think. Dan couldn't find anything to buy (wonder of wonders) so we headed back to moms and were back by about 4 or 4:30. We sat around and talked for a little while, before she headed in to take a shower and get ready for dinner.

We left her house about 6:30 - I called the girls and they were just leaving their loft. We couldn't have planned the timing anymore if we had tried. We had just pulled into the parking lot at Applebee's when the girls pulled in and parked in front of us. We had a pleasant time and I gave Crystal her card, present, and a little gag gift that was suppose to go in her Christmas stocking, but due to the circumstances of that surrounded that holiday, I didn't get it to her. It was an antenna topper of a moose - she was always making fun of my pictures of moose while we were in Idaho - so I figured that I would just have to give her a little keepsake. I think she accepted it in the spirit it was intended.

After we left the girls (around 8) we went to the nearest Target on our way back to mom's. We had the screen room that didn't fit on our patio cover to return and then we found a different lampshade for Dan's outside light. Then it was over to Border's for Dan to look for a new book in his series. (He is really surprising me with the amount of reading he is doing!) Remember those coffee beans I had brought down??? Well, while we were at Border's I asked the guy at the coffee shop if he could grind them for me - and guess what - he did!!! Even though they were not his brand he ground them for me and didn't change me anything to do it. There are still nice people in this world.

When we got home, I did my quick post and then it was off to bed. After a pretty good night's rest we were up this morning and spent a little time talking to Mom about her upcoming birthday party. I had thought it would be a good idea to have it here at Unicoi, but Mom doesn't want to do that, and since it is her birthday we decided that we would just have a fairly small family affair at a local park. (Local meaning Loganville) That's fine - if that is what she wants to do that is okay with me.

We left her house this morning around 10:30 and headed home. We decided to stop at the Outlet Mall in Commerce - Dan wanted to go to the Coleman store where he bought a cover for his grill and a couple of different accessories. Then we went over to the Corning Ware store and I bought a small white platter and a square Pyrex bowl - I had been looking for the platter for months and Dan broke my Pyrex bowl while we were down in Sebring at Highlands Hammock. So that was a productive stop. I did a little window shopping also - and told Dan that he should be glad I wasn't working any more - I saw three suits I would have LOVED to have - but I just don't need anything like that anymore! Oh Well!

One other thing happened today - while we were still at mom's we got a phone call from our friends Neil and Carol - and Carol had an interesting offer for me. Her sister's son lives in China and he was looking for a retired educator to come to China in the next week to teach third grade for three months. Betsy thought of me and had Carol call me to ask if I was interested - of course, I thought that Dan would shoot it down immediately - but to my surprise he was actually interested in the idea. It would be a trip of a lifetime and I would have experiences that I would never have the chance to have again. But, common sense won out - we have already made commitments to do other things and I will not break those commitments even to have an amazing experience like that. So, the answer is No - sorry.

That pretty much catches you up to date on the last couple of days - it has rained here (and in Atlanta) all day today and is suppose to rain all day tomorrow also - we have to work tomorrow and I have the closing shift. I haven't done that by myself yet - so it should be interesting. I don't think I will have any trouble, but I'll let you know for sure tomorrow night.

I'm going to close now - hope you guys are staying dry and warm - and---------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!

Atlanta

This is going to be short and sweet (and I'll fill in the details tomorrow). We came down to Atlanta today and are staying at my Mom's in Loganville for the night. We meet the girls (Crystal and Kim) at Applebee's for dinner since we missed Crystal's birthday on Sunday due to the "Fire Alert". It was a nice time. Back at my mom's and ready to go to bed. Have a good night and I'll catch you up on the details tomorrow!

Have a good day and --------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

More of the same

Today was just another day of the same ole thing. Seems like all I do anymore is laundry - of course, when you have a small machine you do have to do it more often, and believe me, I am NOT complaining about having a small machine. I do have a machine and I can do it here in the unit and not have to go to a laundromat or down somewhere else for a couple of hours. Today, while I did the laundry, I was also able to make lunch of egg salad sandwiches, do some stuff on the Internet, and watch TV. So, that was not such a bad day after all.

