Our Trip To VA Longview and Tyler

Sandy was up at 5:30am this morning to wash and blow dry her hair before our departure to VA Longview. After she finished in the bathroom I got up and dressed. We left the MH around 6:20 am and stopped at the Loves Truck Stop about 12 miles east of Canton. There is a Carl’s Jr there and they have the best scratch made  biscuits in this world. Sure was glad I didn’t have to fast for the blood work because I was able to down two of them. We arrived about 25 minutes prior to my appointment but they took me in right away. They are real vampires here as they drew 12 vials of blood. Hopefully, we will have our results sometime end of this week.

Afterwards we drove to Diana TX where our Post Office is located to pick up some special cream my dermatologist  was to have sent  me for the rash on my arms. It wasn’t there, sooo we will have to wait till next week when we return from Canton.

We then drove to Tyler for the once a month shopping day for Sandy. On our way we came upon this Historical Marker off Hwy 271. I wasn’t aware that Camp Fannin was a World War II Army Training Camp. For some reason when we passed it I always thought it was tied to the  US Calvary/Indian war campaigns of the 1800’s. Speaking of Legends Al with the Bayfield Bunch certainly did an excellent post on the Southwest. His photos' and the blog make an interesting reading. He has a knack of putting a good story together about the Southwest.  (click on the above link).

Camp Fannin was also used to house German POW’s during WW II. (Click photo to enlarge). After our stop here we drove to Lowe’s to see if they had the Porter Cable 150psi pancake air compressor on sale for the holidays. Our friends Mark with RVing with Poppa and Jim with Just traveling have one and they really like it. It was not on sale. The $164 price was the price before Black Friday and it hadn’t changed. Afterwards Sandy went to her favorite store Bed and Bath and picked up some of the kitchen stuff all women want and need.
She also found a new kitchen store called The Kitchen Drawer and was in this store for about thirty minutes. She really gave me cause to be concerned about her health, as she came out with nothing in her hands. When she got in the car I asked if we could scratch this one off our list of favorite stops when in Tyler. She said no they had a couple of items I really liked but they were sold out of them. One particular item she really wanted is what they call a Scrap Trap. This gizmo is said keep counters and sinks clear while you prepare food. Scrape peelings, shells, scraps, bones, and more into the bin for quick garbage collection or save for easy composting. Bin holds up to 2 quarts and easily clips onto any standard drawer or cabinet door. Included scraper/brush conveniently stores on the side. Dishwasher safe. Plastic, 11 1/2 x 6 3/4 x 4 3/4". So, we will have to keep our eyes peeled for this as this could be a stocking stuffer.

Next was our usual stop at Wally World for the groceries. On our way back to Canton we drove by the #1 RV Park on Hwy 31 to check it out. This is the park Joe and Sherri with Speedys Great Adventure stay at when in Tyler. Joe’s review is very accurate close quarters and all concrete. But, we will stay here if we ever need to be in Tyler for an extended stay.

We arrived back at Canton around 4:30 pm. So, we made a day of it giving blood, shopping, and eating out. Couldn’t ask for a better combination could we. Besides we enjoyed each others company.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

A Bad Weather Day

As I write this we are under a deluge. Lots of rain, thunder and lighting. This system is really mimicking last months storm. Wow! just received one of the loudest claps of thunder I’ve heard in a long time. Opps… just had our cable knocked out, Sandy was watching her beloved Brett Farve with Vikings and Bears game. Boy is she upset. The Vikings were leading 24-7 but the third quarter had just opened with a long kickoff return by the Bears. She is not a happy camper. Wait a minute… she just said, maybe I can get scores from my Iphone play by play NFL Live Update. Hey this is pretty neat (words that came out of her mouth. score is now 27-10). Another WOW! Brett Farve just threw a long completed pass and the Vikings are on the Bears nine yard line. Satellite signal has now returned and we have a happy camper again. Vikings leading 30-10 with eleven + minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Our morning wasn’t much as we laid around until our neighbor from Lufkin pulled up with their cargo trailer.  We helped them unload and set up their booth. They usually return to Lufkin and she comes back on Wednesday.

