It was a strange night as I kept waking up and then rolling over and going back to sleep. At least, with Daniels efforts yesterday, hooking up the electricity to the heating system, I will not have to worry about the heat going off in the middle of the night by running out of propane. unless we get a huge snowstorm, and the power goes out. 

I eventually decided that I had spent enough time in bed even though it was awfully tempting to stay there all day. I crawled out and dressed and was ready to face the day… sort of. 

The first thing on the agenda was to bring out the bird feeders. The two big ones close to the deck were both empty and had only lasted a couple of days. I had just about enough seed left to refill them both and that was it. Guess, I need to put birdseed on my grocery lists, again. The last flock of sparrows had really done a number. Still, that is what it is there for, and I am not fussy about which birds visit if it is not that hawk, and it is not interested in bird seed but the birds themselves. 

With the feeders taken care of, we went out walking around the park saying “Good Morning” to all and sundry. It was brisk but OK as long as we kept moving, preferably in the sun. Back in the RV, I fixed us breakfast which eventually got eaten. Both of them were off of their food for at least for an hour or so and then I guess they decided it was OK to eat it. Funny things, dogs. 

I worked on the blog for a while and brought us up to date and was just sitting there when the dogs went crazy. It was Delores standing on the porch and she had a big bundle of Christmas lights in her hand. She chastised me for not decorating the RV for Christmas and handed me the big bunch of lights. I thanked her profusely and in return, gave her ten pairs of shorts that were all missing the top button. As my needlework skills are not very good and she is extremely good at it, it made sense for me to compensate her to do the job. 

I turned my attention to the lights and sorted them out into two strings. One was a long one and the other much shorter, so I hung the long one on the outside of the top deck. I then did the same thing with the shorter ones on the lower deck and plugged them in. The long one lit up perfectly but the shorter one did not light even though it was first in line and power was going through it to light the second string. 

I sat there and checked out the things I knew to look at but to no avail. At that moment both Daniel and Jeff pulled up in Daniels 4-wheeler and they looked, and both decided that the shorter string, even though it carried electricity, was not working. Probably a light bulb was out. 

Daniel told me to wait a minute and disappeared into his shop and came out with another string that he plugged in. This one worked perfectly, and he helped me to put zip ties in the proper places to finish the installation. I thanked him for his efforts, and he left, and I went back inside The Caboose with the lights burning brightly on the deck. 

I had put in a load of laundry, and it had been washing as we were messing with the lights and other things. It was already dry, and I took the time to fold it and put it away which will make us good for another week or so. 

With the laundry folded, I went back to the blog and brought it up to date. Looking around for other things to get up to, I remembered to close the black and grey tank now that the laundry was finished. As I have mentioned before, it is not a good idea to keep the black tank open so that it drains all the time as the liquids flow out leaving the solids behind which eventually causes a problem and requires back flushing and other dramatic remedies to fix it. This is known in the RV language as,” piles of sh—”. 

The same is true of the grey tank which holds all other liquids not coming from the toilet. This one must be flushed periodically, or it too will overflow out of the toilet. In one of my other RV’s, I inadvertently left a bathroom sink tap on and flowing down the drain and the first reminder that I had was when I noticed a stream of water flowing over the floor inside the living area heading towards the door. I quickly shut off the water and spent the next 30 minutes mopping up the floor. Luckily, it did not cause any damage but just goes to show that I have to stay alert all of the time. 

We went out for another walk around the campsite and out onto the road. It was cold and blustery, and Miss Sandy was never in any hurry, so it was not really a comfortable walk. Mikey and I, being the troopers that we are, bravely struggled on going wherever she decided she wanted to go. We always use the afternoon walks to check the mailbox just in case I have mail. This time, I had a Christmas Card from one of the Allies team wishing me a Merry Christmas. That was very nice of her. Thanks Wendy. 

Back in the RV, we had not been invited out to dinner anywhere else which is just as well as I always eat way too much eat and a lot more than I normally do at these gatherings. I settled down with a small bottle of wine indoors watching the English Premier League on TV as it was way too cold and blustery to sit outside. I found something to satisfy the hunger for the evening meal as eventually, it was supper time for us all and then more TV before heading off to bed a bit earlier than usual at 9:00 pm. So, I was tired, so what… 

Written 11/29/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

All of “the girls”.

It was rather a strange night, and I awoke a couple of times using the opportunity to answer the call of nature. I have no idea why I was so restless. Of course, all this meant that I did not wake up or get up until around 9:00 am. It does not really matter as I have nothing planned for today except to go grocery shopping, maybe. 

We harnessed up for the first walk of the day and brought out the bird feeders before setting off around the park for a half mile. It was a bit chilly out but nice in the sun. Back in the RV, I fed us all our breakfast including that all important coffee for me. The dogs do not drink coffee, thank goodness. They are hyper enough without any stimulation. It is just us old guys that need perking up every morning. 

I worked on the blog and brought it up to date before looking around for other things to do. With nothing in mind, I was just sitting around when Daniel showed up at my door. He had his tools with him and had come over to finish re-connecting the electricity for the heaters. The original part needed replacement and we had been heating the RV with propane. If you recall in earlier blogs, I had mentioned running out of propane in the middle of the night and having to hunker down under the covers to stay warm until the morning when I could take care of things. At least, unless we get a power outage, that will not happen in the future. 

I helped as much as I could but really had no clue as to what Daniel was doing. I handed him tools or held this or that and eventually, he had it fixed, and the water heaters were working on electricity. Hopefully, they will not go out again in the middle of the night. 

He asked me to ride with him as he went about the business of installing the internet to the office which I was glad to do although, as I previously mentioned, my help is limited, and I think he just wanted company. We eventually got the work done and he dropped me off at The Caboose where I at once harnessed up the dogs for their walkabout. 

We wandered around and then walked up Henly Loop towards Hwy 290 and managed to cover 1.8 miles for the day. On the way back, I stopped at Daniels RV for a couple of beers and some scintillating conversation, He offered me another, but I declined and made the way back to The Caboose for the rest of the evening. 

Written 11/28/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com

It was another of those nights when the propane tank runs out in the middle of the night. I had to get up to use the john and noticed just how cold it was. I tried to ignore it by crawling back under the covers but when both dogs were pushing more and more against me for my heat, I knew I had to be brave and crawl out of bed. 

I dug out my tracksuit and hastily put it on before going outside to switch the gas tanks. I try to make sure that one tank is full while the other is in use for just such occasions. It was a simple matter to switch tanks and I planned on replacing the empty tank in the morning when I was better dressed to do the work and wider awake… 

We crawled back into bed after making sure the heater was working and then never awoke until 9:00 am and as usual, went out walking. It was cold and blustery, a true winters day here in my part of Texas. The sun was shining but did not have much heat. We appear to be heading for a hard winter if any of these early guidelines are anything to go by. 

We wandered around and covered a mile before walking back to The Caboose and glad to be back indoors, I might add. Before actually heading in, I changed out the gas bottle with the full one that I keep for such occasions and put the empty one out for refill. 

Back indoors, I fixed myself the usual Burrito and coffee and fed the dogs. Sandy ate hers and Mikey did the usual Mikey thing of saving it for later. Then, it was time to work on the blog as I desperately tried to remember what happened in the past 24 hours. 

I noticed the birds cluster together on the two feeders that are attached to the deck and watched in dismay as they nonchalantly flicked seeds all over the place. For every seed they ate, probably ten landed on the deck and ground or at least that is how it seemed. Of course, they may have been empty seed shells for all I know. Incidentally, the latest visitors are Sparrows and a large flock of as many as twenty of them at a time. Altogether, I have nine feeders out and another pole that is for Hummingbirds which of course, have flown to warmer climes. 

