Merry Christmas Everyone

We had the whole family in for Christmas Eve last night. The biggest bonus was having Mom here...last spring we weren't sure she'd be here for Christmas...but she is and doing quite well. Every day with her is a bonus!

The oldest granddaughter brought her violin, uke, and flute to entertain us...she's a "one man band". Then B took out his accordian and guitar. Our son-in-law even got in on the musical interlude and played the guitar. I still cannot fathom how people can have a song in their head and when they pick up an instrument the music materializes...I have trouble tuning in a radio!!!

Anyway we had a wonderful time!

Wonderful Chrissmassy Weekend

I made my traditional batch of shortbread and on Friday we had two couples from our church over for dinner. Did the meat in the crockpot and it not only came out great but allowed me time to prepare everything else without being rushed. We all had such a fun time then at 9pm we went down to the new Lindt chocolate store that just opened up in the mall nearby...they were having a midnight madness sale on from 9 pm to midnight. Wow! What a lot of people in the store. Many prices were 50% or 40% off. For three people who didn't need anything we did okay and had so many laughs while we were standing in the lineup!

Saturday our two youngest grandchildren came to stay overnight. After we got the baby to bed A (who is 7 and allowed to stay up later) and I baked some lemon ice-box cookies that I'd made up. She was so proud of herself!

The house is sure QUIET when they leave!!!

Tonight I made pizzelles (cookies in Italian) or Kromkokker (in Swedish), so I'm almost ready for Christmas Eve....good thing since there's only 5 "sleeps" left!

Christmas Concert Time

Yesterday we were up bright and early to go to the morning performance of our youngest granddaughter's Christmas Concert. She goes to a French immersion school. The school has totally French classes but some of the classerooms are taught totally in English, so a good part of the concert was sung in French. To make things interesting they even sang a Spanish and a Hawaiian song. All in all it was a great concert! The only bad thing was this concert was at the same day and time as two of our other grandkids' concert....how I wish I could be in two places at the same time!!!!

Still Lots to Do

I've been busy decorating for Christmas. It usually only takes 2 or maybe 3 days to get everything decorated but with my sore knee it's taken me almost twice as long! That's what getting old does for ya!!!! Monday B and I went to our oldest grandkids' school to pick up the frozen food order that was their fundraiser. Told our daughter that while we were there we'd pick up the kids and bring them home from school. It was neat sitting in the parking lot and seeing parents drive in, put the "L" or "N" stickers on their cars, then when their kids came out the kids got in the driver's seat and drove! On guy even strapped his bike to the roof of the car so he could drive the car!!

Delivered the grandkids and most of the frozen food to our daughter then headed over to #1 daughter and son-in-law's with their order. Had a great visit with them, then brought our stuff home and got it into the freezer...barely...good thing I didn't buy anything more!!!

Today we met our friends R&C down at the casino. We had lunch and gambled a bit then came back here for coffee and cake and more visiting. We really enjoy their company!

Early Christmas Presents

On Friday we went to Michael's and they had the Cricut cutters on sale reg. $269.99 on for $69.99...think the Canadian store was matching the US store's Black Friday sale because last year they were on sale in the States for that price, but by the time I got there they were all gone. B was with me and said for that price I had to get it and that it would be my Christmas present from him...I wasn't about to argue. When I went through the check out they gave me 3 $5 gift cards (plus the usual fistful of coupons they always give you). The $5 cards had to be used this week but you only had to spend $5 to cash in the gift card and you could only use one card per customer. The hard part was finding something for $5 and it couldn't be a clearence item. B came with me and between the two of us and two trips there (good thing Michael's is close) I managed to cash in all 3 coupons and got some lovely cardstock to make more cards!

Saturday my daughter told me that Mark's Workwarehouse was having a "friends and family" sale...20% off everything from 5pm to 11pm. Had a quick supper, rushed up there and we got B 2 pair of jeans and 2 polo shirts...Merry Christmas...here's your present! From the store we went straight up to our friends J&H and played canasta. H & I were partners against the guys. They were whomping us the first 4 hands but the last hand was fantastic and we totally lambasted them!!!!

Snowy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends. Hope you are all able to celebrate safely!

It's been snowing here since the early hours of this morning. Sure glad we were able to get the car back from the repair shop yesterday...It's got 4 new all-season tires on it and a new radiator, so it should be set to go, but who wants to go out in this...better to stay off the roads and let those who have no choice but to go out have more room on the roads...anyway, yesterday after getting the car we went to Michael's and I got some new scrapbooking/cardmaking toys so now I've got a excuse to stay home and play with them.

Long Time Since Blogging

It's been such a long time since I've blogged. I've been busy, my knee has been so sore it's hard to walk and I guess, in general I've just been feeling sorry for myself!!! Enough of that!!!

We managed to go up to Cultus Lake with our trailer on Nov. 10. Number 2 daughter, son-in-law and the 4 grandkids came up on the 11th. We had a wonderful time camping with them, even if we did have to wait for the rain to subside a couple of times. Sunday we left and headed down to Beachwood in Birch Bay. We usually go down for the American Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping, but alas my friend whom I go shopping with is scheduled for surgery on the 25th, so there'll be no Black Friday shopping for us this year....and there's apsolutely NO WAY hubby will go with me!!! Anyway we did manage to find some good deals this week, like a turkey for 37 cents a pound. I also managed to get the Christmas gifts for our 6 grandkids, so I was really happy about that. Lots of wind and rain while we were there, but we were snug in our trailer. All was well, until the weathermen started saying the "s" word....snow???...no way!!! We decided to hook up and come home a day early, didn't want to have a repeat of Nov 2006 when we had 2 feet of snow the Saturday night after Thanksgiving.

Interesting Tid Bit

I got an e-mail yesterday and it said that October 2010 has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays in it. According to the e-mail this only happens once in 823 years!! Being retired, every day is a "weekend" for us, but oh how I would have liked that when going to school or working!!! Enjoy the 5th weekend, which is Hallowe'en weekend!

Whistler

Every fall our church has a "Whistler Retreat". We've never gone to it because by the time you drive up there, pay for the hotel and conference fees then eat out both days (especially at Whistler prices) it gets rather expensive. I don't consider myself "cheap" but we could spend 3 or 4 WEEKS in the trailer for what we'd pay for 2 nights/3 days!!!! (I know, our trailer and campground memberships have us totally spoiled!!) Well, this year our friends who have a time share booked a 3 bedroom townhouse for the week and asked if we'd like to stay with them on the weekend. How could we say "no"! It was absolutely lovely, we had a full kitchen so we took turns cooking...it's fun cooking with friends, we played canasta and chatted up a storm. The speaker was really interesting and we couldn't have asked for better weather!

Passing Grades

Last week B took the car in for air care inspection and it passed!!! Today we went to the skin specialist and got the results from the biopsy on B's mole...passed that one too!!! What a relief!!

Home Again

We managed to get away in the trailer for a few nights. Went to Beachwood this time because we've only been there 7 nights this year. Haven't been there for Thanksgiving weekend for several years. When we used to go down there on Thanksgiving there weren't that many people there...what a surprise this year...it was almost full!!! The good thing about it being so full is that we met several friends whom we haven't seen this year. It was so great to sit around campfires chatting and catching up. Also my cousin J and her husband came and visited us at the trailer one night. On the whole the weather was pretty good. One night was really windy and rainy but we were inside and nice and cozy.

Fred Meyer's had a special sale on for their Canadian customers. The ad was printed in some of the Canadian local papers...unfortunately we didn't get one but as we were going through the checkout I asked and the teller gave me one of the pages of coupons. That was so nice of her because one of the coupons was for turkey @ 39 cents per pound...so now I've got a turkey for Christmas!

Canasta

I haven't had my computer hooked up for a couple of days. Hubby built me a new computer stand for my lap top...now things don't go dancing all over the place when I want to print something!! Sure a lot better than the wobbly card table!!!