On a sadder note we learned Henry Lewis’s (Owner of the Pavilions and Arbors here at Canton) son was killed in a one car accident earlier this month. Our sympathy and prayers go out to the family.

We have to go into Longview tomorrow where I will leave some of my blood with VA. They are going to do a profile on me to see if this rash that I’m experiencing is lupus or something else. On our return trip we will go into Tyler for some shopping.

Final score alert! Vikings 36 – Bears 10. Sandy is Happy.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Trace Inverter & Battery Problem Solved

In yesterdays blog I mentioned I might be having problems with the inverter not maintaining the house batteries. As the evening progressed my battery voltage went from 12.7 volts to 11.0 volts right before going to bed. We were up at our usual time 6:15 am and after breakfast I opened up the battery compartment to get the numbers off the house batteries as we were preparing ourselves to buy four new ones. As I looked down the cable from the inverter fuse block to the positive post on the first house battery was just dangling. The connector was still on the post.
So, that's my problem a loose connection that was made worse when I pulled out the battery tray. This short connector cable of all things is slightly bigger than 3/0 cable and it is stranded not solid. I do not understand why something like this had to be so big. In  looking at the connector still on the battery positive post you could see right a way the original crimping job was not adequate. Now the next job would be where in the world am I going to find a connector that would handle this large cable. The two auto part stores in Canton did not have one that big. Even if they had one I did not have a tool that would even begin to crimp the new connector.

So, we started looking at the Yellow Pages on Sandy’s Iphone which listed a Car Quest Auto Parts house on Hwy 64. We drove over to it and they happen to have a connector that just would fit the 3/0 cable. I did have to cut off some of the strands. Now would I be able to crimp the connector on. Nope nothing in my tool box would do the trick. So, I proceeded to remove the cable from the fuse link and we went back to Car Quest. They did not have a tool neither but the counter guy let me borrow his vise where I was able to get the crimping job done. I believe this temporary fix will hold up until I can purchase the proper cable with good factory crimps. We have house batteries now and they are back up to 13.4 volts. Hey… Mark I sure missed having you around for the other eye. Mark is with RVing with Poppa and when he was around I always depended upon him for things like this. Had a few problems but thanks to Sandy I was able to get-r-done.

Sandy has started putting out a few Christmas decorations. This is her steering wheel table. The plant is a Christmas Cactus and its blossoms have started popping. A pretty little plant. The picture happens to be her brother James and her when they were little people.

It looks like this might be a typical December Canton as we do not have as many RVers in the RV spaces at this time of the week. Usually if you are going to have a good crowd this is our first indicator. But, you never know about Canton.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

I just can't imagine what this little fellow is thinking.
(Click all photos to enlarge)

December 2009 1st Monday Canton

Our Thanksgiving dinner at Sandy’s sister Pam and Mike’s home was goooood. Like most we eat to much and felt stuffed all day. Mike and Pam were excellent host and they had all the trimmings. I might add the dressing Sandy made was wonderful. It passed her Mom’s approval and that was saying a lot since all of Mom Alice siblings say she makes the best. Outside of watching football, visiting and talking with other family members over the cell phone we didn’t do a whole lot. We headed for the MH around 4pm as we had to get her ready for going to Canton for 1st Monday. 
We were up at 6am and the outside temperature was 35 degrees. This made it a little difficult in getting the chores done for traveling.
We pulled out for Canton by 7am and arrived without incident around 9am.  While on I-20 there must have been four-five Highway Patrol units either on the shoulder or traveling the highway. We suspect they were out in force because of the holidays.

As we pulled into the grounds I happen to notice the LED lights on the inverter where not working . We had no power at the usual receptacles. I pushed the reset button and a single LED started blinking and the menu screen started flashing Absorption Stage. After about two hours the screen then displayed Float Voltage and the house batteries voltage showed 12.4 to 12.7 volts. This is still the stage on the inverter as I write this post. Don’t quite understand what all this means but I don’t know how old the house batteries might be since we purchased the unit used. If any of you out there have any ideas I would welcome them.