I caught up with the blog and looked around for other things to do. I thought about throwing in a load of laundry but that was as far as it got, thinking about it. To be truthful, I did a lot of sitting around with my eyes closed but not really dozing. Being exceptionally lazy yes but not dozing. 

We went out for another walk, and I noticed that the light was already fading. I still can’t get used to it getting dark around 5:30 pm. Back inside, I fed the dogs and then myself and we sat and watched a couple of English Premier League games before going to bed around 9:00 pm. For whatever reason, I was more than ready to go to sleep. It is not like I had a hard or busy day… 

Written 11/27/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

I must have been really tired as apart from the call of Nature, I never even awoke until 9:00 am. It was a dull and cloudy day and looked cold outside which was borne out by the few people who were walking their dogs and were well wrapped up. 

After the usual morning ablutions which this time included that shower that I could not take yesterday because I forgot to turn on the hot water. I dressed in my usual shorts and tee shirt except this time, the tee shirt had long sleeves and the clothes were all clean and we went out walking. 

It was very brisk out and the wind blew cold, but we wandered around moving just enough to stay warm. Sandy is a terrible walker as there are so many smells that she just must explore. Mikey is never sure whether to run ahead, only get yanked back by her ladyship literally digging in her heels (do dogs have heels) bringing us all to a stop. She must be the nosiest dog in the world. 

Back in the RV, I fixed the usual breakfast only for both dogs to ignore their bowls. Sandy has been doing well eating wise, so I need to keep an eye on her. I made a bacon sandwich for myself, and it went down OK. Sandy very carefully separated the bacon from the bread on the small pieces I gave her and ate the bacon as did Mikey. 

It was kind off a strange day. First, the weather could not make up its mind of what it wanted to do. It was cloudy and raining intermittently but not really a rainy day. It was pretty cold out with the temperature having dropped considerably. Still, it made no difference to us as we had no outdoor plans except for the usual walkies. 

We kinda lazed around for most of the afternoon. I tried to take a nap but that did not work eventually. I harnessed up the dogs and this time, with an umbrella to keep off the rain, we went out walking. We managed to cover 1-3 miles, which was not bad considering the weather. Returning to The Caboose, we did a whole lot of nothing as we tried really hard to take that nap to no avail. Obviously, it was not napping time. 

The afternoon slipped by as it always does regardless of the state of the world or whatever I was thinking or not doing and eventually, it was time to start thinking of the evening meal. Prior to that, I had found a show on my computer and was mesmerized by a program named 2 Cellos. I probably spent more than a couple of hours listening to these guys. What an incredible performance by them. In the end, I had to turn it off to get back to normality. Just Amazing. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual fashion. 

Written 11/25/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

An Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, TX. Sunday 11/26/2023

When I awoke and looked at the clock, it said that it was exactly 9:00 am. I lay there for a bit before crawling out to face the day in my very busy life. After the usual morning ablutions, I put on my jacket and cap and started it off as I usually do unless I forget, that is, by bringing out the feeders. Incidentally, forgetting to bring out the feeders is better than forgetting to bring them in as that means the deer empty them overnight. 

This time, not only did I have to rehang the feeders but the four big ones, two in the tree and two off the deck, also needed filling. Incidentally, birds are very wasteful things as they throw seeds everywhere and I mean everywhere. After filling the feeders, I got my battery-operated blower out and blew off the deck and the rest of the site to clear some of the seeds. Then we went walking this time around the park and covered a half mile. It was cold and blustery, and we were glad to get back into the RV. 

I fixed the dogs their breakfast and looked in the refrigerator for a long time trying to make what I was looking at more palatable but with no luck, I might add. In the end, I settled for a Burrito… again. Maybe tomorrow, I will fry an egg with hash browns, or not or just do without breakfast and rely on the coffee to keep me alive. 

Following breakfast, I wrote in the blog and brought us up to date posting yesterday while I was at it. Then I looked around for other things to get up to. I had a few household chores to take care of which took no time at all. I had already read the world news which was just as depressing as it was yesterday. 

I sat on the couch for a bit and felt myself dozing off which was enough to go out walking again. It was cold and blustery and no real pleasure in being outside for long. We went back indoors and just sat around very happy to be warm. Later on, I harnessed the dogs up and we went out for the final walk of the day. It was getting dusk as we wandered around. I noticed that Daniel and Malinda were over at Jeff and Kerri’s RV, and we wandered in their direction. 

The four of them were sitting around a firepit but it was still cold out. I was invited to join them, which we did, and the dogs got their usual petting from the group. We sat for a while chatting and then someone said they just saw three deer in the park. I at once handed the dogs to Daniel and then made my way back to my RV to bring in the bird feeders before heading back to the group. 

We chatted for probably another 30 minutes and Daniel said he was hungry and both he and Malinda drove back to his RV on his 4X4. Me and the dogs walked back to The Caboose and settled in for the evening. This included food all around which the dogs both ate. I scraped together something unappetizing but ate it anyway. The best part of my meal was the tiny carton of ice cream that I usually end my main meal with mostly as a reward to myself for eating at all. Oh yes, the dogs get some ice cream too. 

That is why, when we have our get together and it involves food, I make sure that my plate is not overloaded.  I look at my friends and without exception, every one of them has a huge plate which they eagerly consume, and I struggle along with the small amount that I have in front of me. It has nothing to do with the food as it is all delicious, it’s me. I used to be a big eater but that was when I was a working man and had an appetite for food. 

We sat and watched the English Premier League and watched as Brighton just squeaked by. Then it was bedtime as me and my two little dogs successfully ended another day. 

Written 11/26/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com

I awoke at 7:00 am and seriously thought about getting up. I quickly put that idea out of my head and rolled over and cuddled the dogs, trying to go back to sleep. I sort of dozed off, very content to be snuggled up with my two little buddies. They loved every minute of it as did I. 

We eventually rolled out of bed around 8:00 am which is when I noticed how cold it was inside the RV leading to the conclusion that the gas bottle had run out again. First thing I did when I got up was to throw on my track suit and wander off outside to change out the bottle. I removed the empty one and then replaced it with the spare that I always try to keep handy and put the empty one out for refill the next time that Daniel or Jeff performs that task. 

By the time I got back inside, the heaters had already kicked on and the place was warming up. I had already raised all of the blinds and the sun was also helping to warm us. By now, I had my clothes on and the hot shower that I had promised myself will have to wait until tomorrow. 

I put out the bird feeders as I usually do and then, with my small bag of trash, made our way to the dumpster. This is pretty much the same routine we do first thing every morning. There is always trash of some sort, usually the wrappings of whatever was important at the time. Occasionally, if we have a roasted chicken, there are chicken bones, and I have to be careful that the dogs do not get into them. Chicken bones splinter and are not good for any animal to eat. Mikey likes to investigate the trash which is why I am so careful. 

We wandered around going wherever her ladyship wanted to go and managed to cover 7/10’s of a mile, a good start for the day. Several people were walking their pets, and it was interesting to see if they kept coming towards us or veered off to avoid a confrontation. We were doing the same for the same reason, not knowing which dogs were friendly. 

Back in the RV, I fixed the dogs breakfast which Sandy ate, and Mikey ignored. He seems to be a one meal a day dog as opposed to Sandy who will eat as much and as often as there is food available. We have been doing pretty good on feeding her the pill she has every morning and evening. 

