Wed., November 28, 2007

We are in Tampa!!! Hurrah! It was cold all the way to the Florida border. When we crossed the border and finally got on Rt. 301, I pulled over, put the 4-ways on and raced to the back of the coach where I stripped off my two pairs of pants, wool socks and sweatshirt. I dug around until I found those tucked away shorts and t-shirts. The temperature jumped right into the 80's. The weather has been grand since we arrived. Sleeping with the windows open is a treat. The last day of driving, we left Point South, SC and drove straight through to Seffner and Rally Park which is just outside of Tampa. It was 370 miles. That is more than I have ever driven the coach in one day. I was hyped but very tired and sore. There was a lot of Thanksgiving traffic everywhere I went. Crazy drivers - I found myself wondering how they make it.

I met up with a couple of old friends from Lake San Marino, the Gaffney's. Actually, we were parked next to each other for two days. It was very pleasant seeing them again. Today, Bearfoot is in the shop for those pesky 30 day warranty items that were never completed last spring when I purchased it. I think it will be done today or tomorrow. Bash and I are sitting in the very fancy lounge here at Lazy Days. Free Starbucks coffee, free breakfast and free lunches. Today I had to buy a sandwich since they won't allow dogs in the dining room and I had no place to leave Sebastian. Normally, he will stay with my friends, Brent and Sharon in their offices while I eat but they are off today. I have been on the phone trying to find a storage place for my coach during the time I am with the Harmon's.

We are planning a tree trimming party for the three of us and our combined three dogs. We are focusing on the season, the hope, the cheer and the faith in the Light. The most recent tests have come back clear. They will still travel to the clinical trials they have enrolled in. I will stay with the dogs and watch the house. They are listing their big house as well as their motor home and boat. I think with my 20 years of experience in selling real estate I can help show their house. It usually takes life-changeing events to allow one to see the simplicity of their lives. We don't need all the trappings we strive to accumulate. I think they will move into a condo or some such. Me? I believe I will list Bearfoot for sale too. Now that I have my little house, a secure landbased place, I think the time is right. My eyes have been failing anyway. I have accomplished many things. I have regrets about not getting west of the Mississippi River but maybe I still will go but in a car. I love the RVing way of life. It is truly the way to go.

Sebastian will be happy to be in the same place day after day. He likes having a landbased home but will always be ready to go where I go. I have posted a picture of a flock of pelicans at Atlantic Beach NC.

I trust your Christmas preparations are going well. I love the music and play my cd's as often as possible.

Will continue to keep you all posted on our whereabouts.

Pictures of Oriental and area

Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2007

Sometimes what we are looking for is right there staring us in the face and we don't see it because we are so intent on looking elsewhere far and wide. That is the case with the WiFi. I just happened to put my wireless card in the computer while I was packing it up and viola, a long list of signals shows up. I have signed in with one of them and am able to be online at least for today. Tomorrow, I will be too busy anyway and Thursday will be occupied. I just made my scalloped oysters. They look yummy. So fresh and sweet. I made a blue hubbard squash from one I picked up at the local veggie mkt in Hartford, NY what seems like eons ago but actually was only about a month or so. I have always been fascinated by time since being a small child. Nowadays, time is always at the fore front of everything we all do. What fascinates me is the way life changes in a nano-second. I continue to observe and experience.

The trees are in full colour here in Oriental. The brillant reds and golds are better than anything we had up north this year probably due to more rain here. Although we are on water conserving and burn prohibition. The weather is grand, just right for me.

Bash and I had a lovely afternoon at the beach on the Emerald Isle near Fort Macon on the Outer Banks of NC. My friend Judi, Bash and I went over to shell and walk. It was a grand day. Bash chases the waves in and then out. He digs in the sand where the water was. Odd behavior but fun for him.

Here are the promised shots. Have a Thanksfilled Day.

November 12, 2007

I guess you realized I haven’t had internet service for a few days. I have been typing my blog text on Word Perfect and then copying when I have access. So you will see a couple of blogs all at once but with different dates.

Yesterday, we arrived in Eastern NC, Oriental on the Neuse river. I came here many years ago on a boat passing through, loved the area and came back in ‘89 to spend the winters. We rented a condo on Smith Creek, an estuary of the Neuse. I still have a few friends here in the area. I pull into the only gated community in Oriental, the mini-storage units. I have full hook up here and the rate just jumped up to equal some of the fanciest campgrounds on the East Coast so I don’t know how long I will be coming here in the future. There is nothing else around so they can charge pretty much what they want. I am here to visit with my friend Judi. I am having Thanksgiving dinner with her. I spotted a new seafood company today on the docks. I am going to make scalloped oysters for us. This is the freshest and best seafood anywhere. I will post pictures of the docks with the fishing fleet in. Capt. Garland whose boat was here back in the 80's when my grandson’s were here to visit and they fell into the magic generated by an 80' trawler. He has a different boat but still going strong. I hope the kids get to see these pictures.

