Bad Blogger!

Shame on me...no new posts in over 2 weeks!  Guess I've got some catching up to do.  Truth is, we haven't done anything worth writing about in that two weeks.  We left Louisiana behind, stopping in Beaumont for 2 nights.  Nothing much going on there.

Then we stopped at Belton Lake for 4 nights, at the Cedar Ridge Corps of Engineers Campground.  Cowboy was happy, because he got some good fishing in.  But honestly, the highlight of my time there was going to Dollar Tree.  Love that little store!

Then we came home.  End of story.

Well, not quite the end, although I don't see why anyone would be interested in our humdrum home life.  Except us. 

First off, we were so excited about being home, we gave ourselves a welcome home party.  I fixed a huge pot of Chicken Tortilla Soup (the recipe's at the bottom of this post, if you're interested) and we fed ourselves, our son, our daughter, son-in-law and grandgirls, and our loaner son & daughter, with their little one.  Then our best friends (of 35 years!) stopped by, and we had a house full!  What a welcome home!

The rest of the week was spent visiting Tim's brother, doing laundry, buying groceries, voting, attending a couple of funerals (not fun), getting haircuts, doing more laundry, buying more groceries, delivering a car to Dallas for the local Chevrolet dealership (Cowboy's very part-time job - I just rode along to keep him company), and attending worship services.  Oh, and the Cowboy and his middle brother hauled a bunch of hay out of the field.  Horses gotta eat this winter!

Saturday was a fun day.  Cowboy wanted to geocache, and, since he couldn't find anyone fun to go with him, he bullied, I mean, sweet-talked, me into going with.  But, saved by the bell (at least I thought so), my brother called just as we were about to leave and said he and his lovely wife were in town and would like to meet us somewhere for lunch. Yay!  We went to a brand new Mexican restaurant in town, Rio Mambo, and had a wonderful, relaxing and fun lunch.  Brother only lives about two hours away from us, but it seems we hardly ever see each other, so this was a real blessing.

But, my reprieve was over as soon as lunch ended.  Brother had to get on with his business, so off we went to find those caches.  I went, armed with a cold drink, my i-phone, and my Kindle.  Oh, and Charlie Chihuahua couldn't be left behind.  Hunting for geocaches is not my favorite thing, but I do get a kick out of the Cowboy's excitement, and we had nice weather for it, and I like getting out and seeing the country, going down roads I wouldn't normally travel.  Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, after all.

Now comes the most exciting part of my week.  Have I mentioned that my beautiful, talented grandgirls have been in music classes since they could crawl?  And the 10 year old has been taking piano classes for 4 years, and the 8 year old, for 2 years?  I'm sure I have.

Saturday, they played in the local Piano Festival, along with I-don't-know-how-many-but-it-was-a-lot of other kids.  They were all judged, (or graded may be a better word) and received certificates according to how well they did.  The ones who got the highest commendations were asked to play in the Honors Recital at the end of the day's activities.  And our oldest was asked to play, along with about 20 other kids. 

Parents and grandparents are not allowed to watch them play for the judges (makes them too nervous), but we are invited to watch the Recital, so our daughter called to let us know about it, and we rushed to the church where it was being held. 

These kids are all impressive, but, I must say, our grandgirl was awesome.  Not one mistake.  I was so impressed.  She has always shown a lot of talent for the piano, but she's gotten even better while we've been gone on this trip.  It was just awesome to watch those little fingers fly across the keyboard, and hear the beautiful music she produced.  Just. Awesome.

After the Recital, we all went out for hamburgers (yay, did you catch that?  We ate out twice in one day!  No cooking - or dishwashing - for me all day long!)

Then we all went to see Cowboy's brother, Richard.  He fell,  back a couple of months ago and damaged his spinal cord.  After surgery to stabilize his neck, and intensive rehab in a Dallas hospital, he was moved to a local rehab center just before we came home.  I want to thank all of you who have  been praying for his full recovery.  He is determined to walk again, and is making great progress.  Keep praying, okay? 

So, anyhow, all 7 of us (us, our son, our daughter's family) stopped to see Richard on the way home.  Which was just the perfect end to the perfect day.

And that's what we've been doing.  Back to wonderful, boring, blessed, real life.  It's good to be home.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Cooked chicken - baked, broiled, grilled, rotisserie...whatever and however much you've got - I used about 2  chicken breasts.  Shredded or chopped
1 can of beans, black or pinto
1 can of corn or hominy
1 can of tomatoes and green chiles, like Rotel
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 chopped onion
1 chopped bell pepper, whatever color you like
1 envelope taco mix
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
1 tablespoon oil
Whatever else you think would be good

Saute the onion and bell pepper until softened.  Add all the other ingredients, and simmer for about half an hour.