I settled down with my own breakfast and then remembered that I was out of milk for the coffee so had to drink it black. It went down OK enough to wake me up and ready to go although I have no idea what we will “go” at. I had a few odds and end that I worked on but nothing major. 

It was a quiet day around the campsite with not a lot going on, so I decided to go into town to get a few things at the grocery store. Mainly, I was out of milk for the morning coffee, but I knew other things would find their way into my basket. They always do. 

I walked through the entire HEB store to get in the steps and every now and then, something caught my eye, and it ended up in my cart. I read somewhere that the worst kind of shopping is to not have a list and to do it haphazardly. I put that to the test this time around and managed to spend $155.00 and that with only a small case of beer for Daniel. I got out of there and decided that a Latte would go down just fine and stopped at Starbucks and ordered a small one. 

I don’t know if it is me and it probably is, but Starbucks Lattes just do not taste the same anymore. There is not much coffee flavor to them. I think my Starbucks coffee days are ending along with so many other things. Big sigh… 

I drove back to Henly and, with the help of the dogs, managed to unload the groceries. They try hard but are not very successful helpers, but it is fun working with them, sort of. I put the groceries away and then went out and brought in the bird feeders. At least I did not forget them tonight. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way, only this time, I watched extra episodes of Yellowstone. 

Written 11/24/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING to one and all. 

I awoke after a good night’s sleep interrupted only by the call of Nature which seems to be louder, longer and more frequent as I get older. It was a bright and cheerful day as I rolled out of bed. Even Miss Sandy jumped off the bed early as she too was ready to go walkies. Mikey, not so much but he sure as heck was not going to let Sandy have me all to herself. 

We went out and just wandered wherever Sandy’s nose would take us and managed to cover almost a mile. Very good for us for the first walk. Incidentally, it was pretty cold, and I was glad of my heavy jacket. I have one more that is even heavier and has a hood, but I have not had to get that one out yet. Save that for when it gets really cold, usually around February. 

I refilled the feeders that I had inadvertently left out last evening although I can’t remember why that was. I was not busy or away and should have remembered to bring them in. I guess that just about sums it up, I did not remember. 

On the walk, I came across another camper that, along with his own dog, had a couple of young puppies with him. We got talking and he said that he had found the dogs who, by the way, were very friendly and that someone had dumped them. He was not sure what he was going to do with them as he did not have enough room in his self-built RV. There was nothing I could do to help him, so we continued on our way, 

Back in the RV, I suddenly realized that except for Jeff and Terri, I was the only one left here at the campsite of our little group. Daniel and Malinda, the Girls and Delores were all away. I’m not sure about Gary, if he was here or not and I knew that Jeff and Terri were here as they had given me an invitation to come over later this afternoon. 

Emails were flying around with everyone sending everyone else Happy Thanksgiving wishes and getting them back in return. It is nice, the feeling of friendship and camaraderie that we have developed. 

I sat and wrote in the blog and brought it up to date. The day had turned into one of the somber gray sorts and it had really cooled off. It was nice and warm inside of the RV as I sat and wrote. 

I got a reminder from Jeff about the gathering at the Commons and quickly took the dogs out for a short walkabout. Then I walked over to The Commons where Jeff and Terri were along with their daughter Cheryl, her boyfriend, Robert and another friend. They had already finished their food, so I guess I was late. I apologized all round and tucked into the plateful of food they had given me and finished it off with dessert of Pumpkin Pie.  

We sat and chatted about a whole bunch of different things and then Jeff noticed a woman chasing her dog that was not on the leash. I said a quick goodbye to the group and went back to The Caboose, harnessed up the dogs and went out to search for the missing dog with no luck, I might add. Hopefully, the owner had managed to catch it. 

We walked back to The Caboose and performed a couple of outside tasks before going back inside for the rest of the evening. I unloaded the washing machine and put the clothes on the bed letting them air out before folding them tomorrow. 

I was sitting at the table writing and there was a knock on the door. Gary was standing there with a huge tray full of Thanksgiving dinner. I thanked him for his thoughtfulness as he went on his way. 
 
Written 11/23/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

I awoke early, took one look at the clock and rolled over and went back to sleep cuddling Mikey. He likes close proximity, but Sandy is the opposite and does not like to touch or be touched as in a cuddle. Just as well as two cuddling dogs would probably be enough to cook me to medium rare… 

We eventually crawled out and went out for that first and the most important walk of the day with me to clear the cobwebs and the dogs to relieve themselves. We wandered around the park and got to see the House/Office that they had just brought over from Sunset. I have no idea what they plan on doing with it. 

It was still a little brisk out and the wind was pretty strong but as the day wore on, it warmed up and the wind dropped. Back inside The Caboose, I fixed breakfast for us all and then settled down in front of the computer to play catchup with the blog.  

I had trouble with one of my new hearing aids as it was not working. I took them out and replaced them back in the charger, Then I put in the older aides that I have, thinking that I would need to get an appointment with the hearing aid specialist to get the new ones repaired.  

I did other things and I happened to notice that the light on the charger that had come on with the one that was not working was now out, so I tried them on, and they both worked again. Great as it saved me a trip into town. I put the “old” ones away to use as backup as needed. 

I had nothing scheduled for the rest of the day and looked around for other things to do. I thought about doing laundry but decided against it for no reason other than laziness which is pretty pathetic when you think about it as all I had to do was turn it on. Oh well. 

Finally, it was time to go out walking again and we wandered around as we usually do with no particular direction in mind and eventually hit the 2.00-mile mark. 

With everyone gone except for Jeff and Terri, I spent a quiet evening at home watching some series or another on TV. Incidentally, when I awoke the following morning, I noticed that I had not brought in the feeders last evening and the deer had a field day or should that read, field night? 

Written 11/21/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

Seen on one of my walk’s arounds the park.

I got up early but only because the gas had run out in the night and the RV was freezing cold. I put on my tracksuit and braved the cold outside to change the tank. It was a very simple process of literally closing a valve and switching from one tank to the second one and opening the valve on that one. Daniel had told me a while ago not to open the valve very far as it wastes gas.

Later, when I was both fully dressed and wide awake, I changed the empty bottle with the always full back up that I have standing by and put the empty one out by the front of the rig for Daniel to fill when he has others, and it makes it worth his time. Not that he would not fill a single bottle if needed but it is so much more convenient for him to fill several gas bottles at the same time. 

I sometimes help him if he has a lot of bottles to fill but my help is limited to unloading the empties from his four-wheeler and then loading them back up when he has gassed them up. Then we drive around the park and I help to put the bottles by their rigs. Incidentally, Daniel must be licensed to perform this task as he is handling highly flammable material. 

We went out for that first walk of the day although there was quite a change in the weather. The temperature had dropped to the mid-fifties, and I was glad of my jacket. Both dogs were very lively with the brisk weather and obviously it agreed with them. However, my hip was hurting, and we only walked a half mile. I could almost read their thoughts that they disliked having to go home and wanted to stay out longer. 

I fixed breakfast which helped to compensate for the shortened walk as least as far as Sandy was concerned.  Mikey, as usual, turned his nose up at the food. Then it was time to sit and write, trying with much difficulty I might add, to remember what happened yesterday. 

We live such a quiet life that it is hard to remember what we did the day before unless it was something dramatic or earth shattering. Otherwise, one day is very much the same as the last and probably the next. 

