The view towards the wash room at night.
For some reason, again I did not wake up until almost 10:30 am. I rolled over, looked at the time, swore under my breath, and crawled out into the bathroom for a quick shower and change of clothes before heading out the door to take the dogs walking. The first thing I noticed was that the feeders were all hanging and half empty and I realized I had forgotten to bring them in the previous evening. The deer did the rest. I also noticed that the first rose that was budding up and almost ready to flower had disappeared chomped off by those same deer, damn them. Time to respray the flowers with the anti-deer stuff.
We went out just wandering around and ran into Daniel who made fun of the fact that we had gotten up late. We chatted for a bit until Malinda came over on campground business and we continued with our walk.
Back in the RV, I fixed breakfast for me along with coffee and settled down to write the blog finishing off and posting yesterday and then starting on today.
Prior to that, I had loaded the washing machine and started it in the wash cycle. I remembered to go outside and open the grey water tank which is left open until the wash is complete.
Most of the day was spent doing chores and such and of course, restarting the washing machine in the dryer mode. I sat out on the deck for a couple of hours listening to an Audiobook. The first story I changed after a couple of chapters as it was just not my sort of listening. The next one I chose was better, and we sat outside until it was time to go walking again.
Back at the RV, I found some things that needed attention and remembered that I had been invited over to Daniel and Malinda’s for food. Apart from Gary who usually provides some food, I am the only one that does not. I compensate by bringing the beer, something I can buy.
Food to me is something I need to stay alive. To the group that I spend time together with, food is an art both in the preparation and the cooking and is always cooked over an outdoor grill. Some things are the exception, like the beans we have had the last couple of times of getting together. They are usually prepared from someone’s secret recipe handed down generation to generation and can take all day to cook. In this case, it was BJ’s recipe.
We went out for another short walk before I made my way over to Daniel’s RV with me carrying an 18 pack of beer that I had previously bought. I just knew there would be another of these nights and so I was sort of prepared.
There were the two girls, BJ, and Peggy, along with Gary, Daniel and Malinda and me. We seem to be the ones doing most of the partying at least at the moment. Sometimes Delores will join us, but she is away at the present. Everyone was in fine form and the stories kept on coming. Some were so funny that I almost peed my pants laughing so hard.
Peggy came up with a story of when she was a nurse looking after a big older black person and inadvertently found herself cleaning his privates in what she thought was his rear end and was wondering why he enjoyed it so much. That had us all in stitches and was the best story of the evening. And she told it with a straight face.
The evening wore on and the stories kept on coming although I noticed that after the initial beer, most people cut back and made the second one last through the rest of the evening which also included me.
Finally, Gary decided to leave and that was the cue for the girls and myself to also go back to our respective RV’s. I walked part way with them but as my RV is the first one, left them halfway, so to speak. I got a big hug from both which was nice before I headed back to The Caboose.
I harnessed up the dogs and we went for a walk in the dark for them to do their business. Upon our return, this time I remembered to bring in the bird feeders and then we adjourned indoors.
I had fed the dogs before I left but had also brought back some steak bones and gave them one each to work on saving the rest for another day.
Knowing how bad my memory is getting, I worked on the blog catching up with today’s events before calling it a night.
Written 06/02/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com
An Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, TX. Saturday 06/03/2023
Geraniums in my garden
I was very aware of the fact that we had a veterinary appointment later today and got up at a reasonable hour. The first thing was to hook up the dogs and we went out for a walkabout. Back at the RV, I tied the dogs up to the picnic table while I refilled and then rehung the bird feeders, which I had remembered to bring in last night.
With that chore out of the way, we were back inside for me to get breakfast and coffee while the dogs zonked off in their hidey holes. I sat and read the world news and then caught up with emails keeping one eye on the clock. I planned to allow an hour and a half for the drive to the vets which, unless there is a major traffic jam on the way, should be plenty of time.
The dogs were all excited when I opened the car door for them. Mikey jumped in with no problem, but Sandy needed a little help. The minute I sat down, Mikey jumped on my lap which is how he likes to drive. Sandy eventually gets up there but I had to help her. She is not as good at jumping as Mikey or as bossy. After they finally figured out the seating arrangement, we were on our way.
I had allowed a little over an hour for the trip but arrived almost 30 minutes early as there was very little traffic to worry about. We walked around for a bit trying to kill some time and then went inside. Following our check in we waited some more and finally Dr Varga came in.
He examined Sandy first and announced that she had a heart murmur which he would follow upon later. He whisked Mikey off into the examining room and Sandy as I waited. He came back a while later and said that Mikey was in good health but needed his teeth cleaned.
Then it was Sandy’s turn, and they took her away. Mikey was most upset that she was gone and kept running over to the door and listening in a very agitated way. Occasionally, he barked and whined while he waited for her to return and when she did, he made a big fuss over her.
The bottom line is that they both have an appointment on June 13, for the teeth cleaning and Sandy for some minor surgery on the growth on her head and belly.
I paid the bill and collected a ream of reports for the day’s visit, and we headed out of the door telling them we would be back on the assigned date and time. Incidentally, the appointment is at 8:00 am, which means an exceedingly early start for us as we will be in rush hour traffic as people go to their respective jobs. Lucky them…
The drive home was uneventful and as we were already harnessed up, we went out for a stroll around the park. When we returned, we sat outside and listened to an Audiobook for an hour or so before going out walking again.
This time, we headed in the direction of the girls RV as I could see them sitting outside. The dogs knew where we were heading and when we got close, I let go of the leash and the dogs raced over to greet the girls, which amused us all.
We sat there for a while drinking a beer and chatting until it was time for us to finish our walk. Then we headed back to The Caboose and sat outside for a bit. I left the dogs on the deck as I remembered to bring in the birds’ feeders. With that done before coming in for the evening, I did a final check to make sure things were secure and we came back indoors.
After getting fed so well for the past couple of days, I searched around for something to eat and remembered that from the last get-together, I had a plastic container full of beans the girls had given me. I quickly heated them and ate them with crackers for a very satisfying meal.
Unlike my newfound friends, food is something to keep me alive and I try to eat simply most of the time. But alas, I too like to eat the “good” stuff when Daniel barbecues or someone else makes other very appetizing plates of whatever although I do try to restrict it to a single helping. Incidentally, it is almost unheard of in my little circle to have just one helping. Just gotta watch it…
I fed the dogs and then we watched Man City Beat Man United 2-1 in the English Cup Final. Man City has already won the English Premier League and now have added the FA Cup. Next week, they are in the final of the UEFA Champions League which if they win, will give them the treble of major cup events, a feat that has only happened a couple times before, once by Man United when they were the greatest team ever. Unfortunately, those days are long gone, and they struggle in the modern football environment. Nowadays, they are good but no longer great.
Written 06/04/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com