Catching up with Larry & Babs

The meds seem to be working – YAY! Thank you, God, for giving men the ability to cure disease. I am grateful for antibiotics and other medication. Still coughing and my chest/throat hurt when I do, but it's getting looser and that's a good thing.

The main thing on the calendar today was lunch with Larry & Babs Cameron. We met Larry & Babs at Rainbow Plantation in Alabama last year. Larry is the park chef and Babs is the park's goodwill ambassador. Larry's position is an acknowledged, paid position while Babs' is well, just Babs. They are both fantastic folks who always have time to speak to you and to lend a hand, if necessary. Babs makes beautiful jewelry and has pieces for sale at the park's monthly craft & flea markets. It is a joy to be know them.

We met at Ruby Tuesday in Wilson which is about halfway between Winterville and their home in Zebulon. As is usually the case with RVers, there was no awkward, getting-reacquainted-time, we just hugged and fell right into conversation. Before we realized it, an hour and a half had flown by and it was time to say our “see ya laters.”

I did get a couple of pictures, though! I always want to do that and often forget. But not this time.

Larry & Babs

The four of us

The weather has finally broken a bit. We had a good thunderstorm yesterday with it easing off into just rain. Today has been overcast most of the day with a few rains showers. It's still humid, but nothing like earlier in the week and the temps barely got into the 80s today. Big change.

Dan & Deb are due back late this evening. We'll be getting ready for our departure early Friday morning. I think the four of us will go out to dinner one last time tomorrow night. Then, it will be time to say good-bye until November.

Okay, I'm a little tired from all this excitement. :) I'm gonna chill the rest of the evening. Randy's looking forward to re-installing programs on his computer. He had it in the shop the last couple of days because it froze up on him last Friday. So, now he gets to put it back the way he wants it. Hopefully, it's all better now.

Good-bye, June. It was fun while it lasted. Until the next time . . .

Better Living thru Chemistry :)

After having a nasty coughing spell last night, I decided I should go to Urgent Care to see just what this creepin' crud is that I've been fighting (and losing!).

So, after doing the bare minimum this morning to get out the door – walking Blackie, having a cup of coffee and checking FB and the blogs – Randy and I headed here

to wait to be seen. Thankfully, we got there when they opened so there really wasn't a wait at all.

After a very thorough, five minute exam, the doctor said she'd give me a prescription for an antibiotic and left the room. Guess my articulate description of my symptoms so impressed her that she needed no further information. That's okay. I got what I wanted.

Conveniently located across the street is

where I dropped off the prescription so it could be filled. Then Randy and I walked across the parking lot to

so we could grab some breakfast while we waited for my prescription to be ready.

Wasn't it nice of the town of Greenville to place these establishments so close together? :)

Once we were done with our very nutritious breakfast, we picked up my prescription and went home. On the way we checked out some of the neighborhoods. We can't get over how affordable housing is here! Of course, coming from the Washington-Baltimore area, anything is affordable comparatively. But, really. You can get a very nice three bedroom home for less than $120K. I don't think you can buy anything for that back home.

The rest of the day has been spent as usual; TV, computer and napping. Although we did have a thunderstorm this afternoon which added some excitement to the day. One of Dan & Debbie's dogs, Jack, is scared to death of thunderstorms. He is a Katrina rescue dog and has never recovered from the trauma of being caught in Hurricane Katrina. The poor little guy huddles next to you and shakes until the storm passes.

We're settled in for the night. I'm hoping the drugs kick in fairly quickly 'cause I sure don't like this cough. It hurts! Yeah, yeah. Poor me. :)

Tomorrow is gonna be fun. We found out that some RVing friends live in the area and we're going to meet them for lunch. For our Plantation family, it's Larry & Babs. They live just west of Winterville and contacted us when they found out we were here. Can't wait to catch up with them. I'll be sure to get a picture to share!

Until the next time . . .

Um . . . I Got Nuthin' . . .

Yeah, no witty titles, nothing to say that will make you go, “Hmmmmmm . . .” Just nuthin'. Sorry.