I sat on the couch with the dogs just thinking about nothing in particular and generally relaxing. This is not hard to do as I lead a very stress-free existence and the only time, I get worried is when I am wondering where my next beer will come from. I’m just kidding of course and although my beer consumption has gone up dramatically since living at this park, three is usually my limit which spread over 1-2 hours is really not a lot. Besides, the beer drinking is normally associated with food at the same time. On the plus side, my weight is still the same at 158 lbs. although most of the muscle has turned into flab. 

We sat there for a while just enjoying the peace and quiet before it was time to harness up and go out walking again. This time, I was in better shape as the pills kicked in to help the pain in my hip and we managed to cover 1.8 miles for the day. Incidentally, the weather never got much above 50 degrees all day and was very windy which added to the coolness. 

Back in the RV, I received a message from Daniel to come over to the Commons and eat another of Malinda’s wonderful meals. I had to turn down a second helping as the first filled me up. This time, she cooked Bow Tie Festival with chicken and shrimp.  

We sat enjoying the food until most of the visitors left and among the last to leave was James, the Park Owner, who had joined us. This time, he did not have his wife and kids with him and the one that stole my hat for the evening before, was not there. 

With everyone gone, Daniel and Malinda, Jeff and Terri and me, stayed behind talking for quite a while just really chatting about nothing in particular until, eventually, we shut up shop or rather closed the Commons doors on the end of another fun day. 

Written 11/21/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

These deer just stood there watching as we passed by on the other side of the road.

I awoke early and seriously thought about getting up but the more I thought about it, the less appealing the idea was. Besides, I got nothing to be up early for except maybe some scintillating conversation over at the Commons with the early morning risers and an early cup of coffee. 

I rolled over and snuggled under the covers along with Mikey and Sandy and we stayed in bed another half hour before rolling out to face the day. The weather was having a hard time trying to decide whether to be sunny or cloudy but so far, it had not started to rain, and we went out for that first walk. 

My hip was hurting so we only got to walk a half mile on our walk. Mikey did not mind too much but I could tell that Sandy would have liked to have walked more. As I usually do, I found something unappetizing for breakfast and ate it along with the coffee. Food for me is getting more and more of a problem as I age. No wonder I have not gained any weight and am still at 160 lbs. although most of the muscle on my body has turned to fat. So far, I still have muscles in both my arms and legs but my body, not so much… 

With the blog all caught up and the dogs and me, fed, I thought about what else I could or should do. I sat looking out of the window at the bird feeders and wondered where all the birds had gone as they are now very infrequent visitors. On the plus side, that means less work for me, but it also means there is nothing much to look at outside. It was like someone pulled a switch and the birds all left. 

I noticed that the four “permanent” feeders, two on the deck and two in the tree were low on seed so with the help of the dogs, I refilled and rehung them. All four are big units and hold quite a bit of seed in each one. The two mounted in the tree are occupied most of the time but the two hanging off the deck and right by the door are not frequented as much probably because of the close proximity to the glass door. 

With the outside chores all taken care of, we moved back indoors and found things to do in there, like making the bed and other interesting things. I even sat on the couch for a while with both dogs to accompany me and dozed off for a bit. 

Then it was time to go out walking again before going back inside for the evening meal and watch television. 

Written 11/20/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

This is where I sit at night watching the big screen TV. Note the fireplace which actually does throw off some heat.

I went to bed early last evening around 9:30 pm feeling tired. It was probably the beer but whatever, I was asleep in no time flat. Other than the usual call of Nature, I slept until I got up around 8:00 am. It was a cloudy day and threatened rain. As it was also foggy, this created an air of dampness, and my jacket was quickly soaked. Still, we managed to cover a half mile which was pretty good as I was hurting. My left hip was sore, and my right knee was also playing up probably because I was favoring it. To think, I used to run and kick the ball with no trouble and now it hurts just to walk. I hate growing old, but the alternative is even worse, and I am not ready for that yet. Not that I will have much say in the matter when that time comes.  

Back in the RV, I fixed the dog’s breakfast and Miss Sandy was a good girl and ate hers. She likes to have her food on the bed, so I oblige her as much as possible just to get her to eat it and by design, take her medicine. Mikey, as usual, did not eat his food but if he follows form, will eat it later if I keep it out of Sandy’s way. Luckily, even if she sniffs it out on one of the chairs, she is not that good a jumper to actually get in the chair. 

My own breakfast was another Burrito which was just OK. The coffee was good. I continued writing in the blog bringing us up to date. It was a quiet day with very little going on. I had a couple of chores which are not unusual as there is always something that needs taking care of. After all, even in an RV, you are still basically camping with just a bit more luxury and convenience. 

The day slowly passed, and I got a call from The Girls inviting me over for a beer or in their case, a White Claw as they had run out of beer. White Claw is a hard seltzer with 5% alcohol content so about the same as beer. I gladly accepted one and we sat down to enjoy an evening with friends as both Kerry and Jeff were also there. An hour or so later, I walked back to the RV and brought in the bird feeders for the evening.  

I fixed us some food and we settled down to both eat and enjoy the rest of the evening watching Steven Kings, “The Stand”. What a great writer, he is and so good with the scary stuff. 

Written 11/18/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com

An Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, TX. Sunday 11/19/2023

A cobweb covered in dew that we saw on one of our walks.

I awoke at a reasonable hour, but it was so comfortable just lying there snuggled up with the dogs that it was at least another 30 minutes before I got out of bed. I took a shower having made sure to turn on the gas to the hot water heater when I first awoke, and it was great to stand there and just soak it up. 

I finished drying off and dressing putting the “dirty” clothes in the washing machine although I had no plans to start it today as it was not yet full. Then, as usual, it was time for “walkies”, and we just wandered around. It was pretty damp, not actually raining but a lot of moisture in the air. We only walked about a half mile and quickly got back in The Caboose. 

I fixed coffee and toast for me, and the dogs got their usual offering which Sandy ate and Mikey ignored. Then we settled down, the dogs to sleep in their favorite places and me in front of the computer. Incidentally, I combined two tasks, one with breakfast and then writing and the other with cooking chicken for mine and the dogs’ meals this week. 

Somehow, when I was in HEB, at the checkout counter where, as I always do is stand there waiting to pay after the clerks do their thing, there was a mix up and I ended up with two batches of chicken and a packet of Salmon steaks. I never noticed them until I got home because after paying the bill, generally all I do is wait as the clerk puts my groceries in plastic bags and into my cart.  

I had paid without knowing what I paid for except what I thought I had bought. The lady in front of me probably got home wondering where her stuff was and checking her bill to see if she had been charged. 

It came on to rain a light drizzle but enough to soak everything and I was very happy to be indoors and out of the weather. Incidentally, I did not bother to bring out the bird feeders today as even without the small ones, there are four big ones that are hanging outside all the time and high enough to be out of the deer’s reach. 

Later that day, Malinda and Daniel were hosting a party in the Commons to celebrate Thanksgiving. They supplied the meat and the rest cooked or, in my case bought the beer. I got to meet a couple of new people and James, the Campsite Owner and his wife Sarah were there along with their three young kids. One of the boys found my hat that I had taken off and hooked over the fireplace and paraded around in it for the longest time. I wondered if he would give it back but as the party broke up, he came over and handed it back to me. I thanked him and later on, thought about his honesty and that I probably should have let him keep it. 

I walked the 50 yards back to the Caboose after a very fun evening with some very nice people and thought how lucky I am to have found this place. 

Written 11/18/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

I got up early as I had a 10:00 am appointment at Firestone located at Nutty Brown which is almost into Austin. We went out walking and as I usually do, I brought out the bird feeders. Then it was time to get ready to take the Jeep to Firestone for an oil change. I chose Firestone as I had one of their credit cards and wanted to give it some use. I had almost an hour wait for both the appointment time itself and the time it took to work on the car.  

