Roger Retired And Sammy's Update..and Oh Mimosas!!!

Last night I got up the nerve and left the kids in the RV!! Roger had a retirement party so I went. Port Canaveral is an hour away from here, then of course eating and socializing then an hour back.

Ok, let me explain this. I first pulled down all the day/night shades, tuned on both a/c's front and back and turned on channel 9 so they could watch Jeopardy. It's our pattern at night.  With the shades drawn, life did not exist outside our coach.  I took them to the park first then gave them a nice dinner. But what is that in the photo?? My biggest fear is that Sammy would leap up onto the drivers chair and somehow engage the break and they would all roll into the lake! (we have wheel blocks but last night my imagination told me that they would just roll over those)  So I took one of the gates and velcroed it to the steering wheel. The styrofoam bucket, not in the photo, is placed over the break which has the rubber gaskets to keep it from deploying.

Now do you know where Sammy gets his anxiety? I left at 4 P.M. and returned at 8. The greeting was crazed but they were all fine, had not driven into the lake and non of the pillows were eaten. Oh, I had a great time!!!!

Roger had a nice crowd of people that he has worked with in different companies over the past 14 years.  Today was bringing back his security pass for the Base and sign papers.  

When he arrived at CiCi Blue I greeted him with Mimosas! We needed to celebrate this new passage into our adventure. (He's asleep right now)

We will be living on less financially but I believe with my art and Roger's photography and art we will be just fine, plus the stress level will be so much better.  I can hardly wait to see his face when he gazes at the Grand Canyon for the first time or the plains out in the West!  This week we will be gathering and storing for our leaving next Saturday for Georgia.  The adventure begins!!

So, Sammy! It took him awhile to come out to the living area from the bedroom but he has survived.  The Guardian device has it's merits. I have that and a larger one called Dazer II . It emits a stronger or louder sound which he really hears outside. He suddenly walks calmer after one quick second push of the button.  Inside I will say the Guardian works fine too. Ozzie sees it and quiets without even turning it on.  Lola? She ignores all. Thankfully telling her inside she's silly and too shush seems to work for her.

Would I recommend them? Since each is under 30.00 or 25.00 I'd say yes. I think some dogs are insensitive to them and I have read reports that said after awhile the dogs disregard the noise but I think as a training tool it will be just fine. (As long as you remember to turn them off) Ugh.  When we head for the park I put the outside unit in my pocket and just that gets results. A quiet calmer walkies.  (we will see how long that lasts)

No painting today for me. Tomorrow we get our awning arm fixed and we will make a list of what we need for our journey.  For two weeks we will be off the beaten track so we need to make a good plan.

Have a great night...

Warmly,

Sheila

Ordering Art Supplies and Silly Me

This is the silly me part. The thing I'm holding is an indoor anti bark device. It emits a high pitch sound that only dogs can hear and I got it just to press when the kids were screaming out the window at passer-bys.  It actually worked. Yesterday I picked it up and by accident , my finger hit the on button.  Sammy wasn't feeling well to start but as the day wore on he was panting rapidly and very uncomfortable. We went to the park and he was acting strange, for Sam that's acting really calm.  When we got back to the coach he didn't want to come in. I was worried. Roger came home and he was still panting and acting strange so I googled anxiety in dogs. Strange sounds cause anxiety was the first thing that my eyes came to. I ran to the small little unit and sure enough I had turned it on. As soon as I turned it off, Sam calmed.  What have I done?? My little velcro guy is staying clear of me and is afraid to move.  He's been sleeping in the bedroom all morning away from us all and I am feeling awful.  My hope that in time he realizes I'm not using it anymore and comes back to his crazy self. Well, half crazy.  I did notice he never even barked at the small dogs this morning walking by the park, but also noticed he didn't want to play.  My advice if you have one of these..be very aware that it's off.

Tonight is my first attempt at leaving them alone for any length of time. It's Roger's retirement party over at the Port. (Cape Canaveral) . I'll have the a/c on and the tv turned up so they should be fine...hide the pillows, and anything they can get into in the two hours that I'll be gone.  They will be fine. There are no storms predicted in the area for today of tonight so everything should be fine.

For the day today I am ordering art supplies so I'll have enough for our adventure and probably two more bags of dog food.  Rearranging the basement and actually throwing things out from the time we moved in and measuring my bike to order a bike rack for CiCi Blue!  And finally, worrying more about Sammy! Sigh.

Have a great day...

Warmly,

Sheila 

I Feel A Breeze

Oh my goodness. This morning was actually cooler and there was a strong breeze all day! The kids were silly with excitement and we actually went down to the park three times.  I have been trying to wean the kids from me bit by bit and teach them this is home and I do come back.  So I grabbed all the trash and left on my bike to the dumpster. I take a bit of a spin around before returning and when I came back I saw Ozzie laying in the front window, Sammy close by and I heard Lola leaping off and on the couch.  At least no pillows gave their lives in my brief adventure.  I had been gone for years!!!