Serve lots of toppings.  We like crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, picante sauce, sour cream, olives, chopped green onions, sliced avocado, and lime wedges.  And jalapenos.

Serves 4 - 6. 

All Good Things...

This week has been absolutely full of "good things."  Starting with Sunday, when we attended First Baptist Church of Pearl River. 

 

Just when we were trying to decide which church to attend, I got a message on Facebook from an old acquaintance from elementary days, Tobey Pitman, wanting to get together for coffee while we were in the area.  Turns out, Doctor Pitman is now preaching at Pearl River, which is only about 20 miles from here.  I knew he had been a missionary in New Orleans, but we had no idea he was pastoring a church now.  We thoroughly enjoyed the church, the sermon and the friendly people.  Tobey and his sweet wife, Kathy, graciously invited us to their home for supper after the evening service. The meal was great, and we really enjoyed hearing about their fascinating work as missionaries.  

 

 

Tuesday, we finally made it to New Orleans to see the sights there.  We had a great meal in the French Quarter, then just strolled around Jackson Square enjoying the street performers, artists and musicians.  I especially got a kick out the decorated carriages. 

 

 

 



I thought this purple one was the best.

 

 

 

Wednesday, we ate lunch at the New Orleans Seafood Restaurant in Covington. The Pitmans had suggested this place, and it was all they said it would be. The rest of the day, we pretty much just hung around the RV park. The cowboy loves the fishing here.

 

Thursday, we took a two hour tour through the Honey Island Swamp.  Ya'll, this ranked right up there with Disney World on the enjoyment meter.  Who knew a swamp could be so beautiful!  We saw all sorts of animals.  There were lots of alligators (of course), and raccoons, and all kinds of birds.

 



Great Blue Heron.

 

The Pearl River runs right through the swamp.

 

 

 Ibis in the tops of the trees.  So pretty.

 

 

Thursday night we ate at the Camelia Cafe here in Abita Springs.  We discovered this place last year when we stayed here.  They serve some seriously wonderful seafood.  And...get this...on Thursday evenings, they give everyone 55 and over a 55 per cent discount.  Have you ever heard of such a thing?!!!  I've never been so glad to be so old!  The food is fantastic, and we had enough leftovers for three more meals.  What a deal.

 

 



 Finally, we have spent a lot of time over the last two weeks just chilling here at Abita Springs RV Park.  The next few photos will show you why:

A goose, swimming on the fishing pond.

 

Charlie really wants to play with that goose!  The bird doesn't seem too worried.  Think he knows that Charlie wouldn't get in the water even if I removed the leash?  Charlie hates getting wet.

Cowboy finally got a picture of the geese coming in for a landing.  They fly in every morning.  You can hear them honking, announcing their arrival, before you can see them.

The pond at sunset.

 

 



 It is going to break my heart a little bit to leave this place.

However.

All good things....must come to an end.  After all, if they didn't, we'd never get to experience the next good thing.  And the next good thing in our near future is .... home.

Yep, you heard it here first, folks.  We turn towards home come Monday.  We won't be in any real hurry to get there.  We kind of hope to find another adventure or two along the way.  But a week, maybe two, will see us back in our old home town in North Central Texas. 

And I'm thinking that seeing our family, our church family and our friends who feel like family, may just be the greatest adventure of all!

The 5er

It occurred to me that I've shown pictures of the outside of our Fifth Wheel, but not much of the inside.  So, that's my subject for today.  Living in the 5er.  Here's the pictures.

Our dining room/office/craft room.  Looks nice doesn't it?  It usually has a printer, a toaster oven, and a million other things piled on top.  It cleans up good, though.

 

Our real dining room is there at the end of the trailer, since we generally eat in the recliners.  Yes, we are slobs. But the TV is at the other end of the room.  So, every night, we can enjoy "Dinner and a Show."  *Smile*

 

The kitchen.  There's a double sink.  A microwave/convection oven. The stove has a good size oven and three burners.  No dishwasher, though. 

 

And when I'm not using the stove, the top folds down for more counter space.

 

The little refrigerator is to the left of the stove, and the pantry is left of the refrigerator.

 

Just past the pantry, up a couple of steps is the bedroom.  It came with a bedspread to match the wallpaper and curtains, but it was kind of cheap looking, and just got in the way.  So I stored back at the house.  I hate to make beds anyway.  Oh, and the mirror on the far side?  That's the sliding closet doors.  We have a really large closet.  Nice.