We also had a couple of fun days gadding about. Thursday we went down to Northwood casino to cash in our "free" money coupons and have the $3 pizza, pasta, baked potato (and other stuff) buffet. The machines were good to us that day and we actually came out a few dollars ahead and paid for our dinner to boot!

Friday we went to the Dr. so B could get his stitches out, came home, had lunch then went out to #2 daughter's with some stuff for her. Extra bonus...the grandkids had a professional day today so we got to see them. Came home ate dinner (quickly) then went to our friends' place and learned how to play canasta...it'll probably take a few more times to remember everything and learn how to keep score but it was a lot of fun.

Keeping Busy

Between going with B to the Dr. to have a mole removed and taking Mom to the Dr. I've been canning pears and making "Grandma Syrup". I think I'm going to need another holiday pretty soon!!!

We're home Again

I wasn't able to blog for the past few days because we actually got to hook up the trailer and take off. Even though the park we were in has wireless internet at the clubhouse, we only made it down to the clubhouse once, and I didn't have my computer with me....no blogging and no e-mails!!

Had great fun taking advantage of the casino's cheap (but delicious) meals and cash give-aways. Can you believe at Skagit on Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, if you give them $20 they'll give you a $30 slot ticket and on Mondays they give you $25 for $20. It's great fun to get "free" money...the only trick is you have to know when to quit, so you don't lose "your" money, only "their" money. We didn't win big but we did manage to keep "our" money and had fun doing it!!

It sure rained a lot, but we were dry and cozy in our trailer and on Sunday our good friends D&M came to visit and have dinner with us...we had such a lovely time!!!

Goodbye, my Friend

Today B and I went out to Abbotsford to say goodbye to a dear lady who had a very deep faith in our Lord. We met N&D down at Beachwood shortly after we started taking Alpha. They sat by our campfire one night and were so happy because D had been cancer free for 5 years and they had just celebrated her birthday. Three or four weeks later we again met at Beachwood. By this time B&I had discovered a wonderful church that was being held in the factory outlet mall and were telling them about it. Sunday morning D knocked on our door and asked how to get to the church.

Our lives intertwined for a couple of years then we got an e-mail saying her cancer had returned. She had chemo and radiation and was in and out of remission. N found it very theraputic to write e-mails about D's progress or lack of it. Always they put their faith in God and trusted him completely, calling Him the Great Healer. During this time we didn't see much of them, but last spring we ran into them at Beachwood again. Had a great time with them and told them what an inspiration their e-mails had been to me when my Dad was dying. Last Tuesday she lost her battle with cancer. We're going to miss her infectious smile and positive attitude.

Turning 40..No Way!!

I don't feel old enough to have our youngest child turn 40, but life does have a way of sneaking up on you!!!

They had to go to a wedding so I said I'd keep the little ones overnight and they could spend the night in a nice hotel downtown.

We had a great time with the grandkids and A and I decided to bake a cake for her Daddy, then she got to go through my cake decorating stuff and decorate the cake. We had a little birthday party when they came to pick up the kids, unfortunately M had to go down for his nap so they couldn't stay very long.

Labour Day

This morning we got up early and met our Cultus Lake camping friends R&C and M&S at the local casino. There was a free pancake breakfast there...2 pancakes, 1 sausage, 1 bacon, hash browns and coffee or tea. We had a great time eating and chatting then we played the slots for awhile and B was even up $20 or so...so that was a bonus...can't say the same thing about myself, but I didn't lose much and we had breakfast and fun, so it was worth it!!

Yesterday at church U asked us if we'd be available to go to her place for lunch today so we headed out there. Among the other guests was a couple who have a girl from Germany staying with them so she can learn better English. She speaks very good English and we not only had a wonderful lunch but a great discussion on the differences between Germany and Canada. The girl is very intrigued with all the scrapbooking supplies we have here. She also showed us a picture of the new puppy that her parents have acquired since she's been here and was very excited and amazed at the pet supply stores we have here, so she's going to bring the puppy some gifts when she goes home!!!

Sunday

We went to church this morning. Our friends J&H said they got 10 sockeye delivered this morning. They had asked me earlier if I could show them how to can fish. The only day we both had time was this afternoon, so after lunch we started work/school. It went really well, they both got right in there and learned what to do. Soon we had 16 pints ready to go into the pressure caner then we started filleting and cutting steaks so we could vacuum pack them. We started about 2:00 and finished about 8:00 and they even treated us to pizza for dinner. Yum, yum. It was a busy but very fun day!!!

Visiting

We had a delightful day yesterday. We took Mom and went out to see my cousins J&A. She made a delicious lunch of corn chowder and home make buns for us and we talked and talked and talked. Mom really enjoyed herself.

From there we headed further out in the valley. The freeway was plugged so we took all these little back roads that Mom had never been on and saw all the little towns and the huge farms. Stopped at a farm and bought some "horse carrots" for $8 for a 50 pound bag. These carrots are not able to be sold because they're split or mis-shapen so they sell them to feed to horses or they can also be used for juicing...which is what Mom will do with them. Then we stopped at their vegetable stand and I got all sorts of fresh veggies.

Since we were so close we went up to Cultus Lake Thousand Trails to see our daughter and the 4 grandkids...they're up there camping. Sure lots of RV's on the road and the Provincal Park was full...so was TT. On the road out of the lake we were stopped in a road block checking on drinking drivers. It's nice to see the RCMP checking up on people, if it can save one life, it's worth it!!!

Fruits of my Labour

Mom had company Friday so I started canning the fish by myself. It went really well and soon I had 15 jars of salmon in the pressure canner....10lbs pressure for 90 minutes. By the time Mom's company left, I had them all done. Here's a picture after the jars had cooled and I'd washed the jars and took the rings off...ready to put in the canning room until we get hungry.

When my Grandmother filletted fish she always scraped the excess flesh off the bones and made fish cakes. I don't have Grandma's fishcake recipe but I scraped the bones, put some onion and the fish in the food processor then added a couple of eggs and bread crumbs. Made patties and fried them...yummy!!

Wonderful Blessings

Yesterday B and I wanted to go to Bellingham Wal-Mart to return some stuff but the border lineups were long so we waited till dinnertime and headed down. It was great. Only a 20 minute wait...not 2 hours like earlier today. As we drove across the Fraser River we could see all the boats out fishing. They haven't had an opening on the River for a couple of years so it's really great to see the boats out there again!

Got to Bellingham, did what we had to then stopped at Jack-in-the-Box because I had a 2 for 1 coupon. Ended up being less expensive to order their double chicken burger meal with curly fries and a drink. It was so good. Also stopped at the casino for awhile, had fun and came out a couple of dollars ahead.

On the way back home it was a beautiful full moon and we could see the fishing boats on the river and the lights reflecting on the water. Reminded me of when my sister and I used to go fishing with Dad. I always had the job of sitting in the wheel house and watching the net during the night and I always really enjoyed the peace and beauty of the lights reflecting on the water!

Got thinking that I hadn't canned any sockeye for ages. This morning B went down to see someone we know who fishes and by this afternoon we had 10 sockeye to clean and can. Mom said she wanted to come and help me. She brought over her boots, apron and her "special" knives. She was in her glory and kept saying, "Haven't done this in a long time. It's so much fun!!!" I kept telling her to take it easy but she managed to clean 4 fish before she finally sat down. She was tired but so happy no one would believe she's 85 and terminal. Tomorrow she wants to help me fill the jars and can them. I've got the jars all washed and sterilized so we're set to go!!! It should be another very special day!!

46 years

Today we've been married 46 years....no way!!!...that can't be true...but if you do the math it is. 2010 -1964=46 Where does the time go????

Other than having a knee that's so sore I can't walk, it was a very nice day. Yesterday #1 daughter stopped in and had lunch with us. Today we went to church then this afternoon #2 daughter, son-in-law and 4 grandkids stopped in with a lovely framed picture for us...they also came to raid the garden of beans, zuchinni, blueberries and blackberries and pick up the jars of beans I'd canned for them. The kids were out picking the berries and eating the apples that had fallen off the tree...they had great fun! Our son and grandson also stopped in. Poor little guy was quite overwhelmed by everyone being here!!!