Everywhere I look I see picnic tables. So today, that's what I painted.

"Hello Friend" 6" x 6" oil on gessoed board A view from my RV window.  Roger liked that it because it was "more organized" than my other paintings.  I'm thinking it will be fun to see how my plein air pieces will change as I go. I have been a studio artist forever so this is new ground so to speak.

Two more weeks til our take off. At the end of September we will came back here to regroup. I spoke with Wendy, owner of the RV park today and I may be able to teach art if the woman who did it last year doesn't come back.  The park will fill up so as I'm painting outdoors I'm also hoping for some sales or private students. This will give us time to do some saving and planning for our big escape.  It will also give me the opportunity to paint the park in different light.  Be prepared for more picnic table paintings .

Every so often I chat with another CC Allure owner. He also has an '04.  He is installing an ARP board for his Norcold Refrigerator.  I've just started reading about it. So much to learn.

We just got our Ninja Prep. 

One of my favorite, favorite things to eat is grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.  Roger found this on Amazon and ordered it. Tonight he will use it to grind up wonderful red tomatoes and make my soup. I'm a happy "camper".

Have a great night too!!

Warmly,

Sheila

Living The Dream And Laundry

Slept a bit late since Roger was home today but Lola kept "talking" waking me up. I forgot it's her way of telling me she needs to go. Poor girl. Off to the dog park.  It's also laundry day. I need quarters for the laundry here at the park and my washer dryer takes forever and really small loads.  Roger went to get the mail and other stuff in Palm Bay and I threw in a small load in our unit. It's still going...it's been over two? hours. Oh well, my shoes so needed to be washed after stepping in all sorts of things if you get my drift.

I looked at the painting I did yesterday and just felt a little blah about it.  I'm also finding it hard to take a descent photo of my work too.  Roger's computer isn't set up yet and mine doesn't have photoshop to crop. It's going to be hit of miss for awhile.  I took this one leaning up against the grill outside to try and get natural light on it.  Anyway, I added more values today.  My style is Impressionistic so I give you the feeling of how I see it at that particular time.  I may paint this scene a few more times to see how it changes and at different times of the day. Watch out Monet!!!

103 degrees out today so our venture out was quick. Piddles and right back in. Talk about a true dog day afternoon. The kids are sleeping away.  Oops, I disturbed him!!

And one more pic of the painting taken inside on my counter.  I'll have to look and see if the Chromebook has a program that will allow me to crop.

Ok, the laundry unit is just starting to blink which means it's cooling down and soon I'll be able to open the door and take out the 5 items in there.  Excited to have clean shoes at least!

Have a great night and stay cool...see you tomorrow.

Warmly,

Sheila

3 P.M. The Rig Is A Mess But I had A Good Day

My bike! I got it out of the back of the car, pumped up the poor dead tires, grabbed my wallet and peddled down the road to Stuckey's! Woohoo. Two bottles of Gatorade  and a vanilla coffee in my basket then I peddled back. There was a freedom I loved! I envisioned me riding places with my art gear and painting in some wild places! This is good!

Then I decided to paint out the window yet one more time. Is was about 11:30 A.M. and the sun was bright which took away a lot of interesting shadows but made an interesting painting. I used a brush and a painting knife to lay in some brightness behind the trees.  I never use white straight out of the tube as in life white is so many colors. Pinks, yellows, blue hues.  I ordered some paint the other day and one was Gamblin's Warm White. It already has a yellow tint to it and fun to work with.  Roger will be home this weekend so maybe..just maybe it will have cooled a bit to take the kids out and I can paint outdoors.  Nothing like Plain air painting from inside a Country Coach and not get paint on every thing around. 

The painting is 5" x 7" oil on copper panel and will be framed in a black frame with gold trim.  When I get it covered with a Galkyd sealant and framed I'll be putting it on for sale. However, if you are interested please let me know. 

Ok, wrapping up early today. Paints away and brushes cleaned. I'm now going to push Ozzie to the side of the couch and take a quick nap. . Or as we say, rest my eyes!

One decision we have made and I've come to terms with is for our first trip, since we weren't sure about the cars and didn't get a hook up for the rig, I'll be driving the car. It's all good for now. We need a lot of water and dog food so I'll stock up.  The end plan is getting rid of both our cars and getting a newer model Jeep that the kids can fit in of course. Less miles than mine and not a convertible like Rogers'. 

It's all about time.  September is a scheduled month..after that..we are free!!! 

Ok..nap time.

Warmly,

Sheila

Rick And The Rear View Camera

This morning about 8: 30 A.M. our mobile RV repair man Rick came with his trailer and truck.  As I took the kids to the park before it got to hot, Rick started searching for why the we can't work the projector screen.

