I did not wake up until 10:00 am. I must have been really tired to sleep so long. Even then, I was in no hurry to get out of bed but eventually did. I splashed cold water on my face which woke me up and was ready to go. I would have taken a shower to do the waking up thing, but I have no hot water again and am not brave enough to take another cold one unless absolutely necessary.
The first thing, as it always is, was to walk the dogs around the park for the usual 0.7 of a mile. That is not a number I pulled out of thin air but is roughly the distance we cover when we walk within the park. It increases when we walk the outside roads.
It was a very cloudy day and when the sun did shine through, it was hot. I was very glad of the cloud cover as were the dogs. Back in the RV, I fed the dogs and neither one would eat the food I put in front of them so either they do not like it or are just not hungry. Ot maybe, both. Incidentally, they always have hard food available in their bowl.
I emailed James, the repair man to give him the bad news that I have no hot water…again. He must be just as frustrated as I am that his repairs do not last. There must be something else causing the problem.
I worked on the blog and brought it up to date. Hard to believe that we are in another new month, the sixth one of the year. So, halfway through.
Daniel called me and we discussed a hitch for the new to me, Jeep, which, unfortunately, does not have one. I do not plan on towing anything, but I do want to replace the carry-all for those moments when I have something to haul from A to B. I went ahead and ordered the part he told me, and it should be here tomorrow. He said that he will put it on for me. Apart from being a very helpful guy, I think he likes the challenge of working on new things.
I looked around for something else to do but could not find anything. With the blog up to date and not needing anything from the store, we went out walking, which is something I can do when I have nothing else going on. We wandered around before returning to The Caboose where I put the dogs indoors.
Then I wandered over to Daniel and Malinda’s RV to join the Girls who were already over there. We sat around talking, eating and drinking for a couple of hours before we each headed back to our respective RV’s.
I slept soundly and was just not ready to get up. Then I remembered that Malinda was going to take me car shopping and very reluctantly crawled out of bed and happily jumped into the hot shower that James had fixed the day before.
My car, here at the park, does not get used very much, maybe one trip a week for groceries and such and the rest of the time it sits. It is remarkable that just that one trip suddenly becomes all important mainly because of not having a car. I feel like I am stranded, and, in a way, I am although I am surrounded by people willing to give me a ride. The feeling of having no control really bothers me.
I got a call from the Insurance company accompanied by various forms, and such sent by email which Malinda, very kindly helped me to fill out and return and I believe that technically, I no longer own the Jeep. Apparently, this was the go ahead I had been waiting for and Malinda drove me to Carfax where she had already arranged for me to look at a Jeep.
We were greeted by a very young salesman who knew his stuff and after discussing a few things went out to test drive the car that Malinda had found online. Although very similar to the one that was totaled, it is newer 2020 model and has more bells and whistles than the old one plus it only has 31,000 miles on it and is hardly broken in. It drove very nicely, and we headed back to the office to finish the paperwork.
An hour later, I was the proud owner of a 2020 Jeep Cherokee.
We drove back to Henly with Malinda driving at 90 mph or at least, that is how it seemed. I managed to keep up with her until we reached Dripping Springs and then I caught a traffic light and that was the last I saw of her.
I pulled into the RV park to be met by both Daniel and Malinda where I handed the driving off to Daniel who wanted to try out the new Jeep and the three of us went out to eat and had a very enjoyable time. Daniel passed judgment on the new to me Jeep and gave it the thumbs up. Thank goodness for that as I would hate to have to take it back because he didn’t like it.
Back at the park, I thanked Malinda profusely for all her help and we retired to our respective RVs for the evening.
Living in an RV Henly RV Park Wednesday 05/29/2024
Living in an RV Henly RV Park Thursday 05/30/2024
The first thing I did when I awoke was to pull up the front blind so I could look at my new to me, Jeep. I was extremely pleased with the car and can’t thank Malinda enough for picking it out. She has very good taste.
We went out walking as we normally do and wandered around the park and ran into a couple of park friends who complemented us on our new wheels. Seems like everybody knows all about it. News travels fast around here.
Following our walk, I caught up with the blog and did a couple of other household chores before deciding it was time to go into town, grocery shopping. I headed to HEB and made sure that I knew where I was parked as I would not recognize the vehicle out of all of those in the lot.
Shopping was its normal wander up and down the aisles hoping that the various items on display would jog the list in my brain. I had written the list down but of course, had managed to leave it behind. Actually, when I got home, the only thing missing was toothpaste, so I did not do too bad although there were several “extras” in the cart that were not on the original list.
As usual, I got all kinds of help with their very busy little noses from the dogs as I unloaded and put things away. With the last thing stored, I harnessed them up to go out walking.
We wandered around the park and found ourselves over by Jeff and Terri’s who were sitting outside. They offered me a beer and we sat and chatted for quite a while before moving on. We did not go far and ended up at Daniel and Malinda’s RV as they too happened to be sitting outside.
We stayed and visited with them for an hour or more before heading back to The Caboose for the evening meal. While we were visiting, Daniel complained that I needed a haircut and I tried to point out that I had only just got wheels again. Without further ado, Malinda ordered me to sit in a chair and she produced her haircutting equipment and went to work. Luckily, I did not need it to be styled and a short back and sides was ideal. Fifteen minutes later, I was almost bald, my hair was so short but that it how I like to wear it nowadays.
I thanked Malinda profusely as I will never be able to repay her for all her help and then a free haircut on top of that…
Incidentally, while she and I were over at my RV, an adjuster pulled up for the hail damage The Caboose had suffered which I had James’s repair. I have a thousand-dollar deductible on any repairs, so I was not expecting to get much, if anything from the Insurance but we will see.
After the Adjuster had left and as it was getting dark, Malinda helped to bring in the bird feeders and then, she headed back to her RV, and I went inside of mine.
The rest of the evening was spent watching TV and it was almost 12:30 am before I went to bed.
The Girls were at it again with their cooking and I had an invite to go to the Commons at lunch time to eat which of course, I did. It seemed a little strange to be doing that on a Monday and not the weekend until someone reminded me that it was a Holiday.
I did more research on another vehicle and found a couple that looked worth following up but with no wheels, it wasn’t going to happen. They were probably open too as I got responses from them.