 

The dressers across from the bed.  The TV swings out, so we can watch TV in bed.

 

The door beside the sink is to the "throne room."  But I don't think you really want to see a picture of the toilet.  Not that it's ugly or anything.  It's just...a toilet.

 

The shower.

 

 

So, that's it.  Except, it's really never this clean.  Being on the road hasn't improved my housekeeping skills at all.  But it is increadibly easy to keep semi-clean, anyway.  Which is a good thing, since we'd much rather be out exploring (or even just staying in and reading a book!) than cleaning house.

 

I think it's very clever how the manufacturer managed to fit all the necessities, and even a few luxuries, into 29 feet.  There's lots of (much) larger rigs on the road, as well as much smaller ones.  That's one of the things I love about RV people...it doesn't matter how large or small, how old or new, how shabby or shiny, all that matters is that we are all so excited about what we are doing.

 

We've met people from all 50 states, including Hawaii and Alaska, as well as Canada, Australia, and Puerto Rico.  All different ages, races, some full time RVers, some just on vacation for a few days, or, like us, a few months.  Almost everyone is friendly.  No one is snobby or stuck up.  We are all just here to have fun.

 

We are incredibly blessed to be doing what we are doing.

 

 



Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch....

We have baby chickens!  Sorry the picture is a little fuzzy.  Our daughter took it with her phone, then texted it to me.  I love modern technology.

 

 

The mama is a Silkie. That's something I'd never heard of until Daughter brought her home.  Hope the horses don't step on them.  See the hooves on the other side of the barn door? 

 

I am so thankful for our children, who are taking care of the horses, the chickens, the house and everything while we are gone.  We definitely would not have the freedom to travel without them there.  We are so blessed.

 

BIG NEWS FLASH! - Today, the 16th of October, marks 3 months on the road for us.  That's one fourth of a year!  It has been an amazing experience so far.  We have seen amazing things, met interesting people, and actually enjoyed just being together.  'Course, it helped seeing the kids, grandkids, and loaner kids during the past few weeks.  And sometime this week I hope to see and old school friend who lives in this area.  So fun! 

 

We are planning to go home around the first of December.  Now that we are headed that direction, and just one state away, it would be great if some of our friends and family would come visit us on the road (hint, hint!!)  I love the traveling, but I do miss the home folks.

 

I promised pictures of Disney World, but honestly, I don't have that many.  I didn't want to be weighed down with a camera while we were there, so all I took into the parks was my phone.  But here's a few.

 

One of my favorite things about Disney World is all the plants and flowers.  This Mickey was just outside the Magic Kingdom.

 

 



Each park has at least one musical stage show.  We saw Beauty and the Beast at Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The grown ups in our group were just as enchanted as the grandgirls.

And of course, no trip to Disney is complete without seeing It's a Small World.  It's cute.  The girls love it.  And someday, I will get that silly song out of my head!

S.O.S.

 

I'm still planning to tell you more about our fun times with the grandgirls at Disney World, but I'm still sorting through photos.  Kind of a lame excuse, since I didn't take that many.  Too busy having fun to take pictures.  In the meantime, here's  a pretty sunset at Mexico Beach.  My phone's camera really doesn't do it justice.

 

 

 

 

 

We did go buy groceries at Wal-Mart yesterday.  It was necessary.  We were pretty much down to nothing.  In fact, I had to pull out the very last of my emergency pantry items for supper Tuesday.  Want the recipe for our favorite pantry meal?  Of course you do.

 

I've heard this stuff called S.O.S. all my life.  My mom said it stood for Slop On a Slab.  Later, I heard it was called something even worse in the Army. (Sh** on a Shingle, if you really want to know.)  Sounds disgusting, doesn't it?  We really like it.  A lot.  Maybe because I hardly ever fix it, it remains something of a treat.

 

Mama used to make it by cutting up the dried beef, frying it in butter, then adding flour, then milk.  She would serve it over toast, or left over biscuits, dinner rolls or hamburger buns.  Whatever was on hand. 

 

I cheat and use an envelope of Pioneer Gravy Mix.  When I can find it, I use the low-fat gravy mix.  Makes me almost feel like this is health food, since the dried beef is naturally very low fat.  There's no getting around the salt content though.  I imagine there's enough sodium in this stuff to..to...to...

Well, I'm obviously no good at metaphors.  So here's the recipe.

 

S.O.S.

 

1 jar dried beef (look for it near the canned tuna and Spam)

1 envelope Pioneer (or any brand) country gravy mix

2 cups water (or however much the gravy mix calls for)

 

You can rinse the beef to remove some of the salt if you want.  It won't make much difference to the taste. 