Now here's a good advertisement for Rick. It's great having him come to the coach rather than us driving somewhere and having to wait forever.  I then asked him if he could take a look at our rear view camera and see if he could repair that.  He looked at it and asked me if I hit the switch to turn it on. The switch??? What switch, where is this switch. He sat at the wheel and turned to the button on the side console with the "camera" on it. Duh. He pushed it and voila'....it was repaired!!  We had a good laugh as he knows we are total newbies at this motor home adventure.   The dogs were lounging on the couch and giggled too.

The next issue we noticed and I showed him is the bow in the front window separating the window from the dash. I never noticed it before but Roger said tonight he remembered seeing duck tape on the dash when we first saw the coach. Hmm.  I asked the iRV2 Forum what we should do and one comment was duck tape to stop the whistling. We will also be looking around here for a shop to look at it before we take off. Coming down to the wire. Yikes. Well the sales person who did the PDI inspection with us did say we had a huge learning curve with our CiCi Blue!!  My goal is to save up so when we do get to the Mother Ship we can get some work done on her. Flooring, not rug is number 1. (the Mother Ship is Country Coach in Oregon)

The memory foam mattress last night...oh, you didn't know, was amazing. I went to Target and purchased a 3" memory foam mattress topper and put it on our bed. Can you say heaven?? What a difference..instead on sleeping say, on the ground, we are sleeping on a cloud. And..I got it on sale!! I actually could get out of bed this morning and move.  I also found out our mattress is a standard Queen so our sheets will fit.  Silly me buying a short set of sheets thinking the Queen was an RV short, and my aggravation in the middle of the night when the corners would slip off.  Ahh, learning curves.

Another photo of Sammy is his new back pack!! He's the dog!!!

Have a great night!!

Warmly,

Sheila

Sammy's New Outfit And Holy Hot

Sammy's backpack came today. I was excited putting our site number on the order and when the UPS man beeped, he laughed because I wasn't # 7, I was # 6.  Seeing we are the only rig in the row I was easy to find.

Sammy's new backpack. I need to tighten underneath his belly. Sammy has lumps. They are non cancerous, thankfully, but just get in the way at times. He looked at me like.."Seriously?? Something else to wear?" I put a bottle of water in each section. I wish they were a bit larger but probably just perfect since it's weight he hasn't had before.  He walked a bit slower but not so much. I'll up the weight as we go during the week.

Tonight we went to the dog park and the only place I could deal with the heat was to sit on the grass in the shade.  As you see Lola joined me!!

Oh those kids!!! Lola knocked me over then Ozzie and Sammy came to see. They figured I was doing something fun! I was...I was rolling around like a Weeble!!!

I'm happy we have a lighter color motor home since I have read that black rigs hold in the heat more. Figures. Even though CiCiBlue is lighter I could only imagine what a black coach would have been in this heat. I was able to give the arm of the awning a big wack and got it to stick to the magnet.  Then I opened the awning. I may leave it out tonight as I doubt we have any storms coming over and we'll have a head start on the day tomorrow.  It's the humidity. (we have had a pool for the past 15 years at the house..guess I've been spoiled)  May I say I'm Colorado dreaming!!??

That's it for today.  Have a great night!! 

Warmly, (ironic isn't it...)

Sheila 

I Think This Will Do The Trick!!!

Sammy's new back pack!!

Check it out!! I am so excited. After medicating him and seeing the results...agitation, I needed an alternative. Sammy needs to be preoccupied. He needs a job! 

I read reviews of the dogs that were filled with anxiety and after wearing their backpack came home relaxed and tired. One woman filled hers with tuna cans!! Sammy can carry our water to the park.!! Then home!  When it arrives , this Wednesday, I'll post pictures. I'll put the item on our "things we like" Page and if you love it you can purchase it through there. 

The next exciting thing I got was a 3 set CD Collection of Through Dog's Ears  Music to calm dogs through anxiety from thunderstorms or fireworks or separation anxiety. Right up our alley. Beautiful piano music, classical music chosen just for our pets.  Roger put it into our cd player in the coach and the dogs totally relaxed...the only problem is that I had to go take a nap too. It works. You can purchase single cd's or in a package of 3. 

Lola is so excited about all the new things we are getting to help Sam. 

Met with our RV guy and he's ordering the arms for our awning. Woohoo. I did have the awning out today but when I brought it in tonight the bottom connection, it's magnetic, won't attach.  It's sticking way out so I won't be able to extend it tomorrow.  It's one of the hottest weeks we have had with the humidity making in in the low 100's.  Quick trips to the dog park for us for the rest of the week!!!

Well that's it for now...maybe tomorrow I will...paint??? Have a great night!!

Warmly,

Sheila

Sunny Sunday All Day?