Tonight, I fixed dinner - Cashew Chicken. Then it was back on the computer to do some of my everyday "farming". In other words - today was not a very exciting day. The weather was nice and Dan was able to do some work outside - putting the rope lighting around the cover over the picnic table. It does make the outside look more "homey", if you know what I mean. That was about the extent of our day.

Oh, I guess I should say something about my predictions on the Oscars - I got all six of my predictions correct (I even added the animated picture, so actually I was 7 of 7 - but I didn't put the animated picture on the blog, so I won't count that). I don't think I did too bad this year. I still wish Meryl had won best actress. Actually, Crystal and I sorta disagreed about that - you see, I think that best "actress" should be based on the job the actress does. In each part that Meryl completes she becomes a completely different person -some actresses are the same person just trying to "play" a part. Anyway, that just what I think. I guess Hollywood doesn't agree - it's who campaigns the best - not the job they do in the movie. Oh well, the dress was pretty!

Okay, that's all I'm going to bore you tonight. I hope that your first day of the week was a good one and that the rest of the week will be good also. You guys take care and -----------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!

Fire!

Today was an exciting day! It started out like any other day - Dan and I went to work and that went well - other than the fact that the credit card machine didn't work. (I thought I was doing something wrong, so I called the gift shop over at the Lodge and talked to the girl there - I wasn't doing anything wrong - it was the machine!) Anyway, we completed our shift and the money in the register balanced (YEAH!) Then we came home and packed. We had these great ambitious plans of going into Atlanta this afternoon and see Crystal (my oldest daughter for her birthday) and then go out to my mom's and spend the next couple of nights so we could plan her birthday party in April.

So, we started out on this adventure - we don't get out of the park when we realized that we forgot all our cash at the house. So, we turned around and came back to get some money. We start out again. This time we make it all the way through Helen when Dan asked me if I got the medicine - No, I said. Well, he said we weren't going home after it. Okay, we have some spare in the truck - it will get us through the next couple of days. We'll be home on Tuesday - no problem.

We get all the way to Gainesville when my phone rings - it's one of the camp hosts wanting to know if we had already left the park. Now, mind you, this is the girl who relieved me at the store today - so my first thought is, "Oh S***! I screwed up something!". I told her yes, we had already left - then she tells me "we" (meaning the campground) is on "High Fire Alert" - that there is a fire about one and a half miles away from the campground and heading our way. I tell her we are coming back. I hang up the phone - tell Dan what is going on and we turn around and come back to the campground. On the way back, I call my daughter and tell her we will not be able to get down there to see her for her birthday (first time I think I have ever missed one unless it was when she was in college). Anyway, I was bummed.

By the time we get back to the campground we are still on "Fire Alert", but they had dropped the "High" part. We settled in here and decided that we would just wait and see what happened. In the meantime - we keep hearing this helicopter. Dan and Don (our neighbor camp host) finally figure out that the helicopter is using our lake to take water to the fire - so we both jump into our trucks and head to the lake - I grabbed my camera on the way out the door.

These are just some of the pictures I took - it was really pretty cool to watch him come in and just hover long enough to fill the basket and take off again.

Anyway, after we watched the helicopter for awhile we went over to the Lodge for dinner (I hadn't planned on being home tonight so I hadn't taken anything out of the freezer for dinner). I had the salad and soup and Dan had the buffet - it cost us $7.18 total! That's with drinks and dessert. I don't think that is bad at all!

Tomorrow, I think, we will try and again to go down to Atlanta - just spend one night with my mom and try and see Crystal to give her the birthday present we were going to give her today. Anyway, it turned out to be an interesting day! And in case I don't say it later - HAPPY BIRTHDAY CRYSTAL!!!!