Frustrated with the situation, I took it out on the dogs and made them go walking with me. I did not hear a single complaint from them as we trudged along, so I guess they were happy. I was too as it is fun to walk them and gradually, my frustrations wore off and we enjoyed the walk. I just got to have patience which is difficult when the solutions are there in front of me. Right now, there is nothing worse than not having transportation. All I need is the final official word that the Jeep is totaled.
The rest of the day after eating at the Commons with my friends was spent watching a soccer game on TV before going out for that final walk of the day.
I got up to a dull overcast day with promises of rain. We went out for a brief walk and managed to cover our usual 8/10’s of a mile before heading back to the RV for breakfast and that all important coffee.
The weather was clouding up and there was a chance of rain in the forecast which turned into a heavy and consistent shower. It really came on to rain much heavier as the morning wore on.
Not having my own wheels was starting to bother me and Malinda got on the phone to the Adjuster. Apparently, the Jeep has been totaled but it is under review, and I can’t move forward to buy a replacement vehicle until I get the official word to do so.
I had arranged with my good friend Delores for her to take me car shopping. That was before the bad weather moved in and when it did, I had to cancel that trip. As it turns out, that was just as well as looking at cars in the pouring rain is probably not a good idea and test driving one, an even worse one.
I adjourned back inside the RV and watched it pour down with wind gusts up to 18 mph which is scary. At least, the garden got watered. After a while, the sun came out and the weather quieted down.
I played catchup with the blog as I was two days behind. Not sure why but for some reason, I had not kept up.
Satisfied that I was up to date, I looked around for other things to do, with, I might add, not a lot of luck so instead, we went out for a walkabout to check if there was any damage in the park from the hail and heavy rain. Luckily, we did not see anything.
James, the RV Repair Man was coming out some time to work on the rig to repair a problem that he has worked on before. He pulled into the park a little later after the storm had passed. As it happened, his first stop was at Daniel and Malinda’s RV as they were having problems with their RV. After finishing with that one, he stopped at a couple more before eventually stopping at mine. He knew what the problem was as he had worked on it at least three times previously. Not his fault as the replacement part keeps burning out.
He completed the work and would not take a payment. I thanked him very profusely for his time and he went on his way
The rest of the day was spent in the usual way except that I was getting bombarded with emails from the different car salesmen I had contacted. Not much I can do in the way of car shopping as I need to wait for the Car Insurance Company to make a payout or at least give me the go ahead.
I slept late, and it was almost 9:30 before I even rolled out of bed. I have no idea why as I went to bed at a reasonable hour and haven’t been on any long hikes lately. Still, I’ll take it as I felt really good when I crawled out. The dogs slept right along with me making no effort to wake me up.
It was an overcast day when we went out walking in the park. I could tell that neither dog was into the walking so we returned to The Caboose after covering .08 of a mile. There, I fed the dogs with the usual mixed results. I don’t know why they are such fussy eaters, but both have moments when they gobble the food down and the next day with the same food, it gets ignored. Maybe, because it is the same food, and they need variety.
Breakfast for me was a couple of pieces of toast with the all-important coffee which is what really gets me going. Back in England when I lived there, it was a hot cuppa tea that did the trick. I guess we all have our preferences. England, way back then, was not a big coffee drinking country and tea was the preferred drink. Probably, it still is as Tea plantations, and such were an integral part of British History.
We have nothing planned and still have no wheels anyway so it will probably be another quiet day on the old plantation.
I worked on the blog and caught everything up and sat there wondering if I wrote what I would like to see happen, would it? Probably just Wishful thinking on my part.
We did a lot of sitting around because we had no wheels to go anywhere. I sat there feeling sorry for myself in my enforced state of incapacitation and got to thinking about the situation. Everything comes down to the Insurance company and what is their final word. It would be nice to know what I am working on the payout but not necessarily important as I can well afford to pay extra for the car I want.
I passed the time by looking at cars on different dealerships and kept saying to myself, “I like that one” or “that one is nice” and “If I had wheels, we could go see that one”.
The day was spent sitting around, walking dogs, more sitting around and eventually shutting up shop for the evening.
I got up early because I had an appointment with Malinda to go looking for a new to me, vehicle. Between us, we had located a couple that looked interesting and wanted to go to see them up close and personal. She picked me up around 9:00 am and we drove into Austin to one of the Jeep places located there.
At that time, the traffic was heavy going into town, but we finally arrived and started walking the lots of used vehicles. I really wanted to stay with a Jeep which limited our choices, but we found a couple that might have been interesting. A Salesperson came out to work with us and opened the two cars so that I could take them both for a drive.
The first one just did not feel right, and we quickly came back and drove the other one instead. It was much better, but it needed work as it drove rough. We gave up on those two and moved to a couple of other lots to see what they had. Unfortunately, I was not able to find anything that I liked so we are back to square one.
I had my heart set on another Jeep but maybe I need to broaden my horizon and look at other cars.
We came back home through very dense traffic which was barely moving because of an accident which nearly blocked the whole road. We eventually made it back to the park after stopping at a fast-food joint for hamburgers, including one for Daniel who met us at the picnic area where we ate our lunch.
Daniel went back to work, and I walked back to my RV. A short time later, Malinda stopped by with more information and more pictures. This time it included dealerships in New Braunfels and Georgetown.
There are a lot of used cars out there and maybe there is one with my name on it. Unless I have another accident, either water damage or another vehicle, this should be the very last car I will ever own. Wait a minute, I said that about the Jeep.
She left me with her findings which I perused wondering which one to go after. Actually, I can’t go to look at any of them unless Malinda or somebody else drives me.
Back in the RV, I took the dogs out walking around the park and we managed to cover 1.8 miles for the day. When we got back, I put the dogs back in the RV and then wandered over to my next-door neighbor, Gina, where Daniel and Malinda were visiting. We sat and chatted and drank beer for a couple of hours before returning to my RV.
When I was a working man, I used to look forward to the weekends knowing that I did not have to go to work and in my younger days, would be playing a couple of soccer games. Generally, my entire weekend was spent out on the soccer fields as I played, Refereed and coached both Youth and Adults.
Nowadays, I am much too old to play anymore and in truth, have basically severed all ties with the sport except to watch it on TV. I am quite happy pottering around the RV, walking the dogs or visiting friends and even occasionally going into town to go grocery shopping.