When it was time to pay, the Firestone credit card would not work, and I had to use one of my other ones. Now I need to find out what is wrong with the credit card. If it only gets used for servicing the Jeep, it will only get used once a year, if that.  

That is the problem with modern finance, unless you are filthy rich and can afford to pay cash for everything, you must have good credit and the only way to get it is to use credit cards and such. What I like to do is to use the card to make the actual purchase and then pay it off so as not to pay interest. And of course, they are convenient as I do not have to carry a lot of cash around with me. 

Incidentally, I Supervised the building of several Firestone stores in my younger working days in New York State. Ah, those were the days… 

I drove to my Vet’s Office to pay for the very expensive pills that Sandy has to take for her heart murmur. A month’s treatment costs $103.00 and as I have mentioned in earlier blogs, it is an ongoing battle trying to figure ways to mix them with her food and eat them. Mikey has no trouble stealing her food and her medication and I have to keep an eye on him. It must all taste the same. 

I thought about it and decided to drive to where the deer had collided with the Jeep, parked it and walked that area in the hope of finding the missing number plate without any luck I might add. From there, I headed home after considering if there was anything I needed in this proximity. There was that new HEB just up the road, but I could not think of anything. 

I took a slow drive back to Henly to be met by my buddies. We harnessed up and wandered around the park where both Daniel and Jeff were hard at mowing the place. We have had quite a bit of overnight rain, enough to get the grass looking green and growing again. 

I sat and wrote in the blog and brought us up to date. I have nothing planned for the rest of the day. It turned out to be a “sitting around and not doing much” sort of a day which is OK. Later on, I wandered over to Daniels and shot the breeze while drinking a couple of beers. He offered me another, but I declined mostly because I did not want to impose on their time together and goodness only knows, they are both such nice people that they get a lot of visitors. I walked back to The Caboose where we shut up shop to the outside world which included bringing in the bird feeders, 

Written 11/16/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

An Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, TX. Friday 11/17/2023

I went to bed about 9:30 pm last evening and then managed to wake up around 8:00 am. A very good night’s sleep indeed. Feeling quite refreshed, I got up ready to face the world. After showering and a change of clothes, read that as a clean pair of shorts and tee shirt, we harnessed up and wandered around the park. There was a lot of sniffing and not much walking but that is OK. It is their time, and they are not in it for the mileage, just the smells. Sometimes, they even do their business as they are supposed to, and it is a good day when they both “go”. 

We ran into Olive, the little bull terrier. Olive is the stick carrier and the funniest little dog when she is out walking. Greg, her owner, enjoys her immensely, which he shows when they are together. He is very patient with her as sometimes; she will roll over on her back and refuses to move. 

We both moved on and we ended up back at The Caboose where I got out the bird feeders. Many birds have migrated to warmer climes and the feeders are nowhere near as busy. Same is true with the deer as it is the Rutting season, and they are not as visible during the day. They still visit at night which is why I bring in the feeders. 

I fixed breakfast for the dogs. I have learned that Sandy must be desperately hungry to eat the doggie meat roll but will eat chicken and other meat if it not mixed with the Doggie Roll.  I tried that and it did not work. 

Mikey, on the other hand is a funny eater and it has nothing to do with the food offered to him. Many times, in the morning, he just will not eat at all, and the bowl sits all day before he gets around to eating it. I just must keep his bowl out of Sandy’s reach, or she will eventually clean it up.  She does like her food, and she has a fat little rump that shows it… 

I heated up a Burrito for myself and along with the all-important coffee, was ready to face the day. Luckily, I do not have a fat little rump or in my case, big rump. Again, we have nothing planned although I do have to make a trip into town to HEB and buy the beer for this coming Sunday’s Party. Again, my contribution due to my lack of cooking skills. 

I turned my attention to the blog and played catch-up with the latest episode in the life of an old man and his two little dogs. In truth, you could probably turn back a month or even two and what you read then is not much different than yesterday, such is the dull and boring life that I lead. Or maybe, that should read quiet and reserved life. It is pretty sad when the high point of a day is a trip to the grocery store. Could be worse though as sometimes the high point is a trip to the dentist. 

I decided to make that journey into town and get a few things at HEB which included the beer for Sunday which is my offering to the group. I found a few other things that I thought I needed. Time will tell if I really do or not. 

I found things to do and finally ended up sitting outside with a small bottle of wine after walking the dogs one more time. Daniel hollered at me to come over and I put the dogs back indoors and wandered over to his RV. I had a beer in my hands in 10 seconds flat and sat to enjoy the evening. Jeff and Terri were already there and very shortly, Peggy and BJ aka The Girls, also showed up. We sat and chatted and listened to some music with BJ and Malinda knowing all the words and singing along. The rest of us either kept our mouths tightly shut as we listened or in the case of Terry and Peggy, also joined in the singing. Even Daniel joined in on the songs that he knew the words. Me, I was the only non-singer in the group. 

It was a fun evening and then Peggy brought out the hard stuff. Having tried that once before, I gracefully declined but all of the others each got a tiny bottle of the stuff. I ended up drinking three beers and did not feel like I was inebriated or anything but when it was time to go, Malinda insisted on walking me back to The Caboose. She even brought in the bird feeders for me to put away, which I did after she had left. Such a helpful lady. 

With everything put in their overnight locations, I shut up shop for the evening and went about finding something to eat for my evening meal. I had already fed the dogs as they always come before me. As usual, I watched television and as I had already had three bottles of beer decided against the wine for the evening. 

So ended another fun evening with my crazy friends. 

Written 11/17/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com

I got up early and took a shower as I had remembered to turn on the hot water heater. Then I got dressed quickly and got the dogs outside, I stuck my head out of the door and Daniel stepped out of the Breakroom and hollered at me to come over for breakfast. I hollered back that I needed to walk the dogs and would be over shortly which is what I did. 

There were a lot of people in the breakroom including the owner’s wife, Sarah, all sitting around enjoying the goodies and drinking coffee. I sat and chatted but for some reason, my hearing aids were not helping much even after I adjusted them. The problem was that the sound was reverberating around the large room and I could not get them focused. 

I gave up and walked back to the RV to be greeted by my dogs as though I had been away half a lifetime. Sure is nice to have someone that loves you but does not tell you what to do or how to spend your money. 

I worked on the blog and caught us up to date and looked around for other things to do. I decided that I should go into town and do some grocery shopping plus a trip to the Home Depot for a couple of items. I wandered around both stores and found everything I had on my list including my contribution of beer for the group. 

I stopped at Starbucks, and this was the first time in a while as I have not been drinking much coffee lately and then drove back to Henly. I had toyed with the idea of getting a haircut but decided against it for another day. Back at the RV, I put the groceries away helped by you know who. 

We sat around and I wrote in the blog and then we went out for a short walk as it was starting to get dark. I can’t get used to this time change thingy and it gets dark around 5:00 pm. No wonder I have started to go to bed early. Not getting up any earlier though. 

We went out walking one more time and this time, found ourselves over at Malinda and Daniels RV where we sat and drank a couple of beers before heading back to The Caboose.  

Then it was dinnertime for the three of us except we did not eat the same food as I did not fancy eating canned dog food. The rest of the evening was spent watching a couple of soccer games before heading off to bed at around 9:30 pm. Totally unheard of. 