In case you are wondering about the Oscars - no we can not get them on our TV - remember, we only get NBC and I think the Oscars were on ABC. Anyway, I'll have to wait and see who won tomorrow - remember my predictions? We'll see tomorrow how well I did (I just like to see the dresses anyway on the night of the show - I can see them tomorrow on all the shows that will give the run down of the show tonight. )

Hope you guys had a great weekend. It was beautiful weather here today - not too cool - but certainly not hot ( I think it was around 61 as the high) with a beautiful blue sky - as you can see by the pictures above. (Oh in case you are wondering, after dinner we saw one of the law enforcement officers, and he said that they had the fire contained and the danger was over. YEAH!)

Take care all and ---------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!!

Seems like all I do is Work

I thought I was retired - I sure don't feel like it today. First thing this morning I cleaned the house really good - you know the whole nine yards - vacuum, mop, dust, bathroom, shower, kitchen, even cleaned the mirrors and windows! I didn't need to do laundry - had done that on Thursday.

Then it was on to balancing the checkbook, paying bills, and getting the "little black book" caught up to date. (Boy, we didn't do well this month with expenses - a lot of one time things and a lot of expenses getting ready for the Alaska trip - service on the truck, Vet bill, ferry ticket, work on the unit. Then there were the one time expenses - the generator was the "biggie" there. And of course, we can't forget changing insurance companies and paying for a year of insurance on the unit and the truck.) Well, to say that we didn't stick to the budget would be a HUGE understatement! Oh well, we will get back to it this month. (Seems like we have a good month - then a bad month - can't seem to get it together consistently.)

Then I did get things caught up on my games that I play on Facebook - the farms are all harvested and replanted. Animals are milked, eggs are collected, and all is well in the land of games (although I do still need a couple of friends so I can expand the farm on Farmville - but that is a whole different issue!)

Tonight I have been doing research on state parks in Texas that we might want to spend the winter - I filled out the application and I will get it in the mail to the volunteer coordinator on Monday or Tuesday. We'll see how that goes and I'll keep you posted on anything we hear. I sure hope that I can get something lined up for the winter by the time we leave here at the end of April or at least by the first of May. (I know - I've applied for one thing in Texas and they said they would get with us the first part of June, but I'm not very patient - I like to have things set up well in advance.) Like I said, we'll just have to wait and see.

We fixed boneless pork chops on the grill tonight with baked potatoes and salad for dinner - I also fixed sandwiches for lunch and we had some cinnamon raisin bread for breakfast - so all three meals were fixed here today. Maybe we will get in a schedule around here and get things back together.

I don't have much else to report for today - have to work again tomorrow - first time working alone. If I have any problems I'm sure I can call some of the other hosts and they would be more than happy to help me. Well, I'm going to sign off and go do a little reading before turning out the light. I hope you are enjoying your weekend (BTW the temperature was up into the 50's today - we still have snow on the ground where the sun doesn't reach, but I don't think that will last too much longer.) Take care all and -------------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Yahoo - Antenna works!

My antenna arrived today and it WORKS!!!! I am soooo happy! (Dan says it doesn't take much to make me happy - and maybe it doesn't, but that's okay too!) While I was work today (I'll tell you about that in a minute) Tom, one of the other volunteers, brought the box to Dan and then Dan brought it to me. I could hardly wait to get home and see if it would work. In one way I was really nervous, not knowing if it would work or not, but once I put the antenna on the window and plugged it into my air card - turned the computer on and boom - three bars!!!! I wasn't getting any before - so, yes, I am a very happy camper (literally!) I am so happy to be at home and being able to post, blog, and farm. Yeah!