I got up at a reasonable hour and after splashing cold water on my face, was awake enough to face the day. We harnessed up and wandered around the campgrounds and covered our usual 6/10’s of a mile which, incidentally, was comprised of lots of circles as Sandy could not make up her mind on where to lead me and Mikey. We did a lot of zigging and zagging and didn’t really cover much in the way of distance.
As the exercise is really for the dogs to do their business, distance is secondary just as long as there are a couple of “poops” along the way. I can guarantee a lot of pees from both dogs. I think Sandy thinks that it is either a competition or that she is a male dog.
Back in the RV after breakfast all around and coffee for me, we settled down to play catch up with the blog although we were not behind, just finish up yesterday and start today. So far, nothing of interest has happened which is true of so many days. I like it that way as I do not like surprises.
It was a quiet day and we sat around a lot not doing much of anything.
The Girls and Malinda had been working all day on cooking meat for this evening’s meal and at the given time, I strolled over to the Commons. The usual group were there, and we pigged out on the meat and veggies that the Girls and Malinda had worked so hard to cook. As usual, it was delicious and as usual, I ate too much.
We sat around and talked for a while and then we all went back to our individual campers. Incidentally, because I don’t cook and such, I am the designated garbage man, and my job is to make sure everything is cleared up and any surplus waste in a garbage bag and dumped in the trash bins. Small price to pay to eat good food and have such great company.
I slept very well and was ready to get up at a reasonable hour, for us. As my water problem is still not fixed, I decided that I really had no alternative other than take a cold shower and boy, was that water cold? I hopped about as it hit parts of my body and wondered why I tortured myself like this. I finally crawled out and grabbed the towel to dry myself off and warm myself up. Incidentally, I was wide awake when I crawled out. Can’t wait for James to come back and fix the water problem as I do not think I can take very much of the water torture. I will tell anyone anything they want to know…
We went out walking in the park but did not go very far as I was having serious problems with both my feet and knees hurting, making it difficult to walk around. I have no idea what is wrong, and I will be glad when things return to normal. Besides my feet hurting, my balance is also off. Thank goodness for my trusty walking stick.
We returned to the RV, and I fixed our breakfast and then sat down to write the blog. As we are pretty much up to date, the writing was easy without too much brain racking trying to recall just what I had done recently. In truth, I have a very lazy life and do not get up to much. The high spot of the week is usually when I go grocery shopping or the occasional trip into Austin, to Walmart’s. I sure am easy to please.
We sat around doing a lot of nothing and generally being very lazy. I tidied up a bit, but my heart wasn’t in it, so I quickly stopped. When the dogs start to complain about how untidy the RV is, I might, just might pay attention.
We went out for another walk around the park and managed to cover 1.3 miles for the day. Not great but at least my legs were moving, sort of and as sore as I was, I considered it to be good.
The rest of the day was spent in the usual way, with lots of lazing around and the occasional burst of energy as I found something that needed taking care of.
I was ready to get up early but lay there for a bit before rolling out from under the covers. I slept very well and only awoke for the usual bathroom breaks and was ready to get out of bed. Incidentally, the call of the bathroom is much more frequent with less results than it used to be. The dogs, not so much and they both stayed in bed until I was through with the bathroom and had my clothes on.
Then they waited by the door, and I am sure that if they knew how, they would already have their leashes on. I obliged them and got them ready for that first walk of the day. We wandered around the park as we usually do but did not go very far, just 7/10 of a mile. At least, it is a start.
When we got back, I went through the bird feeder routine and only had to fill a couple of them. I looked at every feeder including the ones in the trees as the birds are not lowering the seed level very much which is a sign of a blockage or something similar. What happens is that the seed in the openings that the birds use gets wet in the rain and unless the birds push it around, hardens into a solid mass which is what I end up moving with my trusty screwdriver.
Incidentally, there are nowhere near as many Grackles who appear to have moved on, but now, I have pigeons. The smaller finches are also starting to show up and they are really pretty to look at.
I received a message from James who said he was on his way. I texted him back just to let him know I would be here. I happened to be looking out of the window at nothing in particular and I saw his van pull in at the bottom exit. He did not come up at once, so I assume he had a client in that section.
As I had no plans, it matters not in which order he works on our rigs, but I will be glad to get things straightened out. It appears I may have another problem as the A/C does not shut off.
After a half hour or so, James pulled up in his van and I went out to greet him. We chatted for a bit before he went to work indoors changing out a part. James is a big man probably 6’ 5” and at least 350 pounds and he lay on the floor and squeezed his big body into a very small space in the closet. He changed out a couple of parts and then turned his attention to a different area where he worked on the A/C units both in the living area and the bedroom all the time mumbling under his breath, “I hate this brand of A/C”. This time, the units were in the ceiling.
About an hour later, he turned on the unit and this time they worked without causing a flood as they had before. He fiddled with a few other things and taped everything as it should have been and declared it all fixed. He had turned on the units to check that both were working right and would shut off after reaching a certain temperature.
James is a very honorable man and had been working on my rig on the same problem at least three times before and had problems every time not through his fault. Twice, the new parts stopped working which caused other parts to quit and the project had been a challenge. To his credit, he told me he was all through and started to gather up his things and made no effort to give me a bill.
In my book, unless it is a royal screw up, every worker should be paid for the work they do, and James had no control over new parts burning up, so I questioned him and made him write me a bill which I gladly paid. He went home satisfied, and I was once again, one happy camper.
By now it was three o’clock, which did not matter much as I had no plans to go anywhere or do anything except the usual, “Walk the dogs routine”. We wandered around as we usually do going nowhere fast.
With all of the excitement finished for the day, we really didn’t have anything else to do except sit around a lot and make a fuss of the dogs who loved every minute of all of the attention. We sat outside for a while, but it was not very comfortable out in the hot sun, and we adjourned back indoors in the A/C. This is a first and shows that summer and really hot weather are on the way. I wonder how many 100 plus degree days we will have.
The day ended as it usually does with food all around. With some clever finagling on my part, I got Sandy to eat all of hers.
We were in bed by 10:00 pm as another day came to a close.
I slept very well and was ready to get up instead of just lying in bed. That is a good sign, right? We harnessed up and went for a walk down the hill on the outside road and managed to cover 1.3 miles on that first walk.