Who knew? It's been sunny and massively hot all day here at the RV Park. And quiet. We are the only rig in the front row right now though come October when the RV's return that will all change. When we take the kids out at night we hear the frogs croaking and other various animals I don't want to know about out there in the dark making their weird noises.

Laundry dried and put away..Roger actually got his stuff in the basement or in the closet. Now just to get his computer desk and get that up and running.

What else did we do?

Lola Bear got a shower!! Boy she was stinky. (sorry Lola) We had the kids out on the side of the rig where the outdoor shower hose is and that's where it happened. We follow Technomadia's Blog and Cherie uses a combination of baking soda and water for "shampoo" then rinses with a mixture of cider vinegar and water. Well I'm telling you we are switching. We did it on Lola and she smells fresh and her white fur is glistening!!! 

Me and the kids at the park. Ozzie wanted me to take the ball. Yuck!! 

Clean Lola!!! Oh she looks so pretty when she's all clean and fluffy..and..smelling good. 

She cuts corners like a pro football player.  And she smells good too!!! 

Tomorrow I will tell you about the cd's I bought for the kids.  "Through a Dog's Ear" . Beautiful classical piano music that not only relax's them but us.  And, my new solution to Sammy's anxiety. I'm excited. 

We just came in from sitting outside watching the sun go down. Gorgeous. The kids sat at our feet while the ants nibbled mine. OK, tomorrow shoes and long pants. Oh, to be on the road.  Soon. :-)

Have a great night,

Warmly,

Sheila

Getting Things Done Before The Rain

The dogs let us sleep til 7:30 A.M. !!!! WooHooo! Piddles and breakfast for Sammy and Ozzie. Lola declined. That got me worried. She has an exposed nerve on her tooth and I have been thinking it may be bothering her. I'd like to get it taken care of before we take off, just in case.

We snoozed after that til 9:30 A.M., it's been a tough week. (weaning off the prednisone on my eye so hoping it works)  Roger did a Stuckey's run for breakfast then our day started. I had a basket of clothes to bring to the park laundry for starters and sort then out the basement. My art supplies are everywhere and I can't find my folder of copper panels.  Back to collect the laundry and it was still wet and I was out of quarters so I have been throwing it into our small washer/dryer and hanging bed sheets and towels all over the inside of the rig.  Today I feel like we are camping for sure.

After I stepped full force into a hill of fire ants we decided to take the kids to the park but man that storm came in quick. Thunder and lightning. Wind then rain. Here in Florida you get in side when there is lightning because it can strike in a heart beat.  So back to the rig we went.

Roger's job today was sorting through his pile of stuff and trying to figure out how to get the back up camera to work again. Still working on that one.  I called Rick from American RV Repair to get an update on our awning arm and he and I are meeting Monday so I can give him some money to purchase it. We had a communication malfunction last week and after a good laugh I'll meet him in Rockledge. About 30 minutes from where I am now. Silly us.  So when he does come here to repair it I'll ask him about the camera.

After Roger put away and rearranged food stuff and spices it was raining pretty good out so we looked at each other and decided to....have a wolloping game of scrabble!!!

Well I did find out during the day Lola likes to eat in private. The boys finish quickly then stand behind her while she savors every morsel. So she decided to not eat and wait til I figured it out.

As some may know, Sammy is not accustomed to small dogs. I am aware of it at all times.  They are high anxiety to him. There is a man in the park with a small dog. While we were at the park Lola spotted the man and the tiny dog and started barking. I went to the fence to stop Lola and then Ozzie and Sammy saw it. Meyhem started!  They were all barking and jumping at the fence. Now, if that were me?..I'd be taking my dog in another direction not bringing my tiny dog to the fence to see the big dogs who wanted to snack on him. It's severe anxiety for Sammy and it spreads to the others. My fault for not giving him a pill before we went out but not knowing the man would also be out I figured it would be ok. Sammy has his pill now so he will calm down, I have a glass of wine.  In crowded parks, Sammy will have his meds.  Poor little guy. Maybe I can wear a sign saying , Anxious dog, please be kind and stay back.  Boon docking will be our favorite way to go.  Wide open spaces and no tiny dogs. (apologies to all that have tiny dogs...)

Winding down now. Finishing up laundry..it takes forever to dry a small load. At least it will be dry!!

The Dog of the hour..Sammy. He suffers from high anxiety and separation, depressed and then huge highs. Possible a manic depressive personality. I adopted him at 4 months and told him I'd love him forever and I do.  At night he lays beside me with his head in the crook of my legs. He was amazing at agility but couldn't be separated from me and would howl. We had to stop. Howling is a high screech like he was in massive pain.  Sigh.  When he's in his manic state he can't hear me but when he's calm he's fantastic. So, instead of being angry and upset I will love and protect him from stresses and people who think it's ok to bring their dog over to meet a dog who is totally out of it for that moment. And that works for me!!! His purpose in my life? He teaches me to be calm and patient.  (dear God, please send me calmness and patience tonight, I need a whole lot more. Love ,Sheila)

Have a great night!!!