We have a good Verizon signal here. I am excited to be able to get on the web and read other blogs as well as keep up with all the emails we get while away from base.

Oh my windshield cleaning I mentioned in a prior post where I said passed well guess what when we got out in the sun it wasn’t good. The mixture of peroxide/water is 50/50  but I don’t believe this was the problem. I probably should have followed up with a microfiber rag.

Heard from VA and the results of the biopsies were both negative. My blood work though showed a high possibility of lupus. Go back Monday for more blood work.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all. As for the Mountain Aires home we have so many things to be thankful for this year. We are blessed in so many ways our health, family and friends. Every day of our lives should be one of thanks giving. We won’t be having Thanksgiving dinner with my family this year. Instead we will pick up Mom Alice and travel to Sandy’s sisters (Pam) home in  Longview TX. Sandy’s brother James and his wife and mother-in-law will be in Arkansas for Thanksgiving.
Our two sons (Tim & Tony) will be doing their individual Thanksgiving meals in Austin and Denver. My mom will be traveling over to my sisters home in Porter TX for Thanksgiving. Even though Sis will not be doing the fixing this year due to her still recovering from major surgery. Frank her husband and his daughter Suzie along with my nephews wife Dixie will be preparing the big meal. While we are not physically there these members of our family are in our thoughts and prayers.

We are also very thankful for our service men and women and ask God to comfort and protect them. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be in some remote country fighting a war on Thanksgiving day. Yes, we are so blessed.

So, for each of you out there have a great time this Thanksgiving with friends and family as you sit down at your table to feast on many goodies and reflect on the blessings God has bestowed on you and yours in 2009. When giving thanks thank Him for our liberty, our blessings, our family, our soldiers, and our country. 


  
       Texas 49 - Texas A&M 39   

What a game! The Aggies gave Texas all they could handle. 

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Happy Birthday Sis

Today is my sister Dren’s $%# Birthday (there must be something wrong with the old keyboard it want let me put numbers in). Soooo Happy Birthday Sis. Normally, I would pre-post prior to going to Canton because the lack of Wi-Fi, but now with my Verizon Air Card and CradlePoint router I have Wi-Fi when ever I am in a Verizon coverage area.
Dren a.k.a. “Sis” is a sister that every brother needs. When we were growing up I can remember playing nurse and patient, protecting her from boys that I didn’t like, and she like most little girls always playing with dolls. She will kill me for this but at 13 she thought she was old enough to get married. Let me tell you my Dad and I did run that guy off. I am so thankful the Lord blessed our family with her. She has always been there for me and my brother, Ward anytime we needed her. Right now she is still recovering from her major surgery a few weeks back. Sis, being a typical guy we don’t always say or do the things we should and when we do the words just don’t come out right. I love you and wish you a HBD and continued recovery. By the way Sis has been the primary care giver for our Mom who is in assisted living near her home. She hasn’t been able to get out to do anything much because of her major surgery. Our cousins Wadene and Barbara have been filling in for her and we certainly appreciate all they do and have done for our Mom. Mom calls them her Girl’s.

Love Ya Sis!

until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

What A difference Two Hours Can Make In The Weather

Sandy and I were up early this morning 5:30 am. We could hear the pitter patter of rain drops on the roof. Boy, has the weatherman blew it . This was suppose to happen several days back not now. Within two hours however, the wind picked up out of the north and the sun popped out. Looks like its going to be a beautiful day. And… Beautiful it was. The wind had a bite to it but it was a great day for outside chores.
I first detailed the inside of the Jeep (boy… it really needed this) with carpet and vinyl cleaner. Cleaned the windows with a mix of peroxide/water using the new windshield wonder handle and microfiber bonnet. Not bad….it passed Sandy’s inspection. Afterwards I drove the Jeep over to the local do-it-yourself car wash where I gave it a good washing. I also washed and cleaned the engine compartment. Started to start the Klasse wax treatment but I will save this perhaps for tomorrow
Went upon the roof of the MH and found the cable from the Batwing antenna was a little loose from its plug. Pushed it in and now we get digital TV from Tyler and  Shreveport. I might add they are much clear and sharper than the analog signal we use to get from these same channels. Mike at Hayes RV said the Wingman attachment I mentioned in a previous post might improve the signal more. We will think about this before purchasing as right now the pictures are not that bad..

