It was cold inside the RV when I awoke, enough that I had pulled the extra blanket over us in the night. I figured that probably, we had run out of propane, and it was time to change bottles. I got up, pulled on my warmups and went outside to switch the gas bottles. It takes longer to get the cover off than to do the work. I left it off after disconnecting the bottle as I now have two of them to fill and one to replace back on the RV. 

While waiting for the RV to warm up, we went out walking around the park. Miss Sandy had one of her exceptionally slow days where she had to stop and smell all the roses, so our walk took forever. Not good when it is cold out. Jeff caught up with us and walked along at our slow speed and we chatted about this and that as we strolled around the park and out in the lane. Nice to have company besides the dogs as their conversation is somewhat lacking in quality. 

Back inside as the heaters began to warm the place back up, I fixed and ate breakfast. The fridge is getting low on food, and I need to make that trip into town to go grocery shopping. Today will probably be a good day to do that as it is too cold to do anything else outside. It is definitely too cold to mess around moving stuff out of Quatro which is the next big thing I need to concentrate on. 

I tidied up The Caboose, not that it needs that much with just me and the dogs and then decided I should go do that grocery shopping among other things. I took the dogs out around the park and then hopped into the Jeep for the drive into Dripping Springs. Incidentally, The Caboose has its own built in vacuum cleaner that I have never used…yet. Maybe. One day. 

The first stop was at The Home Depot where I searched around and found a suitable piece of wood for the shelf to the new storage container. I also bought a padlock while I was at it to lock it up. From there, I drove across the road to the AT&T store as I had been toying with the idea of buying a new Galaxy phone to use along with the one that I currently have. Actually, what I really wanted it for is the wonderful camera that it has that has more capabilities than my iPhone. I suppose it will be used as a phone occasionally as it will have a different number and any calls will depend on who I give the number out to. 

I completed that transaction and then drove to HEB which is directly next door but across the street and wandered around. This time, I had that list that I forgot the last time and tried really hard to stick with it. Of course, I failed but what the heck, I only live once. I wandered around throwing stuff in my cart and usually, I buy pretty much the same staples every time I go in the store. It is only those “extras” that throw me off 

I found everything I wanted plus the extras and made my way back to my car and as Starbucks is in the same vicinity, bought myself a Latte. I have to say, that was the worst Latte I have ever had from Starbucks. For some reason it was very, very strong and all I could taste was coffee. I had to wait until I got back to the RV to drink it and then only because I added sugar to make it taste better. Maybe, it is time to give up on Lattes. 

We went out walking around the park and ran into Daniel. He commented, not in a derogatory way, that he thought I was using too much propane. He was not being critical but as an adviser and made a couple of suggestions.  I thanked him for his concern and will try his suggestions out. Incidentally, I had two bottles empty which he had filled up while I was gone and brought back to the RV. He also, very kindly, re-hooked the filled bottle back up for me. Such a nice helpful person as is Malinda, his wife. Another reason I have chosen to stay here permanently. 

I have been to some parks where there is no Park help of any description and at one, I even had to cut the branches of an overhanging tree that was brushing against my RV roof and threatening to damage it. Actually that is not exactly true as all I did was hold the ladder while a young fellow lady camper did the actual work although I was the one responsible for paying her.

Back in the RV, following our walk, I put the rest of the groceries away, with a lot of help, of course, and then settled down to write the blog. It is still very cold out although the RV is nice and cozy. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way. 
 
Written 03/20/2023 Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

The Adventures of an Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, Henly TX. Tuesday 03/21/2023

We crawled out of bed only to discover that it was raining a fine misty rain that you hardly notice but eventually gets you wet. Still, the dogs had to “go” so I wrapped up and we ventured around the park. We were the only ones out and about and our walk was very short.  

I noticed that my neighbor, Jeanette was hooking up her RV as I walked by.  I had heard that she was leaving soon for a new house she had been building these last two years, but did not know when. I stopped to say “Goodbye” and she gave me a big hug saying she would be back as she left her outdoor carpet behind, temporarily. 

When we got back, I dried the dogs off and shut the bedroom door as that is usually where Sandy heads when she is wet. She likes to snuggle under the covers to dry off. With undesirable results as far as the bed covers go. 

With the dogs all situated, I drove into Dripping Springs and my first stop was to The Home Depot where I picked up some 2×4’s to make a base for the new cabinet. I want it a little higher to clear the RV’s hosepipes which are in the same location. I found what I wanted and picked up a box pf screws at the same time before heading back across the road to the AT&T store found there. I had forgotten to buy an adapter plug for the new phone thinking that I had one, but it turns out, I didn’t. I have many other plugs but not the one I wanted. 

The store clerk was very helpful and found the right one. Still, it was not cheap as it cost me $32.00 but I cannot charge the new phone without it. It was still damp and miserable as I drove back to Henly, so I drove slower than I usually do to compensate. 

Back in the RV, I took the dogs out for a quick walk before returning for my own breakfast and coffee. I could have stopped at Starbucks and bought both but after yesterday’s extra strong-tasting coffee, I decided to forego that. Maybe, forever? 

I settled down in front of the computer and went directly to the blog as I was having trouble with the World news because the computer kept dropping the signal. Email wise, there was nothing of importance which is the way I like it. 

I turned my attention to the new phone and played around with it. It is so different than the iPhone that I have and have been using ever since they first came out. The new one is an Android, a whole new operating system to me and therefore, different commands. I got a bit frustrated because I could not get it to work the way I wanted it too and packing everything up, jumped in the Jeep and drove to the AT&T store in town. I was the only person in the store except for a nice young man who explained how the thing worked, clearing up a lot of my nonunderstanding of the unit. 

I thanked him and drove back to Henly and played around with it some more getting a better idea of how it functions. I plan on using it mostly to take pictures as it has a first-class camera built in and will rely on my older iPhone for day-to-day functions. Grown up kids and their toys… 

I put in a load of laundry as it had mounted up a bit. It washed as I wrote some more in the blog. An hour later it had completed the wash and I turned the machine to the dry cycle after adding the nice smelling dryer sheets. The last time I did laundry, I had to put it through two, one hour dryer cycles to get the desired results. This time, I set for a longer dry time on a different setting and will see if that does the trick. 

We went out for yet another walk, this time, not only for the dogs but for me to take a few pictures with the new camera. I can already see with the couple of pics I have taken that the quality is much better. 

Back in the RV, I finished writing the blog and got it ready to post. All that remains is the evening meal for both me and the dogs and then watching television with a glass of wine for company. What about the dogs for company, you say? Well, knowing them, they will have already zonked off in their respective spots and will only awake if I so much as look like I am getting out of my chair. 

Incidentally, the longer drying cycle did the trick. 

Written 03/21/2023 Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com