Monday

You will all be please (I think) to hear that I just ordered a new Dell Lap Top. My old Dell is a fire hazard. It is so hot underneath that it burns my hand. It is about to melt down. The new one should be here in about a week. I will set it up, do my income taxes and then hopefully get back to some normal schedule. I am going to bite the bullet and buy the Verizon wireless card. It requires a two year contract and that is what has promoted my hesitancy. Time Warner cable is here in the area but doesn't come all the way down my road.

I have felt very disconnected from friends and web sites. Since being on the road, I have relied on the net for many things. I don't get paper statements on anything either.

We had 8" of snow two or three days ago. It has settled and melted a bit but today we had sleet and freezing rain. I didn't walk today due to the yucky weather. I have been trying to walk the 2 1/2 miles up Shine Hill and back. It is a great walk with steep hills. I have enjoyed seeing the birds and Pussy Willows in bloom. Today was just too difficult for me. I went to Glens Falls to do some errands then came home so I could hop up to Pete's to use the computer.

I have been feeding the birds using two of my Dad's old birdfeeders that have been terrorized by squirrels in the past. I have many birds now. Even an Eastern Blue bird. I put up a new blue bird house hoping to lure him to stay. I have been seeing Mute Swans, Snow Geese and Can. Geese all setting down here to rest before going on north.

Been baking cookies, pies and making sweet milk donuts. I have to get back in practice so I can sell them at the Farmers Mkt locally. Been sending cookies and donuts to friends and my grandson at Tech.

We are cozy and comfortable in our little house. We just wish it would warm up and that the sun would shine more often. Still can't post photos but will soon - I have so many to share with you all.

Hugs to all,
Donna

St. Patrick's Day 08

It has been awhile dear readers. So sorry to be out of the communication loop. I just have not been able to find any wireless or even a modem. Tonight I am at Pete's using his pc. I had to make some changes to his preferences to enable this post. I hope he doesn't mind. Tomorrow, I will start making calls regarding wireless internet service as well as TV. I don't have tv or wi fi. Talk about feeling cut off.

We arrived at my house on Friday the 14th, my dad's former birthday. We drove 400 miles from Gettysburg, PA on the worst roads you can imagine. We shook, rattled and bumped for the entire trip. I had decided to stay low and cross on I 78 to I 287, then north to I87 which is the NY Thruway. The toll was $20 but I felt the road would be smoother. Not so! It was just as rough as the other roads and just as heavily traveled by trucks. Diesel fuel was over $4.00 per gal. Luckily, Bearfoot is not as heavy a drinker as some. It felt mighty good to pull into my driveway off Shine Hill.

Since then, I have been pulling stuff out of the coach, trying to find places to put things and resting up. I had serious road weariness. Today, I took the coach back down the Northway to AlpinHaus for a State inspection and had it winterized. Last night the temps dropped to 19 degrees. Bearfoot didn't freeze since I had the gas furnace running but the cost of propane and the worry involved was too much to continue for a long period of time. I went out to start the generator this morning and it wouldn't start. That worried me since I don't know how old my batteries are. I didn't dare start the diesel engine for fear of running the batteries completely dead. I neglected to plug in the engine block heater last night and didn't plug in the battery charger either. I am not used to this extreme weather. I called my son Matt and he said it would start, not to worry. I had him stay on the line as I turned the key on and waited for the all clear to start light. It was a tense few moments but blessed Bearfoot started right up. After about 10 mins. more in the bright sunshine, the generator started too.

I have many many pictures to share with you all. Unfortunately I cannot download them until I have my own computer. I may take my card out and have a cd made. I took many pictures in the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. What a place! A fantasy biosphere. Plus I have more pics of Pete and I roaming the honky tonk's in Nashville and a video in Tootsie's Blue Orchid Saloon. We really did have a good time. Gettysburg was interesting to see through Pete's eyes since he had never been there and knew very little about the battle.

One thing I know - I don't like winter camping.

Bashey seems to have adjusted and readjusted as only he can do to his new life in a house. He cannot climb up on my bed anymore. He is stiffer and there isn't any place to get a running start. I have solved his problem by putting a chair at the foot of the bed. He jumps up to the chair and then to the bed. He acts highly insulted that he has come to this place in his life. What he doesn't understand is that my bed is very high one. A short person might need a step stool too.

We shared corned beef and cabbage yesterday with some of Pete's family in the true Irish tradition. Also attended a benefit Italian dinner for a young woman with breast cancer. There were over 500 people packed into the firehouse. What a great meal they put on. Nice to see people helping others.

Welcome to our new governor! The old ways are crumbling on many levels and the new ones are appearing. Blessed Be.

Sunday night in Nashville

We had a great day yesterday just wandering around Broadway and 2nd Street downtown Nashville - in and out of honky tonk bars where young musicians come to practice their art in front of appreciative audiences. We visited the Wild Horse Cafe, Roberts bar and Tootsies plus a few others. I have some great video taken in Tootsie's of the band playing some Elvis music. My video is a bit jerky because I was keeping time with the music.