Sandy’s brother James invited us to lunch with him and his associate Wendell. We all piled into his truck and drove to the Wildflower Restaurant in Hugh Springs about 8 miles east of us. On our way we drove by a large lake that we could see 30-40 ducks on it. They were on the opposite side of the highway and we could not make out what kind they were. They had a buffet for $6.99 at the Wildflower with the choice of chicken strips, chicken fried steak, chicken pot pie, black eyed peas, mash potatoes, fresh carrots and all the salad trimmings. Way to much for a noon meal. But, I managed to put it down anyway. Fresh homemade peach cobbler for dessert topped our meal off. On the way back we drove by the lake with the ducks and for the most part they were mallards. Didn’t have the camera…. bummer.

I set in the old blue chair a little this evening could hear and at times see jets flying overhead  but on contrails this time. The sky while being crystal blue the air just wasn’t cold enough to allow the forming of contrails.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Nothing Going On New

Up at our usual time this morning . Met BIL James at Arnold’s. Had our usual one egg, bacon and toast $1.75 ea. I don’t fell this price is all that  bad as I don’t believe we could eat this meal any cheaper at the MH.  Besides we get to enjoy morning conversations with her brother.
Since Thursday is Thanksgiving we decided to make our trip to Longview today for our supplies. You know the kind of stuff need for a Thanksgiving meal. With school being already out for the holidays the crowd was heavy everywhere we went. 
It was still early as most of the stores hadn’t opened so our first stop to kill some time was Target who opens at 8am. Afterwards, we checked with Mike at Hayes RV regarding out old Batwing antenna being capable of receiving digital signals. He advised it should receive digital signals and all we needed to do was make sure our TV booster was on and we had digital TVs. Will give this a try in the morning as I need to get up on the roof and make sure the cable from the antenna is in place.

Afterwards we made trips to two different Wally Worlds looking for the ingredients for a chicken dressing. You know the corn bread mix, poultry seasoning, sage etc. Guess what both stores where out of these key ingredients. Looks like there will be a lot of dressing missing from the tables. It could be they were out because of the weekend. Go figurer one would think they would be stocked to the brim at this time of the year. She did manage to find some of the ingredients and will make a trip to Brookshire's tomorrow for the rest.

On our way back to Lone Star we received a call from CPU a local computer repair place saying they had my HP laptop repaired. So, we turned around and went back to pick up the HP. Sandy is going to use  this to search out and download her food shows, recipes  etc. She will also be able to print things with the HP where she presently can not with her Apple Iphone. This will also give her the opportunity to learn the computer a little more than her Iphone. I hope she can keep them both straight in her mind the HP you click and the Iphone you touch.

When we  got back I begin to delete several programs that I felt she didn’t need. She is now surfing the web. Can’t believe it but, I’m keeping  my cool with all the questions she is now asking.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Some Wonderful Cookies

For those of you who love chewy oatmeal cookies – do I have a recipe for you. My cousin Wadene made these cookies for my Mom’s 90th Birthday. She was kind enough to share with us back then and I just fell in love with them. She emailed Sandy the recipe about a year ago and yes Sandy finally got around to making them today. Let me tell you they still are the best I've ever eaten. With Thanksgiving right around the corner you might just want to make a batch of these. Yummy

Here is the recipe:
Source: “Colorado Cache” Cookbook
The Best Oatmeal Cookies
Yield: 72 servings
1 cup Raisins
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1 cup Butter
1 cup Brown sugar
1 cup White sugar
2-1/2 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 teaspoons Baking soda
2 cups Oatmeal
3/4 cup Chopped pecans ( roast them in
a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes)
3 Eggs (well beaten)

Combine eggs, raisins and vanilla and let stand for one hour, covered  with plastic wrap. Cream together butter and sugars. Add flour, salt, cinnamon and soda to sugar mixture.  Mix well.
Blend in egg-raisin mixture, oatmeal, and chopped nuts. Dough will be stiff. Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet or roll into small balls and flatten slightly on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to12 minutes or until lightly browned. Note: Delicious! Secret is soaking of raisins.