Today was much like the last few. Weather is very hot, so we stay inside and watch TV, play on the computer, and I read and cross stitch. Oh, yeah! I went to Curves this morning, too. And Randy took the car to the shop to have the A/C coolant filled.

I did take another picture of the baby birdies. They sure have grown in five days.

And I asked Dan what bird they are; he told me and I've forgotten. Duh. I'll try to remember to ask him again and then remember long enough to tell you!

That's it from Winterville, NC. Until the next time . . .

A Lazy Weekend

Oh, my. I don't think I've ever been this lazy. Well, not recently, at least. I'm sure my mother could rattle off plenty of times she thought I was being lazy. ;) Anyway, Randy & I have been total couch potatoes, to the point of taking very long naps both days.

I am not feeling all that great, so that's my excuse, er, um, I mean, reason. I've got a cold or bronchitis or some kind of crud trying to take hold. I'm hoping it will just go away, but probably not. I'll mot likely end up going to the walk-in clinic in town. Lovely.

We did rouse ourselves long enough this morning to make a run to WalMart. And, since we were doing that, AND it was only 8:45, seems reasonable for us to stop for breakfast at Golden Corral. I mean, my mom always told me not to go to the grocery on an empty stomach. So, I was being responsible, right?

That's the second time I've mentioned my mother in this post. Hmmmmmmm . . . any psychologists out there????

Okay, that's enough foolishness. Dinner is done. Randy is cleaning up the kitchen and we're settling in for another quiet evening. Gosh, I'm not sure if I can stand the excitement!!

Until the next time . . .

More of the Same and An Anniversary

Yeah, it was another hot morning. Walking out to go to Curves this morning, the heat/humidity was just oppressive. It feels more like August than late June. Oh, well. It's still better than the ugly cold weather we had this past winter in Alabama.

Randy & I spent the day much as we did yesterday. Nothing new to report there.

This evening we went out to dinner with Dan & Debbie and their son, Tony and his family. Today is Dan & Debbie's 34th wedding anniversary! We went to a Chinese buffet. They had at least ten stations to choose from! Unbelievable. As usual, I waddled away from the table. I have absolutely no discipline when I go to one of those restaurants. Thankfully we don't go often. :)

Dan & Deb leave for Savannah tomorrow and will be gone until late Wednesday. We'll be on duty. Randy got his orders this evening regarding the gardens. And we'll both be walking dogs for the next few days. What we do for our friends! :)

Until the next time . . .

What a Hottie!

No, I'm not talking about me! Settle down. :)

I'm talking about what everyone else is talking about – the weather!! Just like the winter was unusual, seems like the summer is going to be the same way. Most everyone is experiencing this hot weather. The thermometer crept very close to 100* here. That's just too flippin' hot!

We did a whole lot of nothin' today; our main intent was to stay cool. And I think we accomplished that. I did go to Curves first thing this morning, so I got my workout in. I made some decent progress on my cross stitching. I also got a nap. :) I think I may be getting a cold. Fun. :(

Randy's been working on transferring all his e-newsletters over to our new Gmail account. It's been rather frustrating for him 'cause his netbook keeps freezing up. He's not been a happy camper.

I did go outside long enough to take some pictures of Dan & Debbie's home. Dan has turned his yard into a showplace. Just gorgeous. I thought I'd share . . .

Other than that, it's been a quiet day. Debbie was at work. Dan piddled out in his yard early in the morning, then met his son and grandkids for lunch. The grandkids ended up coming home with him.

We did have a big dinner – lots of people and food. Dan & Debbie's eldest son and his family live close by, so when they picked up the kids they ended up staying for dinner. It was a “clean out the frig of leftovers” dinner, which in my humble opinion is always a good meal.

Now, it's time to watch the results show for SYTYCD and just settle in.

Hope you're staying cool wherever you are! Until the next time . . .

Alive and Well in Winterville, NC

I have decided that Winterville needs to be renamed, at least for now, to HotandHumidville. Oh, my. It is some kinda ugly out there! Randy & I went out about 10:30 this morning for a run to WalMart (yes, even when we're away we have to make a run!) and the temp was in the mid 90s already!!