Nip in the Air

There's a definate nip in the air these days. When it decided to cool down it seems it got downright chilly, I've had to close windows and the skylights. Even the pumpkins in my garden are starting to turn orange!! The peas are finished and the leaves on the beans are beginning to dry up and turn yellow. Fall is on it's way! This evening I also picked some blackberries...they taste so sweet and yummy!!!

Even Stephen

Saturday night was the 226th night of the year so we've been away 113 nights and at home 113 nights...now we're working at being home more than we were away!!

It's been so hot here lately so we've been doing whatever we can to try and stay cool....things like picking blueberries in the evening and picking beans early in the morning. Last night our friends G&D came down to tell us about their cruise to Iceland and Norway so we picked blueberries and talked. Came in and I made root beer floats for the guys and a pink lemonade slushie for D and I...sure do like that new blender the kids got me!!!

Today we went and got the new glasses we ordered and when I got home from shopping I decided to defrost the old fridge we have downstairs...pretty easy...all I did was unplug it and the heat defrosted it in a few hours. Then all I had to do was remove the ice and wipe it down.

Thank You Gifts

B & C were so thankful for us letting them stay at the house that they bought us a new food processor/blender combination, a new had mixer and the Avatar DVD. It was so hot yesterday I made hubby and I a orange juice slushy...the blender worked really well and the drink was cool and refreshing!

The House is a LOT of WORK!!!

Been so busy getting settled back into our house that I haven't had time to blog! I figured that before we move in totally we should get the carpet and couches cleaned so I put all the small movable stuff out on the sundeck and into my sewing room to make the job easier for them. Wow! Everything looks clean now, but I put my back out doing it. It's been 2 months since we were at the chiropractor (we usually go every month) so phoned and he got us both in right away. Last night I had trouble sleeping because of the heat so got up, of course I didn't turn on any lights...I never do...and wouldn't you know it....I stubbed my toe...ouch!!!! Now my back hurts AND my toe is sore!!!

Between picking veggies out of the garden, picking blueberries, doing laundry and chatching up with our friends and relatives and having a party to celebrate Mom's 85th birthday...getting organized is taking longer than I thought it would. B.C. Day was Monday and the local casino was offering a free breakfast of 2 pancakes, hash browns, 1 piece of bacon and 1 sausage, coffee or tea from 6am to 11am...so we got up early and went! It was nice to take some time off and enjoy ourselves and we won a bit on the slots, so that was even better!!!

Got our House Back

We got home Wednesday, babysat our youngest grandson while his parents took his sister to CTV for a behind the scenes news tour. During the Olympics, A often asked about how they get the Olympics on the news, so for her birthday her parents took her and a girlfriend to CTV then out for dinner. She had a blast and said it was a wonderful birthday!

Friday was moving day, so between doing laundry, watching the kids and helping gather up last minute things in the house, it kept me pretty busy! Between teething and knowing something was up, the one year old was pretty cranky. The cutest thing was when they took apart his crib and took it out...the look of horror on his face was priceless, but then they took his toy box! His expression was so graphic, you could tell he was thining, "WHAT? First they take my crib and NOW they're taking my toy box!!!"

We got to sleep in the house last night, but I kept waking up and wondering where I was. Finally couldn't get back to sleep so got up about 6, had a shower and did another couple loads of laundry. This evening my friend M came down and we picked blueberries and had a wonderful visit

While the kids lived in our house we spent 52 nights in the trailer...16 nights parked in our driveway and 40 nights in 2 of our Thousand Trails parks. Thursday was the last night we slept in the trailer. It was the 203rd day of the year so since January 1, 2010, we've spent 106 nights in our trailer plus 7 nights in a rental cabin for a total of 113 nights away and only 90 nights in our bed at home!

Birch Bay

It's so lovely here! The other night there was a communial campfire in the park. We made smores and the pastor from Water's Edge came with his guitar and songbooks and we all sat around the fire singing. Water's Edge is just a short walk from the park so Saturday night B & I walked down there for hot dogs and a movie. They had hot dogs, beans (the Americans are big on baked beans!), Ceaser salad, chips and pop then we watched the movie "Up". Sure lots of young families there but the kiddies were all really well behaved and everyone had a great time.

This morning we slept in so couldn't make it to the service at Water's Edge so went to Christ the King (our usual Birch Bay church) and met some friends there. Also saw several people from the park there as well.

We've been on the go ever since we got here and tonight we're going to visit my cousin who lives near here. It's so hard to believe that our 2 months of full-timing is almost at an end...in a way I'm anxious to get home and in a way I'd rather just move to another park! There's a lot to be said for this RV lifestlye!

Grandma'd Out???

Our daughter and the 4 grandkids came to Cultus on Sunday with their trailer so we've been having a great time. Friday, B and I went and picked up the youngest granddaughter A and brought her here...she'll stay with us in our trailer. She was so excited to be able to be camping with her cousins, she talked the whole way to the campsite...I've never heard anyone talk so much!!! In the hot weather the pool here was full constantly so we went down to the creek and played in the icy cold water there...you sure cool off fast there and the kids had a ball digging ditches, building dikes and throwing rocks! Our son-in-law also came out Friday night to spend the weekend with S and the kids.

This morning S came over and said she was had to take L to the hospital and could we look after the kids, cats and dog, and make breakfast for the kids. Of course! All of a sudden instead of cooking for 3 I'm cooking for 7. We no sooner got breakfast over with when A's parents came to pick her up. The plan was they'd have lunch with us...so I was back in the kitchen making lunch, seems I was there a lot today, but we had fun and when S&L got back from the hospital we found out he has kidney stones, so he's on some strong medications which means he can't drive or go to work for probably a week...kind of a painful way to get a holiday!! I'm just thankful that he's okay. Boy is our trailer ever quiet now that A has gone and I even got a chance to come up and post on my blog!!

A Voice from the Past

Yesterday evening I decided to go for a walk around the park and see how full it is...it's full!!! As I was walking someone asked me if I used to teach at Connaught???? I said yes, I worked for parks and rec and used to teach pre-school. It turns out I had him and his two sisters in my classes, he's now 38 married with 3 little girls and has a membership in Thousand Trails. I was shocked that he would recognize me after all these years...I must have made quite the impression on him!!!

Canada Day

Happy Canada Day everyone! This morning the little kids all decorated their bicycles and had a parade around the park...they sure had fun despite the showery weather. This afternoon they had 2 big birthday cakes, one decorated like a Canadian flag and the other decorated like the American flag. One was a white cake the other chocolate...both delicious! We walked around the park this evening and a lot of the rigs were decorated...it all looked so festive, and everyone was having a great time!

Great Friends

Yesterday (Saturday) my friend D and I were working on a puzzle when I heard an odd noise and thought I heard someone call my name. I looked but didn't see anyone but wondered, "Could that be R (a friend who likes playing jokes on people)?" Sure enough, next thing I felt is someone tickling my back...it was R! He and his wife drove up to visit with us and all the other friends they have up here...they're also members of Thousand Trails and spend a lot of time in this park, so he knows almost everyone!!! We had a great visit with them and they stayed and had dinner with us, then we went over to M & S's rig and had coffee and butter tarts for dessert.

This morning is B's birthday. We were just finishing breadfast when M & S came over carrying two mini cupcakes, one had a candle. S light the candle and they entered our trailer singing Happy Birthday...it was so sweet!!

It rained really hard here today but we did go and get some strawberries and raspberries then stopped at the local deli and got some head cheese and sausage rolls (B LOVES sausage rolls) We came back to the trailer and had lunch. Hopefully the rain will stop and things will brighten up!