I spent the night that I left Richmond and the Cummins Atlantic repair shop at an Amoco truck stop just outside of Emporia off I 95. I never got out of the yard until after 4 p.m. by the time I got the car hooked on and the coach ready to roll. I was nervous about the dwindling light so I pulled into the long line up at the truck stop about 5:15 p.m. It was comforting to be surrounded by the “big dogs” but they are very noisey. We slept but were up early the next morning. The drive from there was only 200 miles. I was exhausted when I reached Oriental. I still had a car full of stuff to unload, mail to go through and a smelly coach to deal with. Everything in this coach smelled like diesel fuel. I aired and smudged and then aired and smudged again. We were in bed early last night and slept in this morning. I went for a bike ride around town. Things have changed a lot. I stopped for coffee at the Bean, took pictures of the marina and the “Oriental Dragon” which floats permanently on the pond in the center of town.

The story goes that Oriental got its name from the masthead of a ship wreck off the outer banks. The young bride of the town’s founder picked up a piece of wood with the ships name on it and decided to suggest Oriental for the name of the small fishing village where pirates supposedly hid themselves and their bounty during the days of piracy off the coast of NC. The town is represented by the image of the Dragon. Therefore, the dragon in the pond and the parading of a huge paper mache dragon through the streets on New Year’s Eve. The paper dragon is supported underneath by numerous human bodies of various sizes to give the dragon the shape.

Before I left Richmond, I took several old 8 mm tapes to a videographer to be converted to dvds. I have been viewing them since I arrived here. The images have made me laugh and made me cry. There are so many memories of the grandchildren as infants and toddlers as well as pictures of my former life. Very poignant indeed.

More the reason to treasure the moments you have now.

November 5, 2007

Well it took me awhile to get here but at last I am here on this page. My computer is getting old and continually gives me a hard time. It is slow and keeps locking up. I think I need to spring for a new one. I have been saying that for sometime though and each time I get to the peak of my frustration, it begins working again. I guess that is the nature of all things mechanical. Bearfoot is in the big truck garage having his engine worked on. I took him down south of Richmond early Monday morning. Bash and I moved all our valuables out and loaded them in the car. We then motored back to Rockville and our friends the Spadora’s. They have very kindly offered us a place to stay until the repairs are complete which we hope will be sooner than later. The estimate is 3-4 days. Not that we are not enjoying ourselves living in a lovely home surrounded by autumn woods and birdsong but I am getting antsy about moving further south. I am looking out at a flock of cardinals, finches and sparrows at the feeder here by the window where I am typing. It is nearly dark. They must have come in for their last feeding before bedding down. There are 3 other dogs here. Everyone gets along fine. I will post some pics of them. Bash gets to run free and explore the 10 surrounding acres. He was not particularly happy in Ashland but he really likes it here in Rockville.

I had a grand reunion luncheon with my dear friends from Staunton and Charlottesville last Friday at the Gray Bear Grille. It is always a special moment in time when it is spent with them.

I had my hand injected a week ago. The pain was bad before but it sure was worse afterwards. It has only disappeared yesterday, one day short of a week. I went in today for a follow-up, sat for an hour, napped and finally picked up my bag and left. I have better things to do with my time than sit unattended in any doctors office. The long and the short of it is though, the joint in my thumb and wrist has deteriorated in just 8 mos. Time. It will require more injections to alleviate the pain unless I have a surgical procedure done to rebuild the joint. I think I will do that but will do it up in New York state in Albany where my daughter and son-in-law are. They know the doctors there and will see that I get the best. This arthritis is not inherited I don’t believe since neither my mother or father had any in their hands. I believe it is from using my hands in very strenuous and damaging ways over the years with the horses and farm chores. The years when I was doing Equine Sports Massage on the performance horses probably clinched the damage especially to my thumbs. I certainly have never pampered this body I was given.

I found all my 8 mm. Camera tapes when I moved my things. Today I took them to a videographer who will put them on dvd’s for me. I just hope they are visible and haven’t been damaged by age and environment. I have a few vcr tapes too that need to be transferred and preserved.

We had another rain storm up in NY and my friend reported that the water didn’t pour into the basement the way it did before my brother-in-law dug some drainage ditches. The water problem is stressful but there is no way we would have known about it while in a severe 8 mos. Drought which is when I bought the house. The sellers knew I am sure and they managed to cover up the water problem. Now it is up to me to try to get them to make it right.