Written 11/13/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

An Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, TX. Tuesday 11/14/2023

I got up at a reasonable hour because I wanted to get a haircut and an oil change for the car. I wasn’t sure what sort of luck getting a reservation for either of them would be or if it is anything like my last few attempts have been, it was going to be a rough ride. Maybe I should get an oil change for me and a haircut for the car to see if that works better. 

I got on the phone and found the number for Great Clips here in Dripping Springs and as usual, there was an hour and a half wait for the next opening. I took the slot as there was nothing else, I could do and then tried to find a place to get an Oil change for the Jeep. I did not have any luck on this one either as their list was a mile long and I had to synchronize it with the haircut.  

I was still nowhere close to the haircut as the numbers took forever to count downwards, so I drove to the closest Firestone Store at Nutty Brown and managed to secure a date for Thursday at 10:00 am. Then it was back into Dripping Springs as it was getting closer to the haircut time. 

Eventually, I sat down in the chair and this pretty young thing started working on my hair. In 10 minutes, she was finished, and I paid her and walked out of there. At least, I got something done hair wise and the pretty young thing was refreshing…Did I mention that she had a low-cut blouse on and was very well endowed? 

I drove back to the campgrounds and took the dogs out walking just around the park before adjourning back inside of the RV to write the blog. With that up to date I worked on the computer as I was having problems getting it to boot up into a certain program. I eventually got it worked out after a couple of hours of trying and we went out for the final walk of the day. We managed to walk 2.9 miles, which was pretty good. 

When we got back, we sat outside listening to an Audiobook and drinking wine until it got too dark and then I brought in the bird feeders and shut up shop for the day. 

Written 11/15/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

It was a cloudy, dull and miserable day although it did not rain while we were out walking but it was quite nippy, and I was glad of the jacket I had on. We wandered around and saw a couple of other brave souls walking their dogs.  As every dog owner knows, dogs have got to be walked both for exercise and to do their business. 

I was almost back at the RV and saw Peggy climbing the steps. I gave her a shout and then caught up with her only to discover that she had walked over with breakfast for me. The girls are such sweet ladies and so very thoughtful. 

I adjourned back indoors and figured that unless something serious comes up, that is where I will spend most of the day. I can usually find plenty to do and if not, can always take a nap. That pleases the dogs to no end. 

I ate the breakfast and made coffee after I fed the dogs. They always come first if there is anything that involves them, which of course, includes food. I rewarmed the pancakes that Peggy had brought over and ate them. The dogs got little tasters which they enjoyed immensely. 

With breakfast out of the way, I seriously thought about going into town as I needed a couple of things. As the weather was not the greatest, I decided to put that off until tomorrow. Besides, it was Sunday, and I was out of the small bottles of wine although I knew that I could buy them if I had wanted to drive in. I was just looking for a reason not to move out of my warm house. 

I caught up with the blog and then messed around with both computers trying to get the new one to import pictures so I could work on them but to no avail. What makes it worse is that the old one will not import anymore either. I guess, I have really messed them up. 

I finally gave up on the computers and sat on the couch, which was my first mistake. With a dog on either side and feeling warm and cuddly, in no time flat I had dropped off to sleep. We snoozed for about 30 minutes and when we awoke, we went out for that final walk of the day. 

Back in the RV, it was food time which I took care of although I was not that hungry. The ice cream tasted good though. 

Then it was time for the usual evening’s entertainment of watching the English Premier League. I watched Brighton although Solly will not be playing until next year due to his injuries. Incidentally, with it getting darker earlier, I adjourn indoors much sooner than I normally did and so everything is moved forward. Consequently, I went to bed around 9:15 pm which a month ago was unheard of. 

Written 11/13/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

I awoke without knowing what time it was after yesterday’s fiasco of losing my phone as I had left it charging in the other room. At least this time, I knew where it was. I had to get up for the call of Nature and checked on the time while I was at it and saw that it was about 8:15 am. I decided that I should get up even though we have nothing planned for the day. 

I put some clothes on after the usual shave and shampoo and harnessed up the dogs for their first walk about and ran into Daniel who was working on the girls RV. I stopped to chat, and he said that it was time for coffee in the Breakroom. I put the dogs away in the RV and wandered over for that coffee. Delores was already there, and we spent time chatting to her before we got a message from Peggy to go over for breakfast. 

We did not need a second invitation and we both made our way to their RV and then for the next 30 minutes or so sat chatting and eating breakfast tacos and drinking more coffee. Delores had other business, or she would have been with us. Eventually, Daniel left to go about his business, and I sat and chatted to the girls for at least another half hour before heading back to the RV. 

I glanced out of the window and saw Kerry walking up the road and went out to say hello to her as she and Chris had just pulled back in after taking a trip up North. They are only staying a couple of weeks and then plan on taking off again. 
 
It had come on to a light rain as I headed back to the RV where I made a fuss of the dogs and then settled down to catch up with the blog which was easy as nothing much had happened. I suppose that waking up is an event, but I am not sure if it is worth reporting. After all, if I was not awake, I could not write. 

We went out walking again which is what we do if I have nothing going on and am bored with being indoors. I take it out on the dogs by making them walk but I don’t think they mind too much. Usually, the high points of any of our walks is (1) the dogs get exercise, (2) the dogs both “poop”, (3) Sandy walks in a straight line, yeah, right (4) Mikey stops tangling me up in the leash and we walk 2 miles????? I try to get 2 miles of exercise a day but in truth, anything over a mile is good. On my own, I could easily walk 2-3 miles, but the dogs really slow me down plus we do not make any speed as it is all sniff and go. 

We finished the walk and shut up shop for the day. Now that it gets dark so much earlier, we are back in the RV usually by 5:30 pm and preparing for the rest of the evening with food, drink, and television. 

Written 11/10/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

An Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, TX. Saturday 11/11/2023

I awoke early while it was still dark outside because I was cold. I fished out another quilt and covered us up as it was way too early to think about getting up especially for me. I knew what the problem was as it has happened before. The gas bottle had run out and so the heater was not working, and the RV was like an ice box. Me and the dogs snuggled under the covers and warmed each other up until I got up and put on my track suit to go outside and switch over the bottles. I always have a spare one filled for just such occasions as there is no way of knowing when a bottle will run out. It is not a big job to change them, and I am still able to manhandle them into position. Incidentally, the gauges that I bought register two things, full and then empty with nothing in between. 

I thought about crawling back under the covers and finding me a warm dog to cuddle while the place warmed up but, in the end, I got up ready to face the day. I had to be up early anyway as I had arranged with Daniel that we would drive into town. 

We went out walking and just wandered around for a bit, enough for the dogs to do their thing. Then it was back to The Caboose to feed them and get ready to go with Daniel. Even before I was ready, he was at my door in Malinda’s truck waiting patiently for me. 

We drove to a place called Don’s OH in Oak Hill where we ordered breakfast. Daniel ordered the Barbacoa Plate and I ordered Huevos Rancheros. As usual, there was more food than I could eat but not enough for a To Go box. Then it was back in the truck to the nearest shopping center where we visited a couple of outdoor type stores. I bought a new cap in one of them as my old one is so sweat stained it looks pretty disgusting. Daniel bought a whole bunch of hunting gear as I guess he is planning a trip. 

We drove back and this time, I got Daniel to drive past my old house so I could show it to him. It was on our way home anyway so no biggie. We took the back way to Dripping Springs and eventually Henly just for a change where we parted company. It was a fun morning, and I was very pleased that Daniel had asked me to go with him. 

Back at The Caboose, I filled the bird feeders and had just enough seed to do it before I ran out. I must put bird seed on my next shopping trip. With the feeders taken care of, I checked the gas bottles and made sure that in my sleepy state I had tightened the valve properly. Then, it was back inside the RV which had now warmed up very nicely to work on the blog. 