Okay, enough about that - how did work go. It was a very interesting day. First, I got at the store just in time for a shipment to arrive. I let the morning person check in the order - I didn't want to do that first thing on my first day. Anyway, I knew how to change shifts over with the money (that's a good thing) and then a little while later Shirley came down (I was really glad to see her -I didn't want to try and close all on my own!) The day went by really quickly because we spent the time putting out the order that had come in. Shirley showed me how to find the merchandise code - price everything and put it out on the shelves. Then, when it was time to close, she let me do it on my own. Which I remembered most of it all - only had to ask a question once or twice. Anyway, the next day we work, I will be opening - which is much easier than closing. Much less paperwork to do. I think things will go well at the store.

However, after work, Dan and I were both BEAT! I'm really surprised on how tired we both were - but we haven't worked in over two months and it makes a difference. Anyway, Dan decided he wanted to go up to the Lodge to eat (half price!). So we went up and had soup and salad - with dessert and drink was only $7.42 for both of us. Not too bad!

Tomorrow we don't have to work so I'm not sure what we will do during the day. We do have to work on Sunday - I don't have to do laundry (already done!) and I don't have to clean the house (already done!) so I've got a free day. Maybe I'll spend the time doing the stuff that I haven't been able to do on the Internet - balance the bank account - pay the bills - do the research on the parks for this winter. See, there is plenty to do - always is. The problem with this is, if I can't find something for Dan to do he will want to go somewhere. Going to Blue Ridge or Dahlonega might be fun and they aren't that far away - but I would rather get caught up on stuff here and save those trips for maybe next week on our days off. We'll see.

Well, I really don't have anything else to report tonight - I hope you all had a great day and that you are looking forward to a great weekend - remember the Oscars are Sunday night - I guess I can give you my predictions - Best Picture - Hurt Locker; Best Actor - Jeff Bridges; Best Actress - Sandra Bullock (I would like to see Meryl Strepp -spelling?- get it, but I don't think that will happen - too much hype for Sandra); Best Supporting Actress - Monique; Best Supporting Actor - can't remember his name, but the guy from Inglorious Bastards. Best Director - can't remember her name - but James Cameron's ex wife - the one who did Hurt Locker. Now, it's official - we'll see how I do - okay Crystal??? That's it for tonight - take care, stay warm and -----


I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Ordering stuff

Today was the first time we had to order our medicine since we have changed insurance companies - or I should say the School Board changed the prescription provider. We used to have Walgreens mail order and that was a piece of cake. However, for some reason, we were changed to a company called Medco (I had never heard of them before). We were told that the transition would be seamless - that Walgreens would transfer all our prescriptions over and there would be no problems - yeah, right! As I said, I called today and, you guessed it, there were problems. Believe it or not, the new company had my prescriptions (all three of them - from my hormone, to my Boniva, and even my migraine medicine) but NONE of Dan's medicines - which are much more important than mine. Anyway, to make a long story short Medco requested that Walgreens send the transfer over and hopefully we will have his medicine the end of next week to the middle of the following week - I should have mine the first part of next week. Now, if this just works out it will be amazing!

After we got all this taken care of we went over to the store (where I will be working) and were trained in "Nature Bingo". This is one of the programs that the rangers do and they wanted some of us trained in case they run into a problem and need some help with school groups etc. It really didn't take that much time to get trained and I didn't mind at all.

Then it was off to Cleveland for our run to Wal Mart and pick up a few groceries - I know some of you might wonder why we always go to Wal Mart to buy groceries instead of a local grocery store. Well, at Wal Mart we can find just about what ever we are used to getting anywhere in the country. There are a few things that we have a problem finding once we get west of the Mississippi, but for the most part the stock is the same. So we picked up a few things and then came back home where I finished up the laundry that I had started before we left and fixed dinner. Oh, BTW, one of the things that we bought was a Brita Water filtration pitcher - we have decided to try and be a little greener and not buy bottled water - We'll see how that goes.

We also got a call from the RV dealer - they received that part they wanted to replace on the unit - so they are sending it to us UPS and Dan will replace the circuit board and then we will send the defective one back to them. That should also come in next week. So, we should be getting a lot of stuff in the next couple of weeks - from the booster for the air card, medicine, and now the circuit board. WOW! Someone might actually think we are popular or something - NOT!