Warmly, Sheila

Always Something...

Didn't Gilda Radnor say that?!  I started having light sensitivity in my left eye. Just having cataract surgery two weeks ago on that eye I was concerned. (i would have been anyway). After looking at my computer screen for 5 minutes I would get a pain behind my eye and looking away, the only way I could describe it , was as if I were seeing a pattern of my iris.

ritis (i-RIE-tis) is inflammation that affects your eye's iris, the colored ring surrounding your pupil.  That's the official definition of what has happened. 

Thankfully my eye guy got right on it and had me use more Prednisone type drops while giving me glaucoma meds to lower the pressure in my eye. 1 in 10 people will get this after cataract surgery and as my Dr. said it depends on the person's immune system. Since we have been moving and under massive stress I guess I am a great candidate.!  Today I saw him and it's doing really well. Tomorrow I go one more time before the weekend to check.

When I returned to CiCi Blue today it started to storm so the dogs and I spent the day curled on the couch or in the bedroom listening to the rain and thunder. 

After Roger came home and it stopped raining for a bit, I donned my "wellies" and off we went to the dog park to splash in the puddles.  I love rainy days!!

My eyes are tied of having drops put in and I just want to sleep. Tomorrow I'll be up and at-em once again!!

Sigh, you can see I screwed up on this blog tonight. UGH. Hahaha!

Until tomorrow...Have a great night!!!

Warmly,

Sheila

The Linen Shirt Goes Cause I'm not Ironing

So my second day.... Sadly, watched the Today show about the death of Robin Williams. I keep the Day/night shades down and snuggle on the couch with Sammy and Ozzie. Lola lays down beside us on the floor and we get maybe another hour of snoozing.  We made it to about 8:15 A.M. today.

Boiled eggs and coffee then I start my day. At the house I would just head out to the studio but now there's a different schedule. The kids now know it's time to get their collars on (getting dressed) and off we go to the dog park.  Today I remembered to wear my rain boots so when I had to go get Lola out of her puddle I could just splash right in. (Actually I just love splashing)  When we got home they take a nap and I emptied the gray tank so I could do a small amount of laundry.  We have a washer/dryer, (where is the lint trap???) that takes a small amount which is perfect.  The sign on it says to be sure and open a window because it could cause negative air pressure. Don't want that, so I opened windows to find I was getting a beautiful cross breeze through the rig.  Anyway, one item was a large linen shirt that I stole from Roger. I love linen. When the laundry was finished, about an hour or so, I took the poor shirt out and it was wrinkled into a small ball.  I'll now stick to my comfy denim shirts. No ironing in this bus!!!

In between floors, laundry, another trip to the park I actually sent out a final email to followers of my art telling them to follow me now on this blog. I hope they do. Then I did a quick painting out the window of CiCi Blue.  Still working on values but I know once I'm actually outside doing work I'll get it.  It made me happy to paint though today.  I keep putting things in "safe" places so this was oils on gessoed board rather than my beloved copper. Yes, I put that in a safe place too. sigh.

The kids ate at 5, so I'm waiting for an hour before we go to the park.  Lola loves flying into the air so high it makes me nervous. lol..(I'm envious) so I keep her quiet after eating so she won't develop bloat.

Ok..I'm going to have a glass of wine and chat with Roger about our day...you have a great night too!! Cheers!

Warmly, 

Sheila

My First Full Day

This is what I woke up to today.  Over to the left is Roger's computer stuff, winter clothes, shoes and a box of wires. 

Not sure if there's a difference this afternoon but I did bring in my stuff and got it put away. Hung one of those small compartment canvas things in the closet for my shoes and got them in. Even had room for other sundries. Did all the dishes and put away all the utensils and even put velcro on the bottom of our utensil tray so it will stop moving. 

This weekend hopefully Roger will get his computer desk then we can install "Lou's Gate" . Agility Ozzie knows how to jump over the front gate so we need a sturdier one further back. 

Just came back from the dog park once again. Rainy and puddles everywhere. Lola is loving it running and putting her whole head into the water. Oh and yes the mud. Towels are everywhere here right now. It's all washable and eventually we will be replacing the carpet with tile. Who ever thought of putting carpeting in an RV. UGH.

So, my left eye is bothering me after the cataract surgery. Constant headache. Seeing the Dr on Wednesday. I sprained my thumb and my back is out after Lola smashed into me today after we got out of CiCI Blue.  So I'm having a tough time walking. Hahaha. Buy Solon pas stock because I'm stocking up. We have a tens unit which I am communing with 24/7.  I said to Roger this healthy life style is doing us in. Haha. My goal, get strong, be pain free and healthy. I may be 100 when it happens but I'm determined!!! 