 

Cut up the beef into little bits.  Mix it all up with a whisk in a skillet. Heat until it gets thick.  Add a little more water if it gets too thick. Serve over toast.  Or biscuits.  Or whatever starchy stuff you have that needs to be eaten.

 

We like canned spinach (seasoned with a little vinegar from jalapeno peppers) and sliced tomatoes with this.  Well, I like the tomatoes.  Cowboy thinks they're poison. 

 

And that's it.  Except for the tomatoes, everything came out of the pantry.  A few times, when I somehow ended up with mushrooms that needed to be eaten right away, I've added mushrooms sauteed in butter to the beef & gravy.  We call it Gourmet S.O.S.  I guess you could add canned mushrooms.  But I don't much like canned mushrooms.  But if you like them, feel free.  I won't judge.

 

While sorting through pictures on my computer, I found this one from ten years ago. 

 

 

 

 

That's brother-in-law Richard, me (Kay) and Cowboy Tim, at Disney World in 2002. 

Ahhh, memories!

 

Sore Toes (Not That I'm Complaining)

 

 

Disney was tons of fun, and as soon as I sort through the pictures, I'll tell you a little more about it.  In the meantime, here's one of my "Goofy" Cowboy.  Makes me laugh!

 

 

Alas, all good things must come to an end.  Seems like we were just getting started, and suddenly it was time to say good-bye.  The kids flew home on Thursday evening, and we loaded up and pulled out early (for us!) Friday morning. 

We made it all the way to Ocala North RV park (about 75 miles) before we gave up and collapsed.  We didn't even un-hitch the pickup from the trailer.  Yep.  All that fun, fun, fun done wore us down, down, down.  Anyhow, it rained cats and dogs the rest of the day, and who wants to pull a big old trailer in the rain?!

Saturday morning we drove to Mexico Beach, on the Gulf of Mexico and spent the night at Golden Isles RV Park.  It wasn't right on the beach, but the price was right, and the manager was friendly.  After a scrumptious dinner (fried shrimp - yum!) at Killer Seafood, we went back to the RV park and ... did laundry.  Loads and loads of laundry.  Aren't you glad I shared that tidbit of information with you?  The excitement just never ends!

Next day was Sunday, and we were so glad to attend service at First Baptist in Port St. Joe.  The main text was from Psalm One, but here's what stuck with me:  The preacher reminded us that God struck down more Hebrews in the Old Testament for grumbling and complaining than for any other sin.  He actually said that whining is a sin.  Ouch.  I never really thought of it that way before.  I mean, OUCH!!!  And then he challenged the congregation to try to go just one day without complaining.  Two days later, I'm telling you, it's a pretty humbling exercise.  Just try it yourself.  Or maybe you're not a complainer.  Am I the only one?  Yeah, I didn't think so. 

He went on to point out that our main job here on Earth (as in Heaven) is to praise God, and, well, to make Him look good.  And, how does it look when God's people go around all mopey and grumbly all the time?  Oh my poor, poor toes.  Not that I'm complaining. 

I always think of myself as a grateful person.  Not difficult, because I have so much to be thankful for.  But, evidently, that doesn't keep me from complaining about all sorts of things.  Just keeping it real.  You knew I wasn't perfect anyway. 

It was a great sermon. 

And, after a quick lunch, we had one more thing to truly praise God for - we got to visit with our "loaner" kids!!!  I haven't talked much about my loaner family, have I?  The Doc & his Mrs. moved down the street from us a few years ago, and started attending our church.  Their "birth" parents live up north, so they quickly adopted us as their "stand-in" family.  They now have an adorable 2 year old baby, our loaner grand-boy.  I can't tell you how much I love and adore this precious family.  About the same age as our kids, they just fit in with us like they belong.  And they do. 

So, anyway, they are staying at Port St. Joe this week with her folks, and we got to go to their beach house and visit with the whole bunch of them.  They are wonderful people, and have been so gracious about "sharing" their kids with us.  They come to Texas often, and we always enjoy visiting with them.  We keep hoping they will just pack up and move down here (hint, hint).

We finally left them to catch up with each other, (but not until I got a good dose of that "grand-boy"), and loaded the trailer up so we could pull out the next morning.  We are now a little further down the road in Robertsdale, Alabama.  At Styx River RV Park.  A few miles east of Mobile. 

Can't wait to see what adventures await us here.  I'm pretty sure I see a trip to Wal-Mart in my near future!!! 

Cowboy

Waiting for the grandgirls.