Back in the RV, I fixed the dog’s breakfast and then cooked up some chicken nuggets. Unfortunately, when I tried to eat them, they were like little rocks, and I could not even cut them because they were baked so hard. I had no choice but to throw them away and make do with toast, darn it. I will not make that mistake again. I will find something else to eat and not chicken nuggets.
As I was contemplating the ruins of a good breakfast, James, the RV Repair Man showed up to work on the water heater. We chatted for a bit, and he got to work. I watched what he was doing but not much of it made any sense to me, so I stayed out of his way and continued watching from a distance. Every now and then, he needed help to hold something but otherwise, it was all him.
Satisfied with what he had done so far, he turned on both the gas and the electricity and let the two units heat the water. While that was going on, he went into the Breakroom for lunch as he waited for the water to heat up. This was to test the unit and put his time to effective use as he waited.
He returned and checked one more time to make sure that everything was working properly and gave a thumbs up. I wrote him a check and he was on his way, and I was once again, one happy camper.
I turned my attention to the blog and worked on it until I was all caught up and then looked around for other things to do. I was out of one of the supplements that I take and went online and ordered a couple of bottles which should be here in a couple of days.
We harnessed up and went out for another walk around the park but did not go far. These walks are for the dogs to do their business more than for exercise. We do not make any time as we go from one great smell to the next. When Sandy finds something, she thinks is interesting, Mikey rushes over to add his 5 cents worth before we move on to the next thing. I watch others in the park mostly with big dogs who are striding it out and sometimes wish my dogs would do that. At least then, I could get more exercise than I do. Still, at least I am moving albeit slowly.
The rest of the day was spent walking and then sitting out on the deck just watching my little world go by. I am getting comments about our flower garden as it is beginning to grow. Now all I must do is convince the deer they should not eat the flowers. I wonder if I were to put up a sign telling the deer not to do it, they would take note. Probably not…
We sat outside until it got dark and the last of the greedy Grackles left and then I brought in the feeders. This is usually the last outdoor action of every day and a sign that night is coming. Then it was food and television before going to bed as, yet another day came to a close in my little piece of Paradise.
Living in an RV Henly RV Park Wednesday 04/10/2024
I slept late and it was 9:30 am before I even woke up. I have no idea why although I was probably dreaming of scary monsters or maybe even re-living the eclipse and keeping myself awake. We had nothing planned so waking late did not matter that much. I slopped cold water on my face to help complete the wake-up process and then harnessed up the dogs to go walking. Incidentally, cold water is all I have at present as one of the gadgets that controls the hot water has broken and I need a new one. Daniel said he will fix it for me as soon as he can find the time. The first thing though, was to bring out the feeders filling whichever ones needed it before setting off around the campground.
We managed our usual half mile before returning to the RV for breakfast. Today was a good day as Sandy ate all of hers. I fixed myself a Burrito and she helped me eat most of it. Between us, we did the job. I offered some to Mikey, but he just turned his nose up at it. His loss.
Then it was blog time and I had to buckle down and get the old memory juices flowing again. Needless to say, with such a busy day as we had yesterday, the blog was nonexistent, and I had to remember everything from start to finish which I was able to do as at least six hours was spent watching the eclipse. BTW, nobody except me knows what is true and what I make up, but I try to keep the blog as accurate as possible.
While we were out walking this morning, the weather was overcast and by the time we returned, it had developed into a heavy rain shower. Luckily, I had a rain slicker on it, so it did not bother me. The shower quickly passed and out came the sun to brighten our day. There were still clouds in the sky, but they were pretty broken up. It looks like it might be a nice day.
It was also a lazy day as we had nothing planned except the usual stuff I do nearly every day. We went out walking a couple of times but barely covered a mile mostly due to threats of rain. We did a lot of sitting around.
The rest of the day was spent doing a whole lot of nothing except the usual food and television. I went to bed around 11:00 pm as a thunderstorm moved in and we had a very bright lightening display and lots of thunder. We also had a heavy hailstorm, and I could hear the lumps of ice dropping on the RV. I eventually dropped off to sleep as the storm passed. I thought about getting up, but it was warm and comfortable in bed so why bother. Anyway, there was not much I can do about lumps of ice falling out of the sky.
Are these “our” Zebras? If so, they have a new permanent home? Actually, I know they are not as I got to see our Zebra pair yesterday.
I tossed and turned all night long and must have eventually dropped off to sleep as the bedside clock told me it was almost 9:00 am. I jumped out of bed straight into the shower to wake myself up. Cold water will do that pretty quick.
Then it was time to go out walking in the park and we wandered around meeting Daniel and Jeff along the way. We chatted for a bit, and they both returned to work, and we continued walking. We did our usual 7/10’s of a mile before returning for breakfast and coffee. As far as I can tell, we have no plans to do anything special although fate has a way of changing that.
Back in The Caboose, I made breakfast for us all and Sandy ate all of hers. Mikey is saving his for later and I ate both pieces of toast I had made. It was a cloudy and overcast day and a good one to stay inside in the warm.
I had already brought out the feeders and the birds amused me with their carryings on. I took a quick glance at the two flowering plants I had purchased yesterday and said to myself, “Later, I will plant you later.”
Back in the RV, I completed the blog and brought it up to date. Good thing too as I was a couple of days behind, again. Incidentally, the park is full up in anticipation of the upcoming eclipse due to happen on Monday, April 8th. The weather forecast is not too good with clouds forecast but hopefully, we will still get to see something. We will know it is happening even if we cannot see it happen as it will still grow dark.
I found things to do to keep me amused which included watering the garden. We also sat around a lot which the dogs really enjoyed, one on each side of me on the couch. Then it was time to go walking again and we wandered around inside the campgrounds saying “Hello” to anyone we happened to meet.
Back in the RV, we sat outside for a while with a bottle of beer for company. Besides the dogs, that is. I would say, we were watching the world go by but there is not a lot of activity in that direction in the campground.
It was almost dark as I had to wait that long for the birds to stop eating before bringing in the feeders for yet another day. The rest of the evening was spent with food and TV in that order.
I got up early a for us, little before 8:00 am but only because as sometimes happens, the propane had run out in the night and the RV was cold inside. It’s funny that it always happens at night time. I do not think I have ever run out during the day.
I put on my track suit and went outside and switched the bottle over to the full one and will change out the gas bottles later today when it warms up a bit. Incidentally, this last bottle seemed to last for ages but maybe that is because it is a bit warmer during the night.