Hopefully tomorrow I will paint. Why not? My shoes are safe and sound in CiCi Blue and I'm happy. I brought one pair of heeled sandals. So the heel has dog bites on it but Roger said as he held them up...ah..where will you be wearing these??? Bless him...One never knows.  So it's two pairs of cowboy boots, a pair of hiking boots, sneakers, Labrador flip flops and a pair of black heeled sandals.!! I'm ready!! 

Have a great night!!

Warmly,

Sheila

PS, fun thing happened. The people next to us over the weekend and came in with a trailer. The next day they came back with a 33' Bounder. Really nice and shiny.  In their 40's and traveling the US full time. Very exciting. We are on www.rvillage.com  A great site for Rv ers to connect.  When I went on this evening I saw there were two people at our RV Park.  Hopefully we will meet up again somewhere on the road!!

The Parade Has Started And Thank God For Rubber Mallets

We have done it!!!  I drove up and put the house key into the drop box of the estate sale company! Roger brought up his computer stuff and clothes and equipment and the RV looks like a bomb went off. He needs to wok tomorrow so I'll be here with the mess. (my final mess is still in my car) Cheese and crackers, wine and a little tv before we crash. The kids seem happy and will be really thrilled we're not going in the car tomorrow!!!

So this morning we turned on the generator. It's good to let it run every so often to let it know it's alive. (so to speak) Generators with low numbers on them haven't been used and tend to break.  Our's is happy!
We waited about 15 minutes then turned it off. Roger turned the a/c back on and realized we were running on our inverter not shore power.  We tried that a few more times. When you turn off the generator you should hear a click sound indicating that the generator is switching over. No click.  Oh-oh. At one time I ran to the back of the coach to where the box is and listened. Nothing. Panic. It's Sunday and to call Rick it possibly could be an emergency visit. Panic.  Out came the "Bible". No information there to help us.

Dear Google...When we turn off our generator the transfer switch is not putting us back to shore power.

Google came right back with exactly what I needed. One of the forums had this problem and after reading many thoughts one sounded sane! Hit the box that houses the ATS. Automatic transfer switch. Of course!

Last week I actually found a rubber mallet in our garage and brought it here. So down to the basement I flew and came back with the tool!  As I watched the front panel showing the lights indicating "inverter" or "A/C Charge "  Whap..whap..(omg, we are hitting something in the "danger High voltage" box. ) Nothing. The inverter light stayed on..WHAP...it loosened the switch and the light changed to A/C Charge.

Ok, the visual now is two 67 year old adults dancing around ,totally giddy, yelling that we fixed it!!!  High fives and another cup of coffee while retelling the story of the automatic transfer switch!!

Hoping that other incidences will be as "easy"?  They will be challenging and fun. Hmm, maybe I should write a book about how to fix things with a rubber mallet!

Going to bed now..LOOOONG day. Kids are happy and so are we.

Warmly, Sheila           

Today May Be The Parade

Well I thought for sure we would be doing a happy dance with full on parade floats and balloons but we have to go to the house today to finish.  Yesterday, of course, was filled with excitements.

Sammy, as I have mentioned before, has anxiety. For the past few days he has also had bad diarrhea. (sorry Sam, I know that's personal but you may be able to help someone else by telling your story)

The poor guy , nothing stayed in and poor me, constant cleaning.  Friday night I took a sample and when we went to Palm Bay yesterday took it to his vets. Roger and I went out to breakfast and then Dr. Rodriguez called me with the results. Sure enough, Sammy had Stress Related Colitis. He's so me. hahaha.  Thankfully now we could help him. Drove back to the vets office and picked up 3 cans of Canine i/d. I'll give him that for a few days a little at a time during the day.  Along with that he has Metronidazole for the bad bacteria and Proviable KP paste to bring back the good bacteria in his gut.  Our regular Dr.Thomson there also prescribed Diazepam for his stress when he needs it. (Bless you Dr. Mike)

I totally understand Sammy's confusion these days.  Where do we really live? Who are these strange people driving big cars all around us? And, OMG, small animals on leads.!! What are they???

For all the above reasons I always have Sammy close to me just knowing his anxieties.  That is outside..inside he's a velcro boy. Well too, we now live in an RV. We are all velcro people. Haha.

Roger just came back with our Stuckey's breakfast, then off we go. We will celebrate tonight!!!

Have a great day!!!

Warmly, 

Sheila

One More Day Of Shoveling The Sticks And Bricks

Well I had to drive down to Palm Bay today because I could not find a painting that was going to sell on eBay. It's totally disappeared. Or my ex-ray 20/20 eyes are just not seeing it. Like they did not see the plastic box I put down behind my car this morning as I was getting out the basket with the pots and pans.  As I was waving goodbye to Roger I heard the crackle of plastic and one of my wooden frames being destroyed.  Oh no...was this the kind of day it would be?