I don't know if I have told you lately or not, but I sure do hope that this booster antennae works - I am getting tired of having to come down to the Lodge every night to do what we need to do on the computer. I don't get half of what I need to do done - I don't have a printer attached (and it would a little difficult to bring my printer down here to the Lodge), and I don't like to be away from the "house" all night long - as it is I'm here about 2 hours checking email, blogging, and doing the minimum on the "farm". I just hope this thing works so I can stay at home!

Well, I'm going to sign off for tonight - Dan and I have to work tomorrow and Sunday - we'll see how that goes (in fact, I'm suppose to finish up my training tomorrow afternoon). I hope you guys are having a good week and ------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Work

Believe it or not - we had orientation today! Actually the weather was not bad and the temperatures would have been nice except for the wind - that wind was wicked!!! We went over all the paperwork that we needed to and then we did a halfway tour of the park - some roads were still closed due to the snow and then our ranger that took us had to be in a meeting at 1 - so we didn't see everything, but enough that we will be able to function. We were back home by 1 and then we decided that we would come up to the Lodge to eat lunch (we hadn't done that yet). Oh, did I tell you that, on the days that we work - and today was a work day- we eat at the Lodge for 1/2 price?? Well, we came up and ate and it was less than $9.00. We have decided that it might be a good idea to eat our big meal in the middle of the day and eat light at dinner. At least, we think we will give it a try and see how that goes.

After lunch - we went home and spent a little time with the pups. Then we left for Gainesville to see if we could find a booster for my air card. We found the Verizon store and they recommended an antenna that will stick on the window right beside my desk (on the outside of the unit). Of course, they didn't have any in stock and had to order it - but it should be here in 2 business days (which hopefully will mean Friday!) I am really hoping that this will solve the problem we are having. It is somewhat tiresome coming up here every night to post, plus I really can't do my "farm" justice. All I do is harvest and send gifts to my neighbors - I can't take the time to do all the things I should be doing - like visiting their farms and fertilizing for them (okay - those of you that don't farm don't know what you are missing!) Anyway, I have already been up here two hours and I have done just the bare minimum that I need to do - and I never go to my other games. Oh well, hopefully this will fix the problem and I can get back to doing what I need to do. Seriously, I do need to get on line to do our banking, pay our bills, and do research for future jobs. There are more things I do then just play games. But right now I have a hard time getting anything done. However, IF I have to come up here then I'll just have to do what I need to do.

Right next door to the Verizon store was an Atlanta Bread Company - so we just HAD to go get some Cinnamon Raisin Bread and then we went to the Home Depot (which was right next door too). Dan wants to build a contraption outside that will have a light in it that he can attach to the picnic table and beside his grill. I think we could have bought an outdoor table lamp for less than what the parts for this thing he wants to build cost, BUT it will give him something to do when we aren't working. After Home Depot - we came back home. I spent a little time in the unit before I came up here to do my posting.

Well, they are getting ready to close up the restaurant - so I guess I need to close for tonight - I hope that you guys are having a great week - thanks for all the comments and for understanding my plight! Stay warm and------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow!

Snow in the mountains!

Early morning snow!

Around 8 this morning - across from our unit.

Around 10:30 down by the store.

Around noon - up from the unit.

Well, I tried to do something today - but it didn't work. I had written the blog at home in Word and I was going to come in and cut and paste it to the blog - but it didn't work. I guess that it is in a different format - anyway, it wouldn't paste to the blog - it would paste back to documents but not the blog. Oh well, good try.

The major story for today was the snow! As you can see from the pictures above we had quite a bit of snow today- it started around 4 this morning and didn't stop until around 5 this evening. Dan says that we probably got about 4 inches total - it was beautiful! Big, huge, wet flakes most of the day - with pretty heavy snowfall at times. However, most of the time it was a nice steady snowfall. Dan and I walked around the circle and I took pictures with the cellphone camera, but I haven't downloaded them to the computer yet - I did take pictures with the Canon and the Panasonic - some of which I posted at the beginning of the blog.