Then it was dog walking time as they both eagerly waited for me to put their harness on. Sandy tries her best to “help” and wiggles and moves as I work to put it on. Mikey is much smarter and has learned that if he stands up with his front legs on my legs, his neck is closer to me making it easier for both of us.
We went out bringing our usual bag of trash with us, making the first stop at the dumpster. Then off we went and walked the Loop all the way to Hwy 290 which gave us a distance of 1.3 miles for the morning, a very good start to the day.
Back at the RV, I brought out the feeders after filling a couple of them. I have two fairly large circular feeders that hang side by side. Every day, one has less seed left in it than the other. For some reason, the birds always prefer the one hanging on the right side. I have no idea why. Identical feeders, identical food and the only difference is one hangs on one side of the arm and the other on the opposite side.
With the feeders out for another day and the first walk of the day complete, we went back indoors, and I fixed the dogs their breakfast. I don’t know why I bother to feed Mikey as he very rarely eats his food in the morning. He eventually gets around to it sometime later in the day. Sandy is a picky eater and sometimes will not touch the food I put out. Other times, she gobbles it down. She could stand to lose a little weight, but I use the food to give her medicine twice a day and at $3:00 a pill, I work really hard to get her to take it. She has been diagnosed with a heart murmur hence the twice daily pill routine. The pills cost $220.00 for a month’s supply. Big sigh…It’s only money, right and her health is important?
The sun was shining, and I wondered what we would do with ourselves for the rest of the day as it was only 12:30 pm. I sat there for a while and then we went out for another walk. While just sitting there, I had figured out that I really needed to go into the HEB in Dripping Springs to pick up a couple of things, mainly groceries.
I said goodbye to the dogs and jumped in the Jeep for the short drive into town. When I pulled into the parking lot, the lady parked next to me also had a Jeep and we struck up a conversation. Turns out she wished she had a Cherokee and not the Jeep she was driving.
I walked around the store finding more things that tempted me and ended up in my basket than I really should have. Still, I only live once so what the hell? Go for it…
My bill at checkout was $120.00 and I didn’t even buy beer. Go figure!
I drove back to the RV but on the way out, I had given a fleeting thought to a Latte but decided against it. Doing really good in the non-coffee department.
The dogs helped me unload and then we went out for the last walk of the day and managed to cover 2.8 miles. Love the Big Box Stores as they are great for racking up the steps.
We sat outside for a brief while, but it was cold and damp and not a bit comfortable, so we adjourned back indoors with the heater running. Much Better.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion, food and a glass of wine and television before hitting the sack.
I had a really good night’s sleep and only woke up for the call of Nature. Of course, there were several of those calls, the Bain of growing old at least for most men. Can’t speak for the older ladies out there. Luckily, I usually drop right back off to sleep but there are nights of just lying there with my eyes closed wishing sleep would come.
There was one other wakeup call, as we had thunderstorms through the night. The lightning was very bright and at times continuous as was the thunder that followed. I listened for a while and then fell asleep even with the bright flashes and loud noises going on.
I got up early for me around 8:00 am and noticed that it had stopped raining but was still very overcast. The forecast was for a wet day which was OK by me as I have nothing planned for today and we really need the rain. I quickly put on my boots and jacket and harnessed the dogs and off we went walking in between the rain showers and managed to cover 7/10 of a mile before scurrying back indoors in the warm, dry and cozy RV.
It really was a very dull and overcast day, and my guess is that we will not see the sun today. I glanced at the clock, and it said it was 12:30 pm and with the blog already caught up, I wondered what we were going to do all day to amuse ourselves,
I sat around a lot watching it rain. It did not seem to bother the birds as they still loaded the feeders as they squabbled to get at the seed. There are still a lot of Grackles, but they are mixed in with Sparrows and the occasional Cardinal and colorful finches.
There was a lull in the rain, and we harnessed up and went out for a walk and just wandered around. Altogether, we covered 1.7 miles, not bad for a rainy day.
Back in the RV, I broke my own unwritten rule about watching the TV during the day and tuned in to a Soccer match and watched it to the end. Then, I fed the dogs and found something for me to eat before watching more TV but only until 9:30 pm when we all went to bed.
True to recent form, I woke up at 9:30 am. It is not that I am dozing and being lazy. I genuinely awoke from a deep sleep at that time. Of course, I was late going to bed last evening which probably accounts for it… I took a shower and put on clean clothes and got ready to go out walking. I glanced out of the sliding door and the first thing I saw staring me in the face were the bird feeders. In all the excitement of visiting the girls last evening, I had forgotten to bring them in.
They were not all empty, just the two big ones. I harnessed up the dogs and tied them up outside to the picnic table so they could watch. Then, I got out the bag of seed and went about the task of refilling those feeders that needed them and topping up others that had not been emptied and were just low on seed.
Then it was time to go out for that first walk of the day. I had put on a light jacket, but it was not cold, and it was not long before it was unzipped. We wandered around the park and covered a half mile on this walk.
Back in the RV, it was the usual fix breakfast for us all and Sandy ate hers and as usual, Mikey saved his for later. I ate mine although again, the coffee no longer hits the spot. Then it was sit down in front of the computer and play catchup with the blog. I genuinely have a hard time with recall and really have to retrace my steps for the day before I remember what I actually did and where I went.
We went out for another short walk and ended up at Malinda’s and Daniels as they were sitting outside. One beer turned into two and then into three as we sat there chattering away. Daniel had the grill going and it was not long before we were feasting on sausage in a wrap. Very tasty of which I had two.
We eventually wandered back to The Caboose and shut up shop for the evening after bringing in the feeders. At least I remembered them this time.
Back indoors, I fed the dogs but did not have to worry about feeding myself as the two hotdogs had taken care of that. Then, I made the mistake of turning on the TV to watch a soccer match and again, it was 11:30 pm before I shut it off and went to bed.
I got up around 8:30 am to another sunny day. The wind had dropped considerably, and it was comfortable outside as I put out the bird feeders. Then we went out walking the outside road all the way to Hwy 290. We did not get to see any exotics or come to that, domestic animals this time around.