The drive was fine. Sammy sat in back and complained when Lola sat on him. She didn't want to go in back. Those noisy pots and pans!  At the house I searched and found some more photos. I'm missing some and it's bothering me but I'm sure the people coming in to rummage through to get the place ready for the sale might find them.  I went into the garage and rolled my bike out and Roger's. I took Roger's to the storage and rolled mine back into the garage. That's what's happening to my brain doing all this stuff to get to our new life adventure.  Off to Target and found a 2 bike rack and bought that. Excited. Now I can ride with the "bike men" early in the mornings.  Get my legs in shape since now I'm actually seeing muscles developing in my upper arms. Yes, Lola and Sammy are strong.

Driving home to CiCI BLue was also uneventful. I had purchased a harness and long tether to go across the back of the car. It hooks on to each of the handles by the back doors. Then I take Sammy's tether and hook him on to the cross line so he is safe but can wander back and forth to escape from Lola.  Today I put the seats down back there so they all can just stretch out. Ozzie, who will be 3 in September is vie-ing for top dog so I let him sit in front with me now and it's so much more peaceful.

We just got back from the dog park. Roger got here first and dumped the tanks and vacuumed the coach and opened all the night blinds. The light is so comforting and I know I love my new home.  Tomorrow we go down to do one more sweep of stuff, put things I can't decide on in storage then drop the key off at the Estate sale place. Sunday...oh Sunday...Roger may go to Ikea in Orlando after breakfast to get his desk for his computer and monitors.  Oh Sunday's we get take out eggs and bacon from Stuckey's.  Maybe it's fantastic because we don't cook. :-)

Getting ready to now to get back to "work". I am an associate on Amazon so if someone buys a product through a link I put on a get pennies. Roger will be starting a blog too and also becoming an associate. Things too do to keep us afloat on our adventure.  Of course, painting and getting my comic books out.  Just chatting about it here right now gets me excited. Little things to make you know that,Yes, you did make the right choice. Not that I doubted but man...getting to the point of actually leaving has been the pits.

Me, Sammy and Lola at the sticks and bricks.  Hmm, looks a little neater here than it does right now in reality. Haha.

See you all tomorrow...

Warmly,

Sheila

Thursday, Lola and Crystal Lake

Well, about 4:30 PM today I had had it at the house.  Loaded up the car with pots and pans, the laundry bag and my art box. My thought was I'd really like to spend the day here in CiCI Blue tomorrow and maybe even...paint!!! Then loaded up the kids.  I made enough room in the back so Lola could climb back there and lay down. The basket with the pots and pans were there too.

Off we went!! Oh no, I had forgotten my cell phone. I took that quick u-turn and over went the pots and pans!! Clash, bang..and here is Lola now sitting beside me and on top of Ozzie's lap. She shook and shook. Home I drove to rearrange the pots and pans..my art box and Lola! Off we went again. Oh no...the phone.

I reached down in that void between the seat and the console and felt..yes..the PHONE!! We are off and rolling.  They settle down on the highway and nap til we get to the rest stop sign near our exit. I bet you didn't think dogs could read!!

Crystal Lake RV Park

This is where we have lived for the past two months! These are new neighbors, Ruby and Craig. WE met them the other evening and their plan is to stay for a year or two.

Then on our other side, new people. I have watched and those that do not hook up their sewer are just here for the night.

Roger , Sammy and Ozzie walking ahead of us going back to our RV.

Crystal Lake RV Park is cozy.  Directly off I 95 at exit 231. It hides behind Stuckey's.  From what I've heard it gets packed when the snow birds return in October but right now it's lovely.  Wendy, Her sister and brother run the park and it's always mowed and kept clean. Traffic on 95? We never hear it at night and during the day or at the dog park it's minimal. Between the interstate and the park the overgrowth of fauna really blocks the sound.

Reasonable priced for overnight stays or month long. Swimming pool and laundry facilities and a beautiful view of  the "Lake". It's small but so peaceful and pretty.  This RV Park is also on Passport America for overnight camping.

This is a view from our rig. Can't beat it! The Egrets are starting to come back to the Lake now and soon, oh lord, Lola will be greeting them full force.  Just at dusk they sit in the trees across the lake and they are so pretty.  I'll get pictures of them soon.

Our walk to the dog park this evening went well. I stress. Sammy is so anxious so I am too. Talk about a couple.!! I started using his "big boy" collar. It has a bit of a sharper edge on the prongs.  (I think he has a leather neck actually). Correction is a sharp tug and a verbal command and he's starting to get it. With Lola all I need to do is make a shh sound and she knows.  Slower walk.  Coming back we passed the new people staying for the night. They were outside sitting on their steps and for sure I was thinking Sammy would start to pull and bark. Well, proud Mum here, He did fantastic. I had the lead really short and he walked nicely by and now words were spoken by him.! lol  Hello's back and forth and all was fine. They have a small dog and I was concerned but yeah..happiness tonight.  I swear the only place that I'll feel comfortable with that boy is in the middle of no where where he can howl. 