It was a dull and gloomy day, the sort that just shouted out loud to not go outside. I had no reason to other than to take care of the gas bottle. 

The rest of the day was spent on chores, walking dogs, TV, and food and drink. 

Written 11/12/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

I looked out of the window and saw that Daniel, Gary and Greg were sitting by the Breakroom but by the time I had finished taking a shower and throwing on some clothes, they were gone. We went out walking anyway after bringing out the bird feeders and managed to cover 1.2 miles on that first walk of the day. 

Both dogs are so busy checking things out and as we usually cover the same trails that other dogs have already walked; we do not make any time. In fact, we are downright slow. Still, it doesn’t matter as usually, we have nowhere to go that demands our attention or that we need to be in a hurry for.

Back inside the RV, I fed both dogs and then myself and made coffee for me. I had a few chores to do which I quickly took care of before turning my attention to the blog. Mikey is a firm believer that he needs to help with the blog writing so consequently, he tries to sit on my lap while I am working which does make it a bit more difficult, Still, he is such a lovable little guy, I can’t resist his needs and sometimes, I type one handed while the other is stroking him. It doesn’t slow my typing down using one hand as I am not a fast typist anyway. 

Sandy, on the other hand, lays on the bed until I bring her food in to her. It is always touch and go to see if she will finish the bowl or will pick out the best parts and leave the rest. As her morning pill is mixed in with the food, it is important that she licks the bowl clean. 

With the food and drink out of the way for the morning, I turned my attention to the blog with the usual struggle in trying to remember things that we did and are worth writing about. 

Most days are pretty much the same unless a trip to the supermarket is included after any household chores that need doing like maybe a load of laundry or making the bed and that sort of thing, I turn my attention to first perusing the mail just in case there is something that I need to look at. Usually, there is nothing for me to worry about and then I turn to the blog. I sit and think really hard about what occurred during yesterday and can usually drag it from the depths of my memories after much thought. 

I wrote for a while and caught up and decided to go into town on a shopping run. I had a list as I have been known to completely forget the most important thing on the list, whatever it may be. 

The first stop was the Home Depot as I needed the sticky pads to place under the corners of the mats to keep them in place. The three mats I have in the main living area are no longer staying even with the sticky pads on the back. It was my fault as after I had the mats in place the first time around, the dogs in their energetic wrestling matches managed to move them and they are no longer stuck or even sticky.

I found what I wanted and then moved on to HEB located almost right next door. This time, I did have a list as I cannot trust my brain to remember what it is I came in for. Most of it was the usual stuff I routinely buy but every now and then, something different will catch my eye and it sneaks into my basket. 

The one constant when I go grocery shopping is to buy beer for the group. As I have said many times before, I can’t cook worth a damn so my contribution is to supply the beer usually in the form of a case of 24, I have very strict instructions on what brand and type I have to buy and if I get it wrong, get severely chastised almost to the point of having to take it back or worse yet, made to drink it can after can until either I am drunk, passed out or both. 

Just kidding as none of the beer is wasted and regardless of the brand, is always consumed. While I was at it, I bought a couple of the small 4 pack of wines plus two large bottles for my own personal consumption. 

My first stop when I reached home was at Daniel and Malinda’s RV to drop off the group beer and was told to come over to drink one. I unloaded the Jeep (what a nice thing to say) and put the groceries away. Then we harnessed up and went out walking the park and by the time we were through, we had covered 2.5 miles for the day. Love walking those supermarkets… 

We finished up drinking a beer or three over at Daniel’s and Malinda’s RV. Delores was there, and we just sat and chatted until it started to get dark and then Delores and I both left together as we both had to go in the same direction, saying “Goodnight” to each other, I went inside and shut up shop for another day. 

The day ended in the usual fashion of food for both me and the dogs and then watching the usual television, 

Written 11/08/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

I have given up worrying about what time I get up in the mornings. Most of the time, it doesn’t matter as I have nothing planned. On the days when I do have something going on, I set an alarm to make sure I wake up early enough, whatever time that may be. Regardless of the time I am out and about, Daniel, who is an early riser and Gary, another one of that particular group, always give me a hard time.  

The way I see it, after a lifetime of waking up early to please “the man”, I am entitled to sleep in now that I can. 

We went out for a walk, and I forgot to bring out the bird feeders before we left and had to do that upon our return. The dogs just watched, not very interested in what I was doing as they had seen it many times before. Besides, it was nothing they could eat or bark at. 

I fixed breakfast all around and coffee for me. It seems the only thing I find enjoyable for breakfast is a Bean Burrito. Nothing else is very appetizing. Another drawback from getting old, I guess. Sandy cleaned up her bowl, but Mikey did not eat his. He does not seem to be a breakfast dog even if breakfast is served around noon time. 

I read the morning news, and it was all about Trump who is not my favorite person. Then I turned my attention to answering, or at least reading, emails. None of them were earth shattering and none required anything from me except to push the delete button. That is the trouble with emails, if you don’t read them, there may be something important mixed in there somewhere.  

It is hard to imagine that somewhere out there is a person or persons whose main job in life is to write annoying and/or useless emails to others to swindle them out of some money. Even the sites that I do contribute to, which, by the way, are all animal or conservation sites, get to be a bit much with some of the things they post. This is the world we live in where one half is trying to convince people they need this, whatever “this” is. 

I liked it best when I was a kid growing up in England and to us, television was a modern marvel, and the only phones were clunky desktop or wall hung models. Cell phones and emails were not yet invented. Heck, most homes did not even have a phone and a TV was a luxury. Those were the good old days when life was so much simpler than it is now. 

As I can’t do anything about the way the world is changing and as I probably only have a couple more years to worry about it, if I am lucky, I won’t. 

I went online to make a reservation to go to my local DPS office to renew my Driver’s License and the soonest I can get in is not for almost 4 months on the 14^th of February. Now, that is Valentines Day, so I hope the office staff show me some love. 
 
Discouraged by the news, I looked for other things to do but could not find anything to cheer me up. So, instead, we went out walking and started going down the hill from the campsite. After a bit Miss Sandy decided that she did not want to go down and instead, reversed direction and took us back up towards the campground. 

We stopped by our friends, Larry and Crystal, who made a fuss of the dogs as they usually do. Sandy got her share and more of the treats and Mikey settled for just one that he ate. 

We continued our walk and headed for the Mailbox just in case we had mail, which we did not as it happened. From there, it was the short walk home back to The Caboose where we sat outside until it was dark, listening to an Audiobook and watching my small world go by. 

Written 11/07/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

I had noticed that the grey tank was getting full as the water was not draining out of the bathroom sink and my first chore of the day was to empty the tanks. It is not that it is an unpleasant job as all I do is open a couple of valves. When the tanks are empty, indicated by nothing flowing out, the valves are closed. This is especially important on the black tank which, for you uninitiated needs to be closed to keep the liquid in the tank because if it drains out, it leaves the solids behind which are difficult to move without connecting a hose pipe to backflush the solids out. By keeping the valve closed and keeping the liquid, the solids break down and flush out with the other liquid. Everything is enclosed and there is no real fear of a flood. A couple of my connections are of clear plastic so I can see what is going on during the flush. 

Incidentally, back when I first started RV’ing and did not know what I was doing, I inadvertently left a faucet running which apart from wasting water, is no big deal in a house. In an RV, there is only limited space to store fluids in any of the tanks and if attention is not paid to the levels, it is possible for the toilet, or shower to overflow through the backed-up drains. The first mistake I realized was to see a steady stream of water flowing through the RV and out of the door. 