All I can say is, “UGH!!!!”

But, we are enjoying the coolness of being with our good friends, Dan & Debbie. It's been awhile since we've seen them. I think we stopped on the way home for Christmas last year. As always, we fall into an easy rhythm when we're together. They are the kind of friends you don't have to be entertained by. We all just do our thing; going about our daily routines. Deb still works, so we only get to visit with her in the evenings.

Dan & Deb will be leaving Saturday morning for Savannah. Debbie has a class to attend. That's one of the reasons we're here, we'll be house/dog/garden sitting for them. They have two dogs and LOTS of garden. Dan is a master gardener and he loves his flowers and bushes and vegetables. I'll have to take pictures to share with you.

That's it. Not sure what the next couple of days will bring. We've talked about doing some sightseeing, but if the heat doesn't ease a bit, I'm not sure that's gonna happen. Guess we (and you!) will have to wait and see!

I did nab this picture of baby birdies in a nest in the roof over the porch. There are five of them, but you can only see three. They were hollering for momma to bring them something to eat!

Until the next time . . .

Lots to Catch Up On!

Wow, I can't remember when I've gone this long without posting a blog entry – maybe never! But, the weekend was just too busy plus I wasn't able to upload pictures to the computer 'cause I didn't bring the USB cord with me. Instead, you'll get a longer post than usual today. :)

First, I have to give a HUGE shout-out to my friend, Tricia, who opened her home to us for the weekend. AND SHE WASN'T EVEN THERE!! Yeah, that's right. She was away for the weekend, but so graciously allowed us to stay at her house while we were in Columbia. Now, that's a friend, folks!

Friday was just a day to get down to Columbia and get settled in at Tricia's. We had nothing planned for that day. But, it sure was nice to be there as we were getting out the door early on Saturday morning for Kelly & Kate's swim meet that started at 8am. Having never been to a swim meet before, Randy & I didn't know what to expect. It is pandemonium; or “organized chaos” as Randy called it. Kids were everywhere, both swimmers and siblings. Add parents and grandparents and you've got some crowd.

The toughest thing we found was the waiting. Depending on how many kids you have on a team and the events in which they all swim, you can have a long wait between events. Kelly swam fairly early on in her first event, the individual medley.

Kate didn't swim in her first event until an hour and a half into the meet!

Both girls really love swimming and it was fun to watch them. James, their dad, is one of the team managers and Amita, their mom, was on timer duty for half the meet. We didn't get to visit at all because they were both so busy, but the girls sat with us off and on. The main thing was that the girls knew we were there and were supportive of them.

One really funny thing I need to share is that this random kid came up to Randy and just stuck his face in Randy’s face and had a stare-down. It was hilarious!! Neither Kelly nor Kate knew the kid and the kid just picked Randy out to “play with.” He was on the girls’ team, but wasn’t a friend of theirs. Very random, but very funny.

Saturday afternoon was the open house at our niece, Megan's, house. Megan and her husband, Matt, had bought a house in Columbia back in the spring and then had a baby in May, so they figured they had good reasons to celebrate and share their excitement with friends and family. I didn't get any pictures of Matt, Megan & Ryleigh, but got a few of other family members.

My folks; I think they look GREAT. Especially considering the health issues they’ve fought the last couple of years.

My mom with her granddaughter, Lisa who is holding the newest great granddaughter, Ryleigh. Other greats are (l to r) Kelsey, Kylie & Reagan.

My bro-in-law, Lou, cousin’s husband, Tony, and Randy.

Jason and Randy just chillin’.

Sunday morning we went to our former church, Grace Community. I had worked in several areas of ministry at Grace from 1998 – 2002, so there are lots of memories there. It's always like going home when we visit. We saw lots of old friends; got lots of hugs; heard “are you still doing that RV thing?” questions; and, of course, heard a fantastic message. Very bittersweet to be there. :)

We wound up our time in Columbia by going to David & Beth's home for a late breakfast. Beth & I worked together at Grace and became very good friends. We get together at least a couple of times when we come back East. When we do, it's always a good time, lots of laughs and good conversation.