I bought a dog whistle and soon I'll start training the kids with it.  Lola would come running when I whistled out the back door at the house...now she can't hear it. My goal? One whistle, sit, two whistles, come. Let's see if I can accomplish this.

Ok...dinner is ready so I'll end.  See you tomorrow...with something painted because I stayed here or tales of shoveling!

Warmly,

Sheila 

  .

The Estate Lady Cometh

Today I met with the woman who runs the estate sales. The shoveling on my part hasn't been finished but she wanted to see everything. I made a list of items that I could think of for her and let her wander through the maze.

She asked if we still lived there and I said basically no, that we lived in our RV and commuted down everyday to shovel. So she said what they did is take a key and get their cleaning crew in to make it look beautiful and to rummage through everything so find items to sell.  She told me, since we are giving the bank back their house, they will sell anything that is in the house.  I had a sense of relief, a sense of separation from everything I have known there and a sense that a cold was coming on since my sinuses were hurting.  A lot of emotion.

Giving the house to the bank. A way of life here in Florida. In 1999 we purchased our home for 96K. During the next 4 years it went up to be worth 250K. And we refinanced getting money to do work around the house and to pay some bills. The economy was growing and life was good.  HA!  2004 the first hurricane came over us from the west while I was in New Hampshire. I had just purchased my van and it was parked in Orlando right in Charlies path. We survived.  Soon after another hurricane came. We were at an art show and when we returned home the electricity was out and the fences were down.  Just when we were getting back to normal, Jim Cantore from the weather channel was standing in Palm Bay. That was trouble. The hurricane was coming and it was  to be a large one. Evacuation to Georgia. Usually a 3 hour ride to the Georgia border took 10 hours. We came home to no electricity the fences down and the shed blown apart. Two weeks later, another hurricane.  Prices of homes fell, insurances were cancelled. Very few have been able to recover in our area.  They call it "being underwater".  Why don't we stay in our home? With Roger retiring it would still be impossible. It's amazing how they tell you, the mortgage company's that they will help you. Ha!!

So I'm a day late, ya I know and a dollar short. The kids and I went down early so I could get some artwork out of storage and into the sale. She thinks it will sell. Then I spent most of the day in the garage in 95 degree weather looking for two photo albums. UGH...they didn't walk out! I'll look again tomorrow while sorting.

Took a nap then piled the kids in the car to come home to peace and quiet with Roger at CiCi Blue.

The fun part is going down to the dog park.

My guys!! Sammy got a new "big boy" prong collar for walk training. He's naked in the house as is Lola.

"Sammy...Do you want to play??" 

I was holding the tennis ball. Usually Ozzie has it. Since Sammy has aged, shhh, he's not as fast as he used to be. 

The internet has been spotty here the last few days so I'm lucky to get this posted. Tomorrow I'll give you a run down on the RV park here. 

Off to bed to watch some tv then sleep. Have a great night!!

Warmly,

Sheila

A True Day of Rest For Us

So after days of shoveling and sorting, we are still not finished.  A little more organized but not finished.  I'm getting my art supplies sorted out so I'm happy about that but now where to put it. (I discovered the under the bed drawer!!) whoo hoo.

Today is Sunday and I'm not doing a thing. Well, change sheets, dust,vacuum and put away laundry but now that's fun stuff in CiCi Blue.  It's interesting to feel the change take over from house to RV. I no longer "Live" at the house in Palm Bay, my home now is on wheels.

Tomorrow I will clean some more at the house and probably take Sammy to the vets. sigh. He has a parasite possibly and hasn't been able to hold anything in. We make quite a few runs to the dog park!! Thankfully he sits by the front door to let us know he needs to go.  I'll ask Roger to go get rice and chicken later hopefully and that may help Sam to bind.

August! Rick, from American RV Repair, called and told us he heard from Blue Sky RV Insurance. We did too. Our check for the repairs to our awning should be here on Tuesday. Rick is ordering the arms, we will have a pair, and has already secured helpers to redo our awning.  We will use one arm and travel with a spare. Just in case!!

Next, we need to change our Florida address. Check on an addition to Medicare and possibly looking into trading in our two cars and get a new to us Jeep that will be good to go. For that we'll need hook up equipment and a tow bar for the coach.  I'm ready...I hope. Hahaha.

Ok, heading for that couch..I feel a snooze coming on.  Roger and I have both said this is so emotionally draining as well as physical. It's worth it!!

Thanks for stopping by..

Warmly, 

Sheila

Anhinga drying his wings across the "lake"