I was lucky that time and nothing was damaged, but I have heard horror stories of people having to have new floors installed and other damaged items replaced. 

We harnessed up and went out walking Just wandering around wherever Miss Sandy decided she wanted to go. Me and Mikey, like the obedient servants that we are just meekly following along behind. The only time I interfere is to get her to go in the general direction that we need to go or if a car comes past and such. 

I always keep one eye on the ground close to the dogs when they choose to walk in the grass, just in case. Today, we saw the biggest centipede or maybe it was a millipede as I do not know the difference. I do know that this thing was at least 6 inches long. It was crossing the road and we made sure that it reached the other side safely. I also made sure that the dogs did not get too close with their curiosity. 

Back in the RV, I fixed us breakfast and coffee for me. Then, I caught up with the blog which was a couple of days behind. I had the hardest time recalling things that had happened that long ago. My memory is definitely getting worse, and it will not be long before I will need to carry a notebook and take notes as the day progresses. Maybe a tape recorder would be better. Something to remind me and keep my thoughts in order. 

I worked on the blog posting a couple and organizing the rest, so they were in some sort of order. This took a while before I was satisfied that things were hunky-dory. Now I am extended a week ahead which gives me a little leeway although, if I do not stay caught up, then the chances of recalling anything of interest that may have happened is null and void. 

We sat around while I worked on the blog. I needed to work on the different postings and bring them up to date. It took a while as for some reason, things were out of order, but I eventually got everything straightened out. 

We went out for another walk and ran into Daniel who asked me to walk with him to the Girl’s RV where there was a water leak. It was just a very slow drip but does need to work. I think he just needed company which I was more than happy to supply. 

Finally, I continued with our walk around the park and then adjourned back to The Caboose for the evening meal and to watch whatever I could find on the TV. 

Written 11/06/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com

I awoke totally frustrated with my wasted experience of the day before when I had tried to renew my Driver’s License. Putting it behind me as just another bad experience, I harnessed up the dogs and we went walk about around the park. We got to meet and sometimes greet other dogs depending on doggy attitudes as usually, the dog owners are more than willing to stop and chat. 

I brought out the bird feeders and we adjourned back inside for breakfast and, that all important, coffee before deciding what we should do for the rest of the day. I had nothing planned and none of the Offices that I needed to visit were open this being a Saturday and all. 

I had a few of the regular household chores that needed doing such as throwing in a load of laundry which did its thing as I worked on other things like catching up with the blog. 

I also sat around a lot and several times, caught myself dozing off. Each time, I would shake myself awake only for it to happen again 15 minutes later. To get over the sleepy feeling, we went out walking again. 

I had not been back too long and was sitting on the deck when Daniel whistled at me. I wandered over with the dogs to find that girls were already there, and later Gary joined us. We sat there drinking beer and spinning yarns. It was almost dark when I wandered back to my RV and brought in the bird feeders and shut up shop for the night. 

A very quiet day indeed. 

Written 11/04/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com  

An Old Man and an RV. Henly RV Park, TX. Sunday 11/05/2023

I got up at what I thought was late only then to remember that the clocks had changed last evening from Summertime to regular time. Instead of it being 9:00 am, it was only 8:00 and I was up early.  

We harnessed up and we walked around the park and managed to walk a mile before breakfast. I had a few chores to do as is usual for our lifestyle but some of it was make work to stay busy. 

As I usually do, I combine eating breakfast with working on the blog so consequently, breakfast is something simple and easy to prepare. Often, it is a Burrito which only needs to be warmed up and depending on the type, can be very flavorful. 

With the blog all caught up, I looked around for other things to do and managed to find a couple of items that needed work.  

I had already received an invitation to join Daniel and Malinda, which I did by wandering over to their RV. We sat and drank a couple of beers while Daniel had his outside grille going cooking up the meat for the evening’s entertainment. The girls joined us, bringing their contribution to the meal as they always do. 

When Daniel declared the meat cooked, we all wandered over to the Commons where we were joined by Delores and Gary. We feasted on the meat that Daniel had cooked along with a whole bunch of side dishes, and it was delicious.  

Incidentally, Mikey and Sandy both benefitted as they had the pieces of fat and such that we did not eat which I mixed in with their food when I eventually fed them. 

It was a fun get-together and an evening well spent with good food, good drink, and even better company. 

Written 11/05/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com 

I got up early enough to turn on the water heater switch so that I could take a shower and while it was warming up, opened the blinds to let the sun in to help warm the place and did a couple of other things. Ten minutes later, the water was hot, and I luxuriated in the warmth of the shower. I toweled off and found myself clean clothes and dressed ready to face another day. The first thing was to bring out the bird feeders that I had remembered to bring in last evening before harnessing up my two little friends ready for that first walk. For some reason, I kept thinking that it was Saturday, but a quick check of my phone put that right. 

I had on a light jacket although it was not cold out but just cool enough to warrant it especially when a breeze blew in. We did not walk far and just circled the park as my hip was sore and acting up. Darn thing, I wish it would get better. 

I noticed that the house heaters were not coming on and went outside to change the gas bottles. In this case, all I did was switch bottles and will change them out later. With the heater working, the RV quickly warmed up and I fixed breakfast and coffee and fed the dogs. 

The next thing was to check emails, most of which were the usual junk and trashed. The few that needed my attention were quickly dealt with. I went outside and changed out the empty gas bottle for the full one that I try to always keep on hand. Daniel is exceptionally good at refilling empty gas bottles although he tries to wait so that there are several that need filling around the campground and not just one or maybe two. Incidentally, that is one of the few things that I can help him with, refilling gas bottles.  

He has a special license certifying him to do this task and technically, no one that is not licensed should do it. Obviously, this is to prevent any accidents as an untrained person could very quickly cause one with disastrous results. My role is to unload the empty bottles and then reload the full ones onto his four-wheeler for delivery. 

Then when we get to each delivery site, I grab the appropriate bottle and Daniel either hooks them up, depending on the client or stands them alongside the RV. Closest thing to a workout that I do nowadays. 

The day went by as it always does, and I decided to drive into town to try to renew my driver’s license for the next couple of years. I located the DPS Office and stood in line for a while. When I reached the window, the lady clerk was annoyed at me because I did not register for a place in line when I got there but dealt with me anyway even though I could tell she was angry. On top of that, when I told her about my business, she told me that this office does not issue driver’s license and I need to go into Austin to get it done.  

What she did not tell me was that I needed an appointment and to call ahead to make one, which of course, I did not do. I made the 25 odd mile drive into the DPS Office and walked up to the door, The first thing I saw in letters at least 4 ft high (just kidding) on the door was that I needed an appointment, which I did not have. Plus, on top of that there were many people waiting in line which stretched outside the office. 

I thought about it and decided that I would make the 20-mile drive into Bastrop where I had renewed my driver’s license a couple of years ago and at that time, without any trouble. The drive was uneventful, and I located the DPS Office without any problems having been there before only to discover the same sign on the door, “Appointment Only.” They too were very crowded so I knew there would not be any walk-ins. Cursing under my breath, I made the almost 65-mile drive back to Henly frustrated with all my wasted efforts. What a totally wasted day. 

The rest of the evening was spent in the usual way although, when I sat down to watch the TV, I immediately dozed off and did not re-awaken until the movie was over. At that point, I went to bed. 

Written 11/04/2023. Read my other blog at https://pondblog2011.com