Coaches for Christ

The local chapter of Coaches for Christ are having a get-together in the park and last night they invited us to join them for a hymn sing. It was so neat sitting in the park singing gospel music. There were 4 guys in the group who were singing and playing instruments. One guy played the guitar, harmonica and banjo, the lead guy sang, played the guitar and a hand held drum, another guy played base and the other one played mandolin, and violin...they were certainly talented! Too bad we don't qualify to join Coaches for Christ because we have a trailer and not a motorhome. We'd met the wagon master and his wife last year in this park...very nice people!

We were going to go get some local strawberries today but apparently they're re-paving a part of the road and it's creating big line-ups so I think we'll wait till tomorrow...maybe they won't be working on the weekend.

Same birthdays

We've been at Birch Bay and the other night we went to Silver Reef Casino for seafood night. Since June is the month of both of our birthdays, we got a ticket before we went for dinner. When I handed the girl the bill, she looked at it and the tickets and said, "Happy Birthday, have a good day!"

We left Birch Bay Tuesday and headed up to Cultus Lake Thousand Trails. On the way we went past Northwood Casino so just HAD to stop and have the $2 buffet...it was good, as usual. Checked into Cultus and when I went up to report our site # I got talking to the ranger. The subject of age and birthdays came up and we were both amazed that not only are we born on the same day but the same year as well!!!! She was born in Ontario and I was born in B.C. How wierd is that???

Time to Relax

We hooked up the trailer the other day and took off to one of our Thousand Trails parks and let the kids have the house to themselves...don't want to be stepping on their toes all the time! It's such a blessing that we have our trailer and park systems to go to...maybe we'll like this so much we'll decide to full time????

The other day I pulled a muscle in my ankle. The park we're at has a swimming pool but no hot tub so we went to one of our other parks for the day and had a wonderful soak in the hot tub there...now my ankle is a lot better.

A couple campsites from where we're parked is blocked off because there's a birds nest in it. I think they're killdeers. We've seen mama and a couple of her babies scooting along the road in front of our trailer...they're sooooo cute, and their little legs go a mile a minute, especially when Mama is calling to them!

I can get wireless internet at the clubhouse...not the fastest connection but at least it works and we also get to do jugsaw puzzles and watch TV while we're there. Did a really neat 3D puzzle of hot air balloons...it reminded us of the year the kids bought us a hot air balloon ride for our birthdays and anniversary. It was scary, but once we were airborne it was fantastic...unfortunately a year or so later the balloon was taking off and caught fire and 2 people died....now I don't know if I'd like to go on another balloon ride or not!!!

911

Sunday night we were sitting in the trailer reading when all of a sudden pound, pound, pound on the door...both of us jumped and I screamed...our son called for us to come quick. C had collapsed and he couldn't wake her. We ran into the house and I called 911 while he tried again to wake her. The firehall is quite close to our place so they were there in a matter of minutes followed several minutes later by the ambulance. Checked C over and gave her some oxygen then helped her walk out to the ambulance. Our son gathered some stuff together and went to the hospital, so I stayed in the house with the kids...they hadn't even woken up! Everything checked out okay, so it was probably the stress of moving...sure hope it wasn't the stress of moving into her in-laws!!!

I made a pot of chicken soup the next day and watched the little one while she slept and relaxed on the couch, then Papa went up to get granddaughter from school. We got along very well and she was really thankful for all the support my husband and I gave her and I was so thankful that we were here for her.

Having them live her certainly livens up the house and the grandkids are such a joy to have around...think I'm going to miss them when we take off to our parks.

Trailer Trash???

Some people refer to those who live in their trailers as "trailer trash". Friday night we "moved" into our trailer, Saturday our son, daughter-in-law and family moved into our house. Right now we're still parked in our driveway but next week we'll be off and staying in our Thousand Trails park system. Does that mean that we are officially "trailer trash"?????

I cooked dinner on Saturday...the day of the move and this morning our son made us Swedish pancakes with blueberry sauce, I made lunch and tonight our son bar-b-qued hamburgers for us....what a life!!!!

Time

Today is our youngest grandson's first birthday...imagine...a year already!!!

This morning I walked over to Mom's. The health nurse came last week and again today. It's so hard to talk about "do not resitate" (DNR) orders, palliative and hospice care and all that stuff, but I'm so thankful that we have the health system we have and that there is a network of workers who are dedicated to keeping people in their homes as long as they can comfortably be there and that there's hospice centers for them when the need arises. Mom has been designated as "palliative", which has some perks like the home care, support and medications, but still hard to accept!

Mom keeps telling everyone it's not cancer...only an infection...so let her think that...I'm just so thankful that she's not in pain! But ohhh it WOULD be so nice if she could cough up that tumor and be rid of it!!!

Can't shake this Cold

We both seem to be having a devil of a time getting rid of these colds. One day you feel okay and the next you feel like you're back at square one and the cold, pollen count and barametric pressure are playing havoc with my migraines!!! That's my tale of woe for today.

Had a delightful day Saturday. Took Mom up to the lab for some blood tests the Dr. ordered when we saw him yesterday, then we headed out to my cousin's in Clearbrook to have home made corn chowder and biscuits...she knows it's Mom's favorite. We drove out to Yarrow and found the place where my cousin's daughter buys bulk carrots for her horse...thought they'd be good for Mom's juicing. Unfortunately they don't have any more left and won't have any till the 3rd week of July, but they did have beets, so I bought a 25 pound bag and split it with Mom. Mom's going to try juicing some and I'll probably freeze and pickle some. From there we went to Cultus Lake and visited with our daughter and son-in-law and grandkids. They're camping there and it's their first trip out in their new trailer. On the way home we stopped at a real quaint home-style cafe and had a wonderful dinner. Got home tired but it had been a great day, and Mom really enjoyed herself!!!

Can you OD on OJ????

When we babysat the grandkids last week, our son had a cold. Now both of us have it. We managed to get away for 3 nights in the trailer...heavenly!!! It's been so long since we've been away. One of the stores had orange juice on sale so I bought 3 half gallon jugs thinking the vitamin C would help our colds. Well, I drank one jug in a day and a half and I was wondering if you could overdose on OJ. Haven't got any ill effects so I guess the answer is "no". Unfortunately between the cold and the high pollen count in the air, I'm still coughing a lot, but at least I've had lots of vitamin C and kept hydrated!!!

MOTHER'S DAY

Happy Mother's day to all you mother's out there. It's been a difficult day for me knowing that if the oncologist is right, this is probably the last Mother's Day I'll have with my Mom; and also remembering that it was five years ago today (on Mother's Day) that Dad fell, broke his hip and never recovered, dying on May 30, 2005. My heart was also hurting for my friend who's Mom 's funeral was yesterday.

When we got home from church #1 daughter and son-in-law came down and gave me a card she'd made and a lovely box of herbal teas. Our son also phoned today and wished me "Happy Mother's Day". Yesterday evening we took Mom and went out to #2 daughter and son-in-law's to see their new trailer and we had a lovely dinner with them and the grandkids.

I had taken some pork chops out of the freezer so tonight B told me to go relax and he bar-b-qued and made supper for me, complete with a glass (or 2) of wine...it was lovely!

Watched the Canucks win the hockey game....now we have to babysit Tuesday! Our son and daughter-in-law have tickets to game #7 in GM Place so we get to watch the 2 grandkids while they go to the game. Hopefully the Canucks will win!!!

Spring Cleaning

All week I've been going through closets and drawers trying to empty out some space for when the kids move in here while they're waiting to move into their new house. Went out to Costco, hadn't been out there for a long time so our order was pretty big. Took Mom with us so after I loaded up our cart, I sent B through the checkout then helped Mom figure out what she needed.

Saturday B and I went out to Langley to see #1 granddaughter's ukulele concert. Had a great visit with everyone and as we were about to leave, grandson W came up to me and handed me 3 pairs of jeans. "Grandma, could you patch my jeans for me? Please?" He's forever tearing out the knees of his jeans. What was I to do? Say "no"? Couldn't do that, now could I???