The weekend ended with us watching Reagan for a couple of hours Sunday evening while Jason & Lindsay went out. A great way to end the weekend, in my humble opinion – being entertained by the wittiest granddaughter on the planet.

Today we are recovering a bit from the weekend and getting ready for our next adventure. Tomorrow we are going to North Carolina to visit with friends, Dan & Debbie. We'll visit for a few days, then they are off to a work thing for Debbie leaving us to house & dog sit.

Thanks for spending time with us, catching up! Until the next time . . .

Trying Something New

Yesterday was mostly a piddling day; you know, doing small things around the house that need to be done. We also put the truck in the shop for routine maintenance. That was about it for the day.

Last evening, however, I went with Lindsay to a Stampin' Up! card party. One of Lins' good friends, Dori, is a Stampin' Up! consultant and once a month she hosts a card party during which participants make 15 cards. She only charges $15 for this – that means it's only $1 per card! Not a bad deal. Lindsay's been going to these parties for awhile and I thought I'd join her this month.

I wasn't sure what to expect and since I'm not crafty or artistic, I was a little concerned that my efforts would be futile. Much to my surprise, I did pretty good. Even if I do say so myself! :) Dori sets up three different stations and you make five cards per station. At the first station I was very nervous because I wanted to make my cards as pretty as Dori's samples. The hardest thing for me was to let go and be “artsy.” I have a very black and white, linear mind and have trouble with creative design. But, I persevered and the cards came out pretty good, I think.

I'm glad I went and I plan to go again next month. Most of you know how much I enjoy sending cards to friends, so this is a new way to do that. One of my friends, Ginger, asked for pictures of the cards, so I've posted those below. If you like them, leave a comment. If not, please don't! ;)

Today was laundry day, so not much to share. Randy was at home during his Thursday thing while I was at Lindsay's doing mine. I like my Thursday stuff better 'cause I get to spent time with Lins & Reagan! BONUS!

Randy also installed our stained glass window in our door! I love it! It was made especially for us by one of our fellow Jubilee Pickers, Linda Parker. So, it's very precious to us. I love how the sun is setting over the water, just perfect.

Until the next time . . .

Day of fun at Dutch Wonderland

The only thing on today's agenda was FUN. We are fortunate to have a couple of great amusement parks within 45 to 60 minutes of us. Hershey Park is one of them and Dutch Wonderland is another. Dutch Wonderland is the perfect park for the under 10 group. There are few rides that are off limits to the little kids. And the park is small enough that you don't feel overwhelmed trying to “do it all.”

Since Randy & I had never been to Dutch Wonderland, Reagan had put it on her Things to Do This Summer with Pop and Nana list. And yes, she really has one, a written down list. I've seen it. Of course we are ready to do whatever she wants us to do. Isn't that what grandparents are for?

C’mon, Nana!!

We had a blast. It is a great park. Randy, Lindsay and I took turns going on the rides with Reagan. There were a few she did on her own, but most were two people rides and that was fine. Lins was smart and had us take a picnic lunch. That was nice for a couple of reasons; it helped the budget (these parks charge horrendous prices for food and drinks!) and it gave us some down time.

It was a perfect day to spend at an amusement park. The temps were in the 70s and it was overcast much of the day. It was a little muggy, but with the temps so low, it wasn't stifling. This park also has lots of shade which is nice, too. There are many benches throughout the park and that sure helps these old folks. :)

I took over 100 pictures today! Don't be scared – I'm not going to post all of them. :) I will share a few that show how much fun we had. If you really need to see the rest, take a look at our Webshots site.

If you find yourself in the Lancaster, PA area, and you have some kids with you, be sure to stop in at Dutch Wonderland. All of you will enjoy it!

Until the next time . . .

Shopping - Yeah I Can't Believe It, Either

No blog yesterday 'cause there wasn't much to share. We went to church, came home and vegged, then watched Reagan in the evening while Jason & Lins went to a seminar at church. See? Not much.

Today I had planned to go to Curves, come home and cross stitch, then probably have dinner with Lins & Reagan since Jason would be out of town for the night. Well, you know how plans go . . .