Back in the RV, I fixed breakfast and neither dog wanted to eat it. I ate mine, By the way, yesterday, I switched to tea as a beverage instead of coffee and liked it enough to do the same thing today. Heck, I was brought up on tea in England after all. I had to adapt to coffee when I came to America.
Then, it was time to write. I managed to remember what happened yesterday and brought us up to date. We have a busy day in front of us today with a visit to my Dentist in Austin.
After playing catch up with the blog, I put it to one side as it was time for me to make the drive into Austin to my Dentists who, by the way, had moved his offices to a brand-new site. It was not too far from the old place of business, and I arrived right at 1:00 pm, my appointment time.
The very nice, chatty lady worked on cleaning and getting things ready for the Dentists to do the final analysis which was that one tooth needed filling. I spent almost 2 hours in the chair with the bottom line that I need to come back in a couple of weeks for a filling.
I got out of there and started the drive home and ended up in heavy traffic. I finally got there, and it was almost 4:00 pm when I arrived.
As usual, the dogs were pleased to see me, and we harnessed up and wandered up Henly Loop almost to Hwy 290 before turning back. On the way back, we stopped to talk to Malinda who was sitting outside of the laundry room waiting for her wash to dry. Later, we were joined by Daniel, and we sat and drank a couple of beers.
Then, I headed back to The Caboose and put the bird feeders away for the day. The dogs and I sat outside on the deck, and I drank a beer which, incidentally, does not appear to disagree with me. So maybe, it is just the wine that is giving me problems, darn it as I like wine.
With the beer finished, we all went our separate ways, them to their RV and me, back to The Caboose.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion.
I did not sleep that well and for some reason, had to answer the call of Nature almost a half dozen times, mostly because I was awake. It is never that many when I sleep well. One of the banes of growing old. I have no idea why I did not sleep as well as I should have. I was like waiting for the morning to come so I could get up…
We harnessed up and walked around after the usual, bird feeders’ routine and managed to walk 8/10 of a mile, which is a good start. As we have no plans for today, this leaves lots of time to get our quota which is the minimum of a mile a day and more if possible. I got to stay healthy somehow and as my running days are long gone, I must rely on the dogs to keep me exercised. Incidentally, I never hear them complain about walking too much unless the weather is bad.
Following our walk, we adjourned back inside of The Caboose for breakfast all around and this time, Sandy ate hers as did Michael. I made a bacon sandwich for myself, and it was OK. Something missing in the taste though.
Then it was time to sit in front of the computer and play catch up with the blog. Luckily, I thought I was not far behind and only had to write about yesterday afternoon and then start on this morning. Nothing of major importance had happened anyway so it was easy, and we have no plans for today. It took a while to play catch up with the posting, but I finally managed to bring it up to date. For some reason, it turns out that I had not posted in four days although I don’t know why as I try to post every day.
We completed the blog and just sat around waiting for the next thing to get up to. As nothing showed up, I just relaxed and tried to doze off. I could not even do that and just sat there with my eyes closed pretending to be asleep. The dogs took full advantage of my laziness and zonked off, one on each side of me. It seems that unless I have a trip into town or something similar, I have nothing to get up to in the afternoons.
Time, as it always does, marched on and soon it was time to go out for the afternoon walk around the park. Unless it is a Sunday, we always include checking my mailbox on our afternoon walk. I have changed nearly all of the forwarding addresses to Henly and get very little anymore from my PO Box at Far West. Maybe I can close that one in the near future.
We went out for the final walk of the day and although not great, we managed to cover 1.3 miles.
I slept very well and awoke early but not having any reason to get up, rolled over and snuggled with the dogs for a bit. We finally crawled out and as we usually do, harnessed up to go out walking. I tied the dogs up so they could watch as I brought out the bird feeders. I would let them help but they would spill birdseed everywhere.
With all the feeders replenished I had noticed that I had put the plants in the storage box to be protected from the frost and went ahead and brought them back out to get some sun now that the frost is over. Incidentally, the long-range forecast for next month does not show any adverse weather for the entire month. Yea, I’ll take it.
With the birds taken care of for another day, we went out walking around the park. This time we headed down the road to the magnificent Old Oak tree. Every time I see it, I wish I knew more of its history. Altogether, we covered 1.2 miles for the morning walk.
Back in the RV following our walk, I kept finding things to do and eventually got around to feeding dogs and then myself. Sandy ate hers, yay, which all helped to make my day. Mikey, I do not worry about as he does not have a heart murmur requiring twice daily medication as Sandy does.
We worked on the blog with Sandy zonked off under my feet and Mikey snoring his fool head off on my lap. What a life those two have got…When we were all caught, I looked around for other things to do. I thought about taking a trip into town to both HEB and The Home Depot but could not work up much enthusiasm, or come to that, think of anything really important enough to even make the trip.
I found a few things that needed some attention and took care of them and then went out walking again. We wandered around as it was a nice sunny day, and we had no particular place we needed to be. Then we sat outside and listened to an Audiobook drinking a Brown Ale and promptly got into trouble as the new speaker was too loud and apparently, it could be heard close by. I turned the speaker off and sat there with the phone pressed against my ear so that I could hear the story.
Eventually, we moved back indoors for the evening and unknowingly, I had left the bird feeders out. Needless to say, overnight, the deer cleaned them out. The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion with food and that glass of wine before retiring early around 9:00 pm.
We did get some rain during the day yesterday and also during the night but no thunderstorms, at least not that I heard but then again, I was fast asleep having gone to bed around 9:00 pm. Almost unheard of for me. The rain was most welcome as we have not have any to talk of for a while. I was thinking just yesterday that I should water the plants, but Mother Nature saved the day.
It was a very dull and overcast outside, not very cheerful at all and being inside in the warm seemed like a clever idea but of course, the dogs had to answer the call of Nature and we went out walking. We only walked around the park a couple of times and then headed back to the RV as it was not that comfortable even for me to be outside. I was dressed for it but still had on the usual shorts but if I can keep my body warm, the rest is usually OK.
We wandered around the park and saying Hello or Good Morning to the other brave souls that we saw, some with dogs but in a couple of cases, just walking. We passed Olive who was carrying her usual big stick at least twice her size.
I brought out the bird feeders, a couple of which needed refilling but instead, I opted to let the birds finish what was in them and then I will refill them as the weather clears up hopefully tomorrow. I need to buy more seed anyway from Tractor Supply.