Sunday was church then after lunch B, C and the kids came down to discuss the dates they'd be moving in and tell us all about the house they've put an offer on. I showed them the cupboards I've already cleaned out and what I was planning...C was quite impressed that I should go to that much trouble for them...but hey, it's great motivation to dung out some of this stuff that's been hanging around for years!!!

Today was a trip to our chiropractor then I patched W's jeans and cut up an old sheet and made bandages. Our church sends these bandages to Africa to the missions hospital, so it's nice to help them out and get rid of stuff at the same time!

Quite the Day

Yesterday I was up bright and early, walked over to Mom's because the Handy Dart was coming to pick us up and take us to Vancouver to see Dr. Lemmo. Of course our pick up was late and we had to pick up another lady, so I phoned the Dr.'s office and told them we were running late. He was very efficient and since he already had Mom's medical files he got right to work and recommended a regime of several suppliments. Gave us a booklet with some very practical ideas and suggestions, told us we could buy the supplements from him or any health food store or even Costco. His speciality is naturopathic oncology and believes you have to treat the whole body...quite interesting. Mom was especially pleased when he said he has a patient who has tumors in both lungs who's been on this regimen and has been a patient for 6 years...so that gave Mom hope even though she realizes everyone and everyone's cancer is different.
When we got home I had quite a time explaining how and when to take all the supplements, so I was expecting a phone call this morning to ask what she was supposed to do, instead I got a call saying she juiced her carrots, mixed up the supplements and was feeling great! I thought, "Crap, she feels better than I do!" (I hadn't slept well and woke up with a headache). Anyway, just hearing her being upbeat and positive was worth it all!!! She's "doing something" and feeling positive about it!!!!

Lots of Changes

Several months ago our son and daughter-in-law started talking about selling their house. C asked B what would happen if they sold the house but hadn't found one they like. B said, "not a problem. We'll kick Mom and Dad out of their house...they can live in their trailer and we'll stay at their place." When he told us, we got rather excited and said we couldn't wait.....well guess what???? Last night they got an offer on their house but the people want possession by the end of May. Looks like I'm going to be cleaning out some drawer and closet space for them...what a great way to de-clutter. We need something like this to get us motivated. Looking forward to living in the trailer for the summer. My only regret is that at the same time we're dealing with Mom's illness, but this is all going to work...and if it doesn't WE'LL MAKE IT WORK!!!!! Quite excited about it actually!!



In the meantime Mom has decided that she wants to explore alternative medicine. Conventional medicine can't offer her much so she might as well. I've checked out a couple of websites www.inspirehealth.ca and www.lemmo.com We have a consultation with Dr. Lemmo next Monday. Mom's anxious to go...she doesn't like sitting around waiting and at least with alternative therapy she'll feel like she's doing something. My Mom has always put others first and now she's actually doing something for herself, so whatever the cost it'll be worth it!!

Update on Mom

We took Mom to the cancer clinic today. We had a really long wait, so I wasn't impressed, but when we met the doctor he was really nice and gave Mom a really detailed exam and asked lots and lots of questions. I was quite impressed with him. He told us that Mom is termianal and radiation would only make her feel sick at this point. Apparently radiation can be used to shrink the tumor to relieve pain and symptoms but it won't increase her life span. At this time Mom doesn't have any symptoms...she feels great in fact. Mom was upset, she thought she'd have radiation and be "doing something". He said he'd do it if she wanted. I asked if it was him who had the cancer what would he do...he said he'd not take radiation until it was absolutely needed. I asked if we could have some time to think it over and he said, "of course" then told us what to do as things progress and gave me some literature about radiation....apparently chemo isn't an option for Mom.

De-cluttering

I know I'm a pack rat but there comes a time when even I get rid of stuff. Got B to take the old microwave and some other stuff up to re-cycling the other day, then it was getting rid of some of those returnable bottles that keep multiplying in the back room.

The other day I was digging in the back of a cupboard and found two boxes of old tax returns, bank statements...you name it. The scary part is they were dated in the 70's and 80's...all nicely filed, but I guess I haven't been into the back of that cupboard for a lot of years...anyway the papers are now shredded and waiting for re-cycling pickup on garbage day...and I've got an empty spot in a cupboard. The kids are always telling me to get rid of stuff, but hey!..there were some of their old tax returns in that box...they didn't take them when they moved out!!!!!

Today we went and got our eyes examined...we both need new glasses...expensive proposition, but I noticed I was having trouble reading maps when we were away. Tomorrow we take Mom to the cancer clinic...kinda anxious to find out what sort of treatment they're going to propose...hope it's treatment and not just a bunch more tests, but we do what we have to do!

Building Permit Required

Finally got the last load of laundry done and got through all the mail. The kids told us we got a lot of mail while we were gone...now I believe them.

Just to keep my life from getting boring I decided to make dinner for Easter Sunday. Made a deal with the kids that I'd make the lasagna if they would bring salads and dessert. I also had garlic bread, cut up cheese and sausage, several kinds of pickles and a fruit punch, so there was lots of food. Saturday morning I made the spaghetti sauce then after it cooled I made the noodles (I hate store bought lasagna noodles) then I started to "build" the lasagna. I make it in my big turkey roaster and it ends up being about 6 or 7 inches deep, so it's huge...I often think someone is going to tell me I need a building permit. We had 13 in for dinner Sunday. There was actually some lasagna left over so I invited a couple of friends in for dinner on Monday as well. It turned out really good and everyone thought it was yummy!!!!

Update on Mom & Trip Stats

We got fairly good news from the Dr. on Wednesday. The tumor in the right lung is a non-small cell cancer (apparently slow growing) and hasn't spread to the bronchial tubes. The cells from the left lung are classed as "A-typical"...not normal cells, but not cancer...yet. She's going for a bone scan on Thursday, April 8th and we're waiting for a call from the cancer clinic for an appointment to arrange treatment...probably radiation.

I figured out some of the stats from our trip. We drove 4,081.9 miles or 6,569.2 km. Were gone 47 nights (6 1/2 weeks). Spent 32 nights in 6 of our Thousand Trails parks, 5 nights at Beachwood and 10 nights at other places (casinos, truck stops, friends and Wal-Mart). Diesel prices ranged from $2.709 to $3.299....just over $1000. in total. We were in 5 states. Now the big question is, "When can we go again???"

Hope everyone enjoys a Happy Easter tomorrow and that the rain will hold off till after the kiddies have their Easter Egg hunts!!!!

Glad to be Home???

Sunday we got to go to Christ the King....a church we go to when we're at Beachwood. It's such a neat church and we really enjoy going there. Met some people there that we know from Beachwood, told them about Mom and they said they'd pray for her.

Today we had fun trying to dump or tanks and hook up the trailer in between the rain storms and hail storms. We'd do a bit, get rained out, wait a while, do a little more, get hailed on...you get the picture. Finally got going and it was thundering, lightening, windy...wouldn't we rather be heading back to Las Vegas and sunshine????

Mom was sounding "troubled" the last couple of times I phoned her so after we got home, as soon as I got a chance I went over to see her. She looks fine, has lost a bit of weight, but doesn't have any pain. Kinda anxious to get to the Doctor on Wednesday and get the results of the last tests.

Boondocking

Hi everyone. We've had several long driving days and been boondocking, (on our own power, not connected with the world) so haven't been able to blog. Now we're at another Thousand Trails park and I have access to the internet at the clubhouse. My sister is at Mom's and she went for a bronchostomy today, unfortunately I don't have access to a phone here (which is unusual) so can't phone and find out how she is, but will try and contact her another day.

You know, even on the most desolate roads there is always something interesting...we were heading north on Hwy 95, between Las Vegas and Reno. Saw all kinds of neat things, such as a US army amunitions plant...it was HUGE, neat to look at but not much info about it...top secret, you know! Saw some deer and coyotes not to mention the tumble weeds and sage brush. One thing, if I ever get the chance I really want to explore Death Valley, Scotty's Castle and the 20 mule team borax area...I remember seeing 20 mule team borax on TV when I was a kid...so it would be neat to see it in person. We almost changed our route to drive on part of the old Route 66, but for several reasons didn't...so that's another thing on my "to do one day" list.