Today is Sunday, bright and sunny. Snow is just about melted now. We did laundry which had accumulated for almost a week. After lunch, we drove over to the Opryland hotel. I have many pictures but don't dare put them on this computer until I remove some of the others. I am afraid it will finally crash. I walked through the portico doors and the lobby - there in front of me was an arboratum the likes of which I have never seen. Exotic lush plants, flowers, waterfalls even a river with a tour boat. It is a huge biosphere. If you have been there, you know. If you haven't, I don't think my description will do it justice. But I will post some photos in the future. We wandered all through the 2000 room hotel biosphere then spent sometime enjoying a fancy coffee in the rotating Cascade garden bar. Just incredible!

We stopped at Bass Pro shops on the way back. Huge and elaborate too. Tomorrow, we will drive to Sevierville near Maryville, TN to visit with my friend, Marte for an overnight before going over the Smokeys to VA Tech where we will connect with my grandson Travis.

More to come -

Sunday morning

Here are the photos I promised from my last posting: Will try to post again today to tell you about our big snow storm and freezing temps. Also want to show you pics of our escapade downtown honky tonk Nashville. Note the black fungus on the trees from the continuous yeasty air at the Jack Daniels Distillery in Lynchburg, TN

Thursday Night

We are in Lynchburg, TN home of Jack Daniels Distillery. Here are some pictures for you. I like the one of me by the old gas pump and the one of Pete and I with Jack Daniels. There is a picture of his original mountain spring used in the 1800's when he first started making whiskey and another of the beautiful building housing the visitor's center. There is one of a tree with heavy black mold on the bark. Everything in this vicinity of the distillery has that black mold on it from the heavy yeast in the air. Apparently, that is why everything to do with JAck Daniels is black including the race car they sponsor.
We had lunch at an historic boarding house called Miss Bobo's. Family style, great food and we came out stuffed.We did lots of walking and browsing in delightful little Lynchburg.
Supposed to get a wintery mix on Sat. here. Yuck! Nashville tomorrow morning for a couple of days.

Pictures from trip to Naples 'n stuff

These are a shot of the spanish mackeral that were being caught from the Naples Pier, the Brown Pelicans that are always there looking for the "leftovers", a beautiful sculptor outside a gallery at night and my sister's birthday dinner in Tin City.





Since the WiFi is working right now -

Tuesday

Montgomery, Alabama - Not much progress. We left on time on Sat. March 1st from Thonosassa, FL. It was noon before we had all our gear stowed, water tank filled and car in tow. We drove to Perry, FL with clear skis and warm sunshine. It was windy on the beam. Bearfoot does have windage. She is like a sailboat in a strong beam reach. Plenty of pressure on the helm. We went up Rt. 98 and the road was relatively quiet. It was a great place for Pete to learn to drive it. He did well. About 4 p.m. as I was driving, I just said "enough" for today. We found Walmart SuperCenter for the night. The following morning I needed to fill up on some very expensive diesel fuel. Just as I started the engine, she began to chug and chug. I shut it down and crawled under to empty the fuel filter. This was the first time I had bled the filter. About an 1/8 of a cup of water came out. It didn't chug when I restarted it. But I don't know if that was the cause or not. We made it to Troy, Alabama. What a lovely day it was to travel. Again, we stopped at 4 p.m. at a great little park about 40 miles south of Montgomery. I set the NOAA weather alert radio since there was to be heavy storms later that night. The winds blew hard before dark but the temperature stayed warm. We went to bed early thinking we would be up during the night. Sure enough the alarm on the weather radio went off about 4 a.m. and then again at 6 a.m. with strong T-storm alert and high wind warning. We had a bit of rain and a bit of thunder but other than the wind, it wasn't bad at all. I like to check all the equipment before I leave. I found the tow hitch on the car had a great deal of play in it. We took the car off and the hitch off. With help from the RV park, we found a tire garage where they could take it apart to check it. They found that it was very worn and needed repair when we picked it up this morning. We didn't dare tow the car with it so Pete drove the car and followed me to Montgomery where there is a Blue Ox dealer who is also a Tiffin Motorhome dealer. My Tiffin Phaeton felt very at home surrounded by several others. Long story short; the parts are being overnighted from Nebraska. We may get out tomorrow but probably won't. The park we are in is pretty sad. It is a Good Sam Park but on the wrong side of the tracks in Montgomery. Doors are locked and it is cold outside. How am I going to stand the cold as we go further north???

We went downtown in Montgomery and took a tour of the City. It was really informative and historically interesting. It was a bit cloudy after the rains and cooler but still a nice day. Me??? I FORGOT my camera. Can you believe it? Me, who has the camera as an extra rib? Well, I laid it out on the bed and walked off without it. I wish I had some pictures to share with you.

Bash and I are still adjusting to leaving behind our Tampa family. We continue to adapt to being back on the road again, missing our friends and the open spaces of a large home.

Last time I posted, I told you about Oprah's class on the book A New Earth with Eckart Tolle. Last night was the first one and I missed it because I couldn't pick up the wireless internet at the park. My old computer doesn't always seem to be able to handle all I ask it to do. Tonight I feel lucky.