Back in the RV, I fixed breakfast for everybody with the usual results with neither dog eating any of it. I ate mine and the enchiladas tasted fine, but the coffee still leaves a lot to be desired. Then it was time to work on the blog and I wrote for a while playing catch up.
It was one of those quiet days with very little going on and we did a lot of sitting and relaxing. In one of those quiet moments, I realized that I had beer in the car that a bought a couple of days ago. This was for Daniel, so I dropped it off in his workshop right by the door. He can’t miss seeing it. Then we went out for a walkabout just so the dogs could do their thing.
Back at the RV, I put the dogs up and then drove into town to Tractor Supply and picked up three 35lb bags of bird seed as it is so cheap there. The only other thing I bought was a can of snacks of the potato chip kind. I drove home and decided that the seed could sit in the car until I was ready to unload it, but I did grab the can of potato sticks and started working on them.
The Sparrows were back and that is the first time I have seen them in any numbers today. One by one, the feeders are being emptied and the plan is to refill all of them tomorrow.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way with food all around and then television until it was time to retire, which incidentally was around 9:00 pm.
It rained heavily in the night but after hearing the initial downfall, I fell back off to sleep waking up only for the call of Nature. I must have been tired as when I finally awoke to actually get up, it was almost 9:30 am. It doesn’t matter as we have no plans for the day.
We went out for the first walk and managed to get wet as it rained while we were out. The dogs did not seem to mind except for a lot more shakes to get the water off. Needless to say, we did not cover any distance this time around.
Back in the RV, I dried the dogs off and changed my wet shirt. I also remembered to close the bedroom door to keep Sandy off the bed as she was still pretty wet even after I had toweled them both off.
I prepared the dogs their breakfast which neither of them ate. Now, I need to keep an eye on Sandy’s so that Mikey does not eat her medication. It would not hurt him but at $3.00 a pill. It hurts my pocketbook, and she doesn’t get the benefit.
It rained off and, on all day, very much restricting any outside activity we might have planned. I did not bring out the smaller bird feeders, but the birds still have the four big feeders in the trees and off the deck. I am not expecting many birds out in the rain anyway. One good thing about it raining is that I can raise all the blinds within the RV to give us more daylight. Normally, except for the big front windows, the blinds are down to help keep the RV cool. The front ones face away from the sun, and I can keep them up except at night.
RVs are notorious for not having good insulation as the walls and ceiling are only two inches thick. Usually, they have several windows which also let in the sun’s heat requiring that the blinds are pulled down during the day. Because they are constantly working, the air conditioners are subject to many repairs and/or replacement over their lifetimes.
I have two A/C units. One is for the main living area and the other is for the bedroom and they both operate independent of the other depending on the need. Incidentally, there is only one heating unit, and it supplies hot air through ducts that are under the RV with the vents in the floor. Plus, I do have an electric fireplace that does throw off some heat and is pretty to look at. I also have a couple of moveable heaters just in case I need them when it is very cold.
I sat and wrote for a while until I was caught up and then looked around for other things to do. Not finding anything of importance, I sat on the couch with a dog on either side of me. We stayed there a couple of hours sort of dozing in the comfort. Eventually, I got up and we went out for the afternoon walk. We managed to bring our daily total up to 1.3 miles, which is what we have managed for the past 3 days. Not as good as I would like but walking out in the rain is not very appealing to me or the dogs.
My hip is hurting more than ever and is slowing me down. The walking stick that I just bought is a real help and helps me get around. Following our walk, we sat on the deck and drank a couple of tiny bottles of wine. It began to get dark, and we came back inside, and I finished writing the blog for today.
The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way, food for the dogs, food for me and then watching television at whatever ungodly hour I stayed up. I have been watching Yellowstone and it has kept me glued to the TV until the early hours of the morning.
I got up early as I knew we were planning on taking a trip to Fredericksburg just as we had six weeks ago to go to the Market there. It is a great place to visit and a lot of fun. Most of the time, we do not buy much except food and beer as we usually find a place to eat while we are there. I had time to take the dogs out walking before BJ was waiting outside my door.
I got to travel with “The Girls” who were BJ who was our driver and Peggy and Delores sitting in the front alongside of BJ, who incidentally, drives a school bus for a living. We had a caravan of three cars, Daniel was in front and the lead driver, we were second, and Debbie and Jim were bringing up the rear.
Daniel drove at 100 mph the whole way, but BJ was masterful at keeping up with him although, we lost him at the end due to traffic. We all arrived at the Fairground safely and teamed up to go in as a group and then it was sort of everyone on their own. Not intentionally but it is hard to keep a group of adults together and eventually, we were spread out all over the place. It did not matter as we just called each other and arranged to find a place to eat and listen to the music, which took another hour.
I was having problems with my hip, and it was hurting to walk. I spent my time looking for a walking pole and eventually found one that helped me get around. That made things a lot easier as not only did the pole help me to walk but it also helped with my balance.
We wandered around after eating hamburgers and eventually got back in our respective vehicles for the ride back home arriving back at Henly midafternoon. The reason we got back so early was because both Daniel and Malinda had other business that was going to take them away from the park but not before everyone ate beans that Daniel had cooked yesterday. Everyone except me that is as I was still filled with the hamburger I had eaten earlier and had not been able to finish. Heck, it had not had time to digest at all. And I like beans…
I took the dogs out walking which pleased them no end. They even got to sit with Remington and Malinda while the others were feasting on beans only, we were outside of the breakroom. Eventually, we continued with our walk around the park before returning to write in the blog.
Daniel and Malinda had another overnight trip planned and it was not long before they were driving away, in their truck. This time, Remington got to go with them. The rest of us had already dispersed to our respective RVs for the evening.
We went out for the final walk of the day before returning for food all around although I was not that hungry. I found something light to eat and of course washed it down with a small bottle of wine. I spent the evening watching Yellowstone which I consider to be a great program.
An Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, TX. Sunday 10/22/2023
I got up at a very reasonable hour for another bright sunny day. I harnessed up the dogs and then tied them to the picnic table while I brought out the seed feeders. I tried something different last evening and only brought in the feeders that contain seeds. The two that hold seed cakes, I left out to see if the deer would eat them. They didn’t this time so l will leave them out in the future or until the deer discover they are edible.