We did get to spend some time with some friends in Medford. It was really neat to connect with them again. Last night we were boondocking in a Wal Mart and our friend came and picked us up to go to their place for dinner with them and a couple me met when we camped with our friends last year. Friends are such a blessing!

Take care and love to you all. Thanks for the e-mails and the comments...much appreciated!

Good/Bad Day

Yesterday we finally got a chance to go into the pool here. It's been in the mid to upper 20's so the swim was really refreshing. Got talking to a lady..she's from B.C. and grew up abolut 8 blocks from us, her nephew goes to our church and we know a lot of the same people...small world!!!

Went to Sam's Town because when we were there for breakfast this morning we entered a contest to win $300, but you had to be there for the drawing...we didn't win though! Went to Albertson's to get some milk. When we went in it was beautiful, but when we came out there was a big black cloud overhead...thought it was going to start pouring rain...instead it started to blow. Sand, plastic bags and all sorts of garbage was blowing all over the road and up over the cars. We'd forgotten to put our awning up before we left so were in a panic to get back to the trailer. Of course traffic was heavy, the stop light took forever to turn green and there was a motorhome going into the park ahead of us! We did get back before our awning was ripped to shreds and got it up safely! Too windy to go for a walk or anything so decided to check my e-mails. Bad news...Mom had gone for a CAT scan and she got the results yesterday. She has some spots on her left lung and a mass about the size of a small orange in the right lung.

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone

If my father-in-law was still alive he would have been 108 today.
We went for a walk in the park this morning and when we went into the clubhouse a lady we met at Soledad Canyon T.T. was starting a puzzle, so we talked. Ended up going to their motorhome for a beer. We told them we were going to Freemont Street this evening so asked if they'd like to come with us. They'd never been to Freemont Street so they really enjoyed it. Sure lots and lots of people there, many were drinking green beer...everyone was in a party mood. We wandered into Main Street Station and marvelled at the stained glass windows, the antiques, and the beautiful ceilings then we watched 2 of the shows on the overhead screen. We decided to take the shuttle back to Sam's Town. Went into the forest bar and bought a drink and watched the show from there...got a really good view...well worth the price of a drink! It was such a perfect day!

Avatar

Today we went to visit some friends of ours from Richmond. They have a vacation home not far from where we're camped. Had a lovely visit with them then went to Sam's Town.

On Tuesdays they have a special promotion for the "young at heart"...aka seniors...movies are $3. We wanted to see Avatar but they had the 3D version as well; so for an extra $3 we got to see it in 3D...imagine, $12 for both of us to see a 3D movie!!! I'm not usually into those kinds of movies but B really likes them so I thought I'd "be nice to him"...what do you know I really enjoyed it, especially the little jelly-fish like things floating around and the hammer-head rhinos taking on the "bad" guys!

Sunny and hot here...about 24 this afternoon.

Hover Dam

Last night we went to the Longhorn Casino for a $4.99 steak dinner. We had salad (or soup), carrots, steak (done to perfection), a bun and either baked, mashed or french fried potatoes. Met a couple there who are parked at Thousand Trails, so ate with them, and had a good visit.

Today was bright and sunny. It was about 7 or 8 last night. Today it went up to 24...hotter if you were in the direct sun. We drove down to Hover Dam. The dam was built in 1931-1935. The highway goes over the top of the dam and it gets pretty congested so now they're building a new highway/bridge system. We got to drive over the dam, went to the Arizona side, stopped and took some pictures then drove back over the dam into Nevada. A few miles from the dam, out in the middle of nowhere there was Hacienda Casino so we stopped. They had a free movie playing of how the dam was built and they also had $.99 shrimp cocktails at the snack bar so we got one. When we got back to the trailer we had to put the air conditioner on to cool off the trailer....sure a switch from having to turn on the heat!!!

Wind, Wind and more Wind

We've kept ourselves busy since getting to Vegas. Our T.T. park is quite close to Sam's Town so we drive down there and take a shuttle bus to the strip or Freemont Street. Saw 2 of the shows on the overhead canopy on Freemont Street the other night, it's so fasinating to watch! Yesterday afternoon we took the shuttle to the strip and visited 3 or 4 of the casinos there, but it was so windy they cancelled the volcano show and the Sirens show at Treasure Island. Did get to ride the tram between the two casinos and when we got back to Sam's Town we saw the water/light show there. It continued to blow all night and half of today. Now it's 3:30 and the wind has died down and it's nice and sunny and warm.


The strip was really crowded and noisy and I can't get over how huge the casinos are. I can see why my cousin and her husband like to stay on Freemont Street and just visit the strip. It's been about 20 years since we were on the strip and man, has it changed...everything is bigger and glitzier, lots more traffic and lots more noise!

Las Vegas

Or "Lost Wages", as my uncle calls it. Left Wilderness yesterday and ovenighted in a casino parking lot at Primm on the border of California and Nevada. Long steady climb along I-15N but at least we didn't ker-thunk, ker-thunk all the way!!!! California roads for the most part are horrible!! It went down to -5*C but the furnace in the trailer kept us cozy and warm even if it did run a lot during the night!!! We had the slide-out in so there was less space to heat. This morning was bright and sunny.

We were in the casino last night and the machine gobbled up my $5 in no time flat so I tried another maching, put $1 into it (it was a penny machine) and ended up getting $13.09 out of it. This morning we went back into the casino, found the same machine. No one had played it since last night so I put $2 in and it gobbled it up...time to get out of here!!! You can tell these casinos were very profitable at one time but with so many Indian casinos popping up all over the place and with the recession, the casinos in Nevada are really hurting. Got to the park with no problems, although B did have to make a u-turn....a very common practice in California and it seems in Nevada as well.

The sites in this park are sure a lot smaller than where we've been, but everything about the park is smaller! Lovely park though, nice and clean and well kept. Good thing is I can access the internet from the trailer...no more toting my lap top up to the club house with my luggage tote. Went for a walk this afternoon and ended up at Bolder Station a beautifulifully designed and built casino, played for awhile. There were several resturants in there as well as a Burger King and Dairy Queen. Didn't feel like having a meal so decided to have an ice cream sundae instead...it was yummy!!!!!

Bargain hunting

It was sunny and up to 20*C this afternoon. When you're in the sun it's really warm but the air is cool. About 4:30 or so, after the sun went down the temp. dropped to 7*C. We went into Hemet again today. Diesel was $3.019 at one station, it's $3.069 to $3.159 at other stations around here. We've been getting really good mileage with the truck...saw a bumber sticker once that said, "I may get pour mileage for a car, but I get terriffic mileage for a house!!"

Across from where we fuelled up there was a 99cent store. We first went into one of these at Palmdale so went into this one. It's like a "super" dollar store...they not only have all the ordinary $1 items but they have groceries as well...prepackaged for $0.9999 (all their items are $.9999 or less) 3 heads of Romaine..$.9999, a bag of 3 red or green peppers, a bunch of 10 small bananas, 7 apples....you get the idea. Came out of there with a buggy full of stuff for $19. There was also a store in that mall that had tank tops for 3/$9.99, but I didn't like them and they wouldn't have fit anyway. There's some bargains around but the prices at WalMart, Target, Costco etc seem higher than in Bellingham...also the tax down here is about 9% and all pop, water, beer etc have a $.05 deposit on the bottles. Took a different route back to the trailer and found a fruit stand with some interesting stuff...and we didn't even get lost!!!

Hope everyone is well. I've heard some people can't leave a comment, so if you can't leave a comment...e-mail me. Have a great day!

Busy Sunday

Saturday morning we went to the craft/yard sale. It was so cold and windy the few people who were selling were bundled up because it was cold and windy. We went into the clubhouse and went to the manager's meeting to find out what's happening in and around the park.