I did go to Curves. I did come home. And that's where the plans changed. Drastically.

While I was doing my usual after-Curves/shower morning routine of coffee and computer, Lins texted me asking if I wanted to get started on my Christmas shopping today. See, I decided I wanted to get it done while I was here this summer because of a couple of stores that are here. Anyway, the truthful answer to Lins' question was “No, not really.” I hate shopping!!

Randy had also mentioned that today would be a good day to go to the Apple Store to have my phone looked at. I've been having problems for a couple of months with missing calls and texts because the phone would not notify me by ringing. And yes, I had all the settings correct for those notifications! :)

So, the upshot of all is this is that we did go shopping. Well, not as much shopping as waiting in a store. In order to have your device looked at in an Apple Store, you have to have an appointment. Okay . . . so I made an appointment for 12:40 which gave us about 40 minutes to walk around the mall a bit. It was also lunchtime, so Randy & the girls went to the Food Court while I went back to the Apple Store to wait.

I was seen by Austin, one of the associates, and he had to run some diagnostics on the phone. Thank goodness, it failed! :) I figured it would work perfectly since it was “in the shop.” So, Austin had to determine if it was a software or a hardware problem. After more diagnostics and almost an hour, it was determined that the problem was hardware, so I left with a new phone! Austin was very personable and it was an enjoyable experience. But, boy is that one busy store!!

I did get Lindsay's birthday present and a couple of pairs of capris for me, so I guess I got a little shopping done. But, no Christmas presents! Oh, well. I'll get it done before November. :)

I do have to make an observation, though. During my hour at the Apple Store, I was subjected to two different customers who were unhappy with what they found out from the associates working with them. In their disgust/disappointment/anger, they resorted to cursing. Why? Why do people have to do that? In one case, the man had his wife and toddler with him. Nice role model, huh? Now, don't get me wrong – I definitely understand being frustrated or angry with sales associates, but come on! Have we lost the ability to articulate our feelings so much that we have to resort to cursing in public? I am no prude and have been known to use let loose with an expletive or two, but I don't think I have ever done it in a public setting or in order to make my feelings known to a retail employee. It's a shame that society has been so desensitized that no one finds this rude.

Okay. End of sermon, er, I mean, observation.

Hope your week is off to a good start! Until the next time . . .

Well, okay . . . I'll Try

We had a great morning with Barry & Penny at Gifford Pinchot State Park. This park is just 20 minutes away from our campground and is real find. There is no user fee, which I found amazing. The park has a huge lake, beach area, boat and bike rentals and lots of walking/biking trails as well as several camping loops where both tents, campers and RVs are welcome.

Our reason for going today was for the freebies. The park hosted a “get out and enjoy nature” day during which they allowed free rentals. Penny really wanted to try kayaking and I said I'd do it, too. When I got there, I began to chicken out. Yeah, I'm mouthy, but not adventuresome. I have a lot of angst about doing new things – it's a control freak thing. :) But, Penny pushed a bit and Randy encouraged me to do it, so I did.

I am SOOOO glad I did!! It was great!

Barry & Randy sat on the shore and took pictures while they laughed at us. Sure, they said they were laughing with us, but I know better. :) At least we didn't embarrass ourselves and fall in the water or anything.

Our instructor, Mike, was great; a nice young man who put up with two old ladies who were flirting with him. :) Hey, you do what you can at our age, ya know?

Anyway, we paddled around for close to 30 minutes and then I could feel the muscles (what muscles???) in my upper arms start asking what the heck I thought I was doing. So, I figured it was time to head back to shore. But, Penny & I are going back in a couple of weeks and do it again.

After that, we took a drive around the park. Penny & Barry have been there before and really enjoy it. The beach/swimming area is nice, lots of shade as well as sunny areas. I'd like to take Reagan sometime – she'd love it. The camping loops are nice, too, very shady and private. I'm sure we'll never camp there 'cause it's too close to “home.” But I do think we'll go back for the lake activities.

We left the park around 1:00 and it was getting hot. Now, it looks like a storm is heading our way. Gotta love summertime. :)

Until the next time . . .