We went out for the first walk and managed to cover a mile, which is a good way to start the day. Incidentally, the walking stick that I bought yesterday is a good investment and really helps the hip from hurting as much. I think it straightens me up, taking the twist out of the body posture caused by the pain in the hip.
It was very quiet around the park as it was Sunday after all with the working people home. We met a couple of people being walked by their dogs but other than that, we were on our own. It had already started to warm up as the temperature keeps varying from day to day.
When we got back, I fixed us all breakfast, but Sandy had one of her moods on and did not eat what I put in front of her. I do not care if she decides not to eat but it means that she does not take her medication which I do care about.
I spent time watering the plants and left the dogs on the deck to watch. I was missing a perch from one of the feeders and searched around and found it under the picnic table and carefully slid it back into place in the holder.
After a couple of hours of being back indoors mixed with sitting outside for a bit with my eyes closed but not sleeping, I sat down to work on the blog. There was not a lot to report for today, but I had fun remembering the Fredericksburg trip. What with being the only man in a car full of three women did make it interesting and I got to hear some really funny stories.
Daniel and Malinda returned from their trip and waved at me as they pulled in and immediately started to go about their business of taking care of the park. I wrote until I was caught up and posted yesterday’s blog then decided to take the dogs out walking. I happened to walk by Daniels RV and Jeff and Kerry were there. I stopped to chat and the next thing I had a cold beer thrust into my hands. I suppose I could have said no but what is the fun in that?
We sat chatting for probably a good half hour to forty-five minutes and then Malinda suggested we go eat at the Mexican place named El Rey. Jeff took his own car and I piled into Daniels truck for the short trip into town. Actually, I think it is Malinda’s truck, but Daniel was driving.
The five of us sat and ate a very nice Mexican meal and I think that all of us brought home doggie bags there was so much food. I drank two beers to help keep my mouth cooled down from the spicy Mexican food. Any excuse but it was spicy enough that I thought I was breathing fire.
Daniel drove us home and I immediately took the dogs back out for the last walk of the day. Then, I fed the dogs when we got back after bringing in the bird feeders and settled down to watch English Premier League football. Brighton played Manchester City with Brighton losing 2-1. Solly got hurt and had to be stretchered off.
Then I watched more episodes of Yellowstone before going to bed around midnight.
I was up early as I knew that I had to be at the Car Rental by 10:30 am and it was a half hour drive on Hwy 290 through Dripping Springs. We went out for that first walk and wandered around on the outside roads as well as within the campground. It was a very pleasant day with the sun shining and giving off some warmth to combat the chill of the wind. I think we can safely assume that summer is over, and we are into Fall.
Back in the RV, I had a quick breakfast after feeding the dogs although both did not eat until later in the day.
By then, it was time to leave, and I drove the 25 miles to the repair shop and handed over the car. Then I went next door and managed to rent a car for the two weeks that I thought the Jeep repair would take. It is very convenient to have both places next door to each other.
With the paperwork taken care of, I drove the new, to me, car back to the RV Park and had to put up with some friendly ribbing from Daniel. Unless something changes, the Rental car will sit most of the time and only getting used for the occasional trip to HEB.
I took the dogs walking around the park before settling down to work on the blog. After the flurry of excitement with picking up the car, things have slipped into the usual quiet days that I enjoy so much. I worked on the blog bringing it up to date.
I got a text message from Peggy telling me to “Come over to the Breakroom to eat”. I took the dogs out for a short walk and then put them back in the RV. I wandered over to the Breakroom and the whole gang was there including the new couple and their daughter that had pulled in a couple of days ago, next to BJ and Peggy. The place was a hive of activity with some people eating, others serving food and even a couple just talking.
As usual, the food was very good and there was a lot of it. Enough that anyone that wanted too, could go back for seconds or even thirds. I limited myself to one small plateful and took my time in eating it, washing it down with a beer. As usual, there was a lot of conversation and some pretty wild jokes to keep us amused.
Eventually, we all went back to our RV’s as the day slowly came to an end.
Another day started in the usual fashion except I did not have to bring out the feeders as I had left them up because they were already empty. The deer cleaned them out while I was over at Daniel and Malinda’s RV last evening. I need to go into town and buy more birdseed as we are out.
We went out for the morning walk and walked Henly Loop towards Hwy 290. The object was to walk to the end as it was shady which made it much cooler. In the distance, I saw the cows with their babies eating from a big old round bale of hay. That was the only thing of interest as none of the exotics were around.
My built-in clock estimated that we had covered at least a mile but when I got back and looked, it was only 8/10ths of a mile. My clock is obviously way off, and, in my mind, we walk much further than we actually do. I have mentioned this before but quite obviously, I am no judge of distance and am always thinking we have walked further than we do.
I fixed us breakfast plus that all important coffee for me. It doesn’t matter what I eat nowadays, nothing tastes good anymore.
Then I turned my attention to the blog and completed yeserday before turning to today. It was early yet and not much had happened or not enough to write about. Things are always happening around here with RV’s constantly coming and going, new people, some with dogs, walking the campground, most of whom are friendly and at least say hello or Good whatever time of the day it is. Occasionally, there are others who like to keep themselves to themselves, which is OK too as that is what RV’ing is sometimes all about.
I decided that I really needed to go into town at least as far as Tractor Supply which is on the outskirts of Dripping Springs on my side, to buy birdseed. I hadn’t figured on the deer cleaning me out last evening while I was drinking beer at Malinda and Daniels place. I got two 25lb bags which should last a couple of weeks and got out of there and made the drive back home. The Jeep drove just fine but I had to open all the windows as the AC does not work.
Incidentally, I have heard back from the Appraiser regarding the Jeep, and it is not too bad. The cost for the repair is around $3,000.00 with my share a $1000.00 of that. Now I need to find a shop that will do the work and locate a car rental service for while it is in there. I really do not go very far or very often but not having wheels would make life very difficult as regards groceries and such. The last time the Jeep was in the shop was for two weeks, but the damage was much more extensive at that time.
Back at the RV after coming back from getting birdseed, we went out for another walkabout and managed to clock 1.9 miles. Maybe, I should go out and wander around for two minutes to get it to turn over to 2.0 miles for the day. Or maybe not…
I finished the blog for the day knowing that we were all through with sitting outside listening to the Audiobook and eventually moving back indoors to watch television and drink wine. Oh yes, there was food in there too someplace…