Sundays they have a church service in the family center. Great service, probably 75 or so people there. Because this was our first time here we each got a pin in the shape of a cross made with spikes. Service was excellent and we had communion.



After lunch we drove up to Diamond Valley Lake. They made 3 dams to create a huge reservior to help when there's a drought or in case of an earthquake it'll supply drinking water for Southern California. B had to show his driver's license to get past the gate then we drove up the mountainside via a road of swithchbacks. What a view from the top!! Came down and headed over to the east side of the lake to see the visitors center, which was very interesting. From there we took some back roads down to the old town of Temecula. The old buildings have been restored and are now being used for antique shops, boutiques, and other little stores and cafes. We didn't even get lost today, so that was good!!!

Police Incident

We've never gotten lost or twisted around so many times as we have on this trip. Today we decided to drive into Palm Springs and check out the Thousand Trails park there. I was very well prepared with at least 4 maps and anything else you could think of....no way were we going to get messed up today...famous last words!! We were going along nicely when the road had been blocked off, went around the block and ended up in the same place...talked to the lady manning the road block and she told us the road was closed due to a police incident. OKAY! I didn't realize she was a police officer. She told us how to go around the block and get back on the highway we needed, but we had to go past WalMart so stopped in. A couple of the clerks were in the washroom talking about the bomb threat at Lowes...yikes...what kind of town are we in???

Got to Palm Springs T.T. park and looked around. On the way we passed thousands upon thousands of wind generators...looked kinda neat spread out over the mountain tops. Drove on Sonny Bono Memorial Hwy and saw Gene Autry Road. There were a lot of cainos along the highway but we restrained ourselves and never stopped at any. Anyway, had a great day.

Wilderness Lakes

Got here yesterday. Beautiful park, nice wide sites and there's canals running throughout the park with lots of ducks swimming in them. There's mallards, coots (black ducks with white bills and they dive to the bottom of the canal to get their food) Canada geese, egrets (a white small heron-type of bird) and today I saw some turkeys...not sure if they're wild or from a farm nearby. Nice big adult and family lodges, pool room, puzzle room, one of the two pools are open as well as the hot tubs. Think we're going to enjoy it here!

Baptised in LA

It rained heavy Friday night and was nice Sat morning so we thought the rain storm was over. The fellow camped next to us runs tours into LA so we went with him. Took the MetroLink...a commuter rail service...into LA. Nice trains and we got to see a lot along the way...Jack pointed out so many things to us including the place where Micheal Jackson is interred, unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of it from the train.

Got into Union Station...so much to see just at the station. Part of it was built many years ago and then there's the new part built in the last 10 years or so. Fantastic skylight dome in there. From there we walked and took buses to the fashion, jewellery,financial and fabric districts. Each of these districts are several blocks square and the prices are really cheap, but its hard to know what to buy especially the first time you see it. There was store after store of nothing but fabrics from floor to ceiling, some of which was priced as low as $1 a yard! Lots of gold jewellery...but who knows how good it is??? In the fashion district they had men's suits for 2 for $99 and several stores of beautiful formal and wedding gowns. There was also an area that was like a flea market...reminded us of being in Mexico or Jamaica. By this time it was pouring rain and we got drenched even though we had our umbrellas and I wasn't able to get many pictures.

Stopped for a bite to eat at Clifton's Cafeteria. It's been around since before the depression. Lots of neat things to see and the food was good. Took the subway back to Union station then the MetroLink back. We did all that on one ticket that cost us $15 for the two of us...not a bad deal...too bad it rained so much that it was hard to really enjoy it! This morning of course is bright and sunny.

Airplanes

It was sunny and warm today so we went to Palmdale and found the Blackbird Airpark and the Joe Davies Heritage Airpark...two parks side by side. One is a part of Andrew's Air Force Base and the other is run by the city of Palmdale. Lots of really neat fighter and training planes. I took a lot of pics but haven't downloaded them yet. Hard to post pics from here...the connection is pretty slow.

Also found a Sam's Club...Wal-Mart's version of Costco...but you need a membership to shop there so we went to the HUGE Wal-Mart that was right beside it. Also stopped at BevMo. This place is the size of a Safeway and sells liquor, snacks, olives, onions, glasses and anything else you'd need to serve a variety of drinks. Their sale today was buy a bottle of wine get the second one for five cents. B got a 1.75l of Clan MacGregor Scotch for $12.99 (it's $29.95 in Washington). When we got up to the cashier I joined the BevMo club (like a Safeway Club Card) and got $3 off B's scotch and $1 off the bottle of Triple Sec I got. Too bad we're limited on the amount we can bring home!

We also went back to the 99 cent store we found the other day and a store that sells clothes, housewares etc really cheap. B got 2 polo shirts for $3.99 each, and they look really nice....only problem they don't have pockets!

Bird Rescue

Yesterday the wireless internet at the adult lodge kept cutting me off the internet so we drove over to the family clubhouse and got on fine there. As I was posting my blog a bird flew over my head...he'd gotten trapped indoors so B opened the door and we herded the bird out to fly away.

It was so nice and sunny this morning and there was no cold breeze so we decided to go up and soak in the hot tub...it was nice!! Went back to the trailer for lunch then I went to the clubhouse for the craft session. Yesterday we made 3D cards and started an Easter Centerpiece. Today I finished the centerpiece. There are a lot of people in the park who live in their rigs full time and just go from park to park or work in a park for several months at a time. I can see how they how they get hooked on it. Today my "housework" consisted of shaking out the mats, sweeping the floor, taking out the garbage and B dumped the holding tanks...half an hour and the housework is done!!!

Does anyone know why it gets so hot in the desert during the day then so cold at night???? Been thinking about that and I wonder if it's because there isn't enough moisture in the ground to hold the heat...kinda the same principle as a microwave???

Kitty Cats

Yesterday we went for a drive north on Hwy 14 past Palmdale and Lancaster to Rosamond and visited the Exotic Feline Breeding Compound's Feline Conservation Center. As luck would have it we got there about half an hour before feeding time so we got to see all the cats then went back and watched as they were given their food. Most of them got fed chicken and some had horse meat. We saw one that even got a mouse...apparently they buy the mice (dead). The cat didn't care if the mouse was alive or not he/she still played with it the way cats do, before disappearing into his "bedroom" to eat it. It was wierd hearing the cats crunch through the bones. After they ate they washed themselves just like house cats!

Edward's Air Force Base is in the same area but since 9-11 the base is closed to visitors unless you have reservations for a tour. We stopped at a casino, but they only have table games so we didn't stay long. Found a Costco and bought some batteries for my camera as well as a bottle of scotch and brandy....in California liquor is sold in the grocery stores.

The weather has been between 3*C and 19*C but when you look out the trailer window you think it should be nice and warm with the sunshine and dry ground...but is actually is quite chilly. Apparenly we're in high desert here but when we get down around Palm Springs that is considered low desert...either way we've been told that it gets cold at night in the desert!!! Ah well, we toasty and warm in the trailer!

Soledad Canyon

On our way down we saw lots of sheep with their little lambs right beside them. After we left the casino we were driving in the Sacramento Valley and saw lots of rice paddies, olive and nut groves and orchards that were just starting to come into bloom. They had bee hives ready to do the pollinating for them. Turned off the highway to go into Lake Minden...one of our T.T. parks. We had a choice of Hwy 99 or 70 then turn on Marcum Rd. According to the chart in the book 70 looked easier and shorter...what a mistake!!!!!! Unknown to us they've been reconstructing Hwy 70. It was beautiful to drive on but they closed Marcum Rd. The GPS was telling us to turn but there was no road. Took the next exit and again the GPS told us to turn where there wasn't a road. Wound our way around the narrow country roads, asked directions a couple of times, made a U turn in a wider part of one road, stopped at the Post Office...it was closed for lunch...luckily a guy stopped and told us which road to turn on...FINALLY FOUND IT!!!! It's a nice park but we didn't unhook and it was too far to walk to the clubhouse with the computer.