We also walked over to the store as I was suppose to have more training today - however, when we walked over to the store no one was there. I do have a key now, so I went in and called the Lodge and asked. I was able to talk to the General Manager of the park and he told me to enjoy the day - no training today and probably no orientation tomorrow. (DARN!) Oh well, such is life and we will just have to take it as it comes. I can tell you, it was a beautiful day and we both so enjoyed the snow.

We are the only people down in the campground in our section. Our neighbor host had to take his motor home in to have some work done it on so he pulled out early this morning before the roads got bad. So now we are the only people there - there is only one camper in the entire park and he is over in the area that has full hookups for the campers. Oh well, it does make for a nice quiet day.

As I said, I probably will not have orientation tomorrow - so I don't know what our new schedule will be - guess we'll find out later. I really don't have much else to report - I hope that you all had a good day and that you are warm and safe. Oh, one thing before I sign off - The Bachelor - now, while I may not like the decision he made (I liked Tenley better) it is HIS decision and one that he will have to live with - IF he is happy then God bless them. BTW, I am happy that Ali will be the next Bachelorette - I really like her! Okay, enough of that. Everyone take care and--

I'll talk to you tomorrow!!!

Back at the Lodge

Well, I'm back at the Lodge tonight posting again, so you can tell we did not have much success in finding a booster for the air card. We went into Cleveland and looked at the Ace Hardware store (which we were told had booster's), at the Radio Shack, at the Verizon Wireless store, and the Auto Zone (where the person at Verizon sent us - go figure!). Anyway, no one had the booster - so, my next trick is going to look on line at the Verizon web site. Maybe, just maybe, they will have something. I don't know. I wanted to come to the Lodge tonight anyway to watch the final episode of The Bachelor (okay, I know that it's just stupid, but I happen to like it - so sue me!). I'm pretty sure that I know he is NOT going to pick the one I like, but I just have to see for myself. Then I think it's next Monday, Jason and Molly (last year's Bachelor - you know, the one that jilted Melissa and went back with the girl he had sent home of the final two - I'm sure you all know the story) are getting married. He is the first of the Bachelors to marry someone. I don't think I will come up for that one - but it is something.

Speaking of TV - when I got home yesterday afternoon after blogging up here at the Lodge - Dan had a little surprise for me - TV. We only get one network channel (NBC) and then we get a weather station and a sports station - which, by the way, are all NBC channels. I wish it were ABC instead of NBC, but we do have a TV station so, Dan is happy. Actually the picture is excellent - can't believe how good it is and it is coming off our little TV antenna that is on top of the unit. Go figure!

Today we started training - or I should say - I began training in the store. Dan did rounds with Don again. The lady that is training me was about 45 minutes late getting down to the store - I was really ready to just go home - in fact, Dan went up here to the Lodge to see if there was a problem. Anyway, they were having a meeting about the upcoming snow coming in. Yes, they are still calling for snow up here - in fact, we are under a winter storm warning until midnight tomorrow. The weathermen are calling for 1 to 4 inches here in the North Georgia mountains. IF we do get that kind of snow, or if the roads are icy we are not suppose to go to work - we'll just have to wait and see what mother nature throws at us. I'll certainly let you know as soon as I can - just know that IF I don't post tomorrow it means I can't get up here to the Lodge.

I really don't have much else to report - I'll keep you updated on the air card situation - in the meantime, I'll just have to come up to the Lodge and post (and "farm"). Oh, I almost forgot, while we were in town at the hardware store we found HEATERS!!!!! Yeah!!!!!! So, we bought a new one for the bedroom - I'm sure that we are going to need it in the next couple of days! Which brings me to my standard line that I hope all of you stay warm and drive safe if the weather is crazy where you are, and ------------------

I'll talk to you tomorrow (hopefully!)