Left there in the morning and decided to take Hwy 99...maybe it wouldn't be as rough as I-5...it was better but still pretty rough in spots. Drove through the San Joaquin Valley. The fruit trees here are in full bloom and look really pretty. Tonight we stayed in a Flying J truck stop. There's a Jack in the Box here so we went for breakfast. Hwy 99 connected back to I-5.

I-5 was really rough and B was getting pretty disgusted. Pulled into Soledad Canyon T.T...really easy to find this one!! It's a huge park. Went for a walk and saw the adult and family clubhouses, the adult and family pools, climbing wall and duck pond, etc. The family pool is the biggest, nicest shaped pool I've seen, but it's closed for the winter.

It was cool and breezy yesterday, last night it rained for a couple of hours and today is bright and sunny, not too hot because you're in a canyon here. Tomorrow we'll head out and explore the area.

Reporting In

We're in another casino parking lot...but this time I can connect to the internet right from the trailer!!! How cool is that???? We went in and signed up for the club card, they gave us $5 each to play with and told us that every Tuesday and Thursday is seniors day and you get the buffet for 2 for 1. Today's Tuesday so guess where we had dinner!!! $14.95 for the 2 of us and it was a WONDERFUL buffet!...only problem is we ate too much. B's out walking around the parking lot to wear some of the food off. This place is HUGE and there's lots of RV's and lots and lots of truckers in the lot. Sounds like it could be a bit noisy tonight, but that usually doesn't bother us...if it did we could have parked in their RV park here with full hook-ups for $25...free sounded better, even if it's a bit noisy!

First couple of days it was cool, cloudy or rainy, but today started off at 7*C and by this afternoon it was 30*C...had to take off my sweatshirt!! We also put out the awning...it was soooo wet and drippy but dried very quickly. I'll post again when I get a connection.

Olympic Torch

The Olympic torch went past the school at the end of our street this afternoon and the WHOLE neighbourhood came out to watch it!! My friend M wanted to see it too so she came for lunch and went down with us. It was quite the sight but the girl ran fast and it was in sight and gone in the blink of an eye...good thing she was preceeded by several trucks from the sponsers and lots and lots of police and RCMP in cars, vans and motorbikes. The school kids were all dressed in red and white, had made hats and many had their faces painted. The atmosphere was very electric to say the least! There was even a bunch of elementary kids standing in a group and singing "O Canada" while we were waiting for the torch!

It's Thursday already???

We had our Women's ministry Secret Pal Meeting Monday. It was my turn to help so was busy making centerpieces and setting tables, came home had dinner and went back for the meeting....it was fun and the speaker was really funny! Now to get the paperwork done so we have a record of who has who for their secret pal.

Today after B got home from his Men's Group we headed out to the RV show. Think they finally heard all our complaining about the trailers being too high...there were quite a few that will actually fit in our garage, unlike a couple of years ago when we had a devil of a time to find one. Thankfully we didn't find one that either of us wanted to trade the Tango in on...not sure I'm ready to try and re-organize another trailer so soon...haven't got this one organized the way I want it yet...after all we've only had it a year and a half...not 34 years like the Prowler!!

On the way home we stopped to see grandkids. Ch was so excited because he went to the eye doctor and he needs reading glasses???? Who ever heard of a 9 year old needing reading glasses???? Thought that only happed when you got old!!!

Casino Fun

Yesterday evening we went to a community meeting reguarding putting a Night Market in the area down by the casino. They seemed to have addressed the problems of traffic and parking quite well and it's only for a two year trial so I'm quite looking forward to it.

Today we went to the casino and met our friends R&C. Had the pasta lunch and then played on the machines for awhile. My "hot seat" machine was taken so I tried another one and what do you know??? I did quite well on it and came out ahead...good lunch, great friends and winning besides...can't beat that!

Delightful Sunday

Wonderful service at church this morning...informative, thought prvoking, humourous and full of praise...that coupled with fellowship, what more could a person ask ??

After lunch we headed out to Langley to see our friends and exchange our Christmas gifts. I realize that we're a month late but with them having had the flu and schedules the way they are I was thinking it would be next Christmas that we exchanged our gifts. Also stopped at #2 daughter and son-in-law's. Got hugs and kisses from our grandkids and had a lovely dinner with them. We asked them to come in for dinner next week so we can all go to our church to hear the Watoto Children's choir from Uganda. They're such a lively, upbeat group of kids and they put on a great concert!

Phone/security alarm Saga

Everything seemed to be working fine until 3:15 am when the siren went off and woke us up. Reset it, but then of course couldn't get back to sleep. B was out this morning and when he came home he saw one of the securtity alarm trucks down the road so he snaffled onto the guy. Of course there was no work order so he couldn't do much but he did tell me the next time the trouble light goes on I should enter a certain code and it should tell me what the problem is. Who would ever think I'd be praying for the alarm to go off....even in the middle of the night if necessary?????

No Phone

Ever since we got home our phone line has been making lots of wierd noises then on Friday it went dead completely. I called Telus from my cell and they said they'd send a guy out Sat, sometime between 8 and 5...means I have to stay home all day. Got up early Sat, still no phone. Checked again about 9 and wow! dial tone...the guy must have fixed it. Freedom, I get to take Mom shopping! When I got home the security alarm system was beeping and the trouble light was on. Phone's dead again. Phoned Telus on the cell...again. Apparently the appointment was still open...the guy hadn't been down yet. He came and reconnected to a new wire out at the pole and everything is working fine....that is until around 10:15pm the siren on our alarm system starts howling because there was a break in the phone service...so phone again. What gremlins are at work here???? Got an appointment for Wed. Guy came and of course everything is working fine, but he changed some more wires. Hopefully it'll work now! This is getting frustrating!!!!

How many days???

I was figuring it out today and we've only been home from La Conner for 5 nights....seems like a lot more! A dear friend from our church passed away while we were gone so Thursday I was at the church all day, first helping make the food for the luncheon and then for the service. I was so glad that I could help the family at this time.

Didn't take the Christmas tree down before we left so got busy and now it and all the decorations are down and put away for another year. I keep saying I'm not going to put up so many decorations but every year I tend to do more...that's because I just LOVE the season!

Yesterday I met some friends when I took Mom to the store and they reminded me of the church pot luck tomorrow so came home and made a vegetable casserole. Just got that finished when friends called and said they were in our neighbourhood, so they stopped in for coffee. It happened that it's their 11th anniversary so I asked them to stay for dinner. Good thing I'd cooked a lot the day before so it was really easy...warm up the chicken stew, heat up a can of corn and put out some pickles.

The pot luck today was really well attended and the food was great...it always surprises me at the veriety of dishes everyone prepares!

Beach Cabin #1

We rented a cabin at the La Conner Thousand Trails park for a week. Took Mom with us. On Saturday our friends D&M come for the day. In a couple of days it would be M's birthday, so I made dinner and bought a cake and had an impromptu birthday party. Before dinner we played a game called "Spello", that our friend G invented and printed. M enjoyed it so much I gave him a copy. We certainly had a great time, and renting a cabin is an ideal way to take Mom with us for a week.

Isn't the Internet Grand???

I haven't had much time for checking e-mails lately but when I did I had 2 from relatives in Sweden, 1 from friends whom we've been wanting to get together with for several months and just can't seem to connect with, 1 from friends we met while camping at one of our Thousand Trails parks a couple of years ago, and 1 from a gal I went to school with...many, many moons ago!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

May 2010 bring you nothing but health, happiness and joy!!!

We had a delightful New Year's Eve. Went to #2 daughter and son-in-law's. They had some friends from their church in and a fellow my son-in-law has known for many years. The guys had a guitar, drum, shakers and a triangle and our granddaughter had her ukuele and violin so they had a jam session and we sang Christmas songs and church songs. The kids all played really well together and watched a movie...all but one of them managed to stay up till midnight and welcome in the New Year!