Al with the Bayfield Bunch mentioned a Cowboy Cookie Shoot Out contest with Jerry of Our Life on Wheels in one of his recent journals. I don’t know what kind of cookies these were but if we ever get to Arizona I would be willing to add these to that shoot.

Kyle Busch won the NASCAR Nationwide Championship today at Homestead, FL. All he had to do to win the championship  was take the green flag at the start of the race. That wasn’t good enough….. I be darn if he didn’t go out and win the final race of 2009.

Texas 51 – Kansas 20

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Happy Birthday Mike

Mike our BIL is married to Pam, Sandy’s sister, and he celebrates his 55th birthday today. Mike served our country for 24 years. He retired from the Navy in 2008 where he was a Navy Chaplin. Mike had some very interesting tours of duty while in the Navy. Among these were Marine  Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center, USS Jouett, Naval Air Station Jacksonville FL, Camp David Presidential Retreat, Naval Medical  Center at Bethesda, USS Nassau, Naval Air Station Kingsville TX, USS Kitty Hawk, and US Pacific Submarine fleet in Hawaii. This guy is a bundle of energy. His truck and car are always spotless clean. He currently is an Associate Pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Longview, TX. We are real proud of Mike not only for his service to our country but to our family.

Mountain Warfare Training Center – Pickle Meadow, CA

 USS Jouett (CG-29) San Diego, CA

Naval Air Station - Jacksonville, FL

Camp David Presidential Retreat –Fredericksburg, MD 
To Mikes' right are his wife Pam and Son Jeff

Naval Medical Center – Bethesda, MD

Naval Air Station – Kingsville, TX

  USS Nassau (LHA-4) Norfolk, VA

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) – Japan

US Pacific Submarine Fleet - Hawaii 

 
First United Methodist Church – Longview, TX

Happy Birthday Mike!

and thanks again for your service

to our great country

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

TGIF

Up at the usual 6:15 am time. We had a little shower over night and this is what we are facing now. We normally would have gone with James for breakfast this morning at Arnolds but he left this morning at 5am to go to a funeral in Amarillo, TX. The trip would be over 475 miles and take nearly eight hours driving time. Sandy would have gone with him as his co-pilot and a second driver but he wanted to stop by the Brackenridge deer lease on his way back this evening. He is still looking and waiting for that prize trophy.

We are still waiting for this system to hit us. Most of the bad looking stuff has passed to the north of us. Today being Friday I usually I check with my Mom’s realtor person for an update on the progress of selling my Mom’s house. She  assured us things were still looking good in the housing market and this time of the year would not be a bad time for selling. Let’s hope so because my Mom is one of those who worries a lot.

Speaking of TGIF I can remember in my working days how I always looked forward to Friday’s and the weekend. Being retired now you can just about say every day is a Friday and weekend. But, with me Friday’s are still the end of a retired week and the weekend brings college sports, NFL and NASCAR. Also I still enjoy occasionally going to some Friday night high school football games. I believe most are now playing bi-district and district games heading for the state finals.

Tomorrow is my BIL Mike’s 55th birthday and we are headed into Longview to celebrate this point in his life. Boy’ I don’t remember being 55 but I know it must have been nice.

Until next timer….MtnAire Travlers.

Contrails In The Sky

This mornings cooler weather and the clear blue skies made it a good day for observing contrails those white streaks left in the sky caused by the exhausts of jets. I set in the blue chair and watched this phenomena take place in the skies here in Lone Star. I’m sure their are commercial jets as well as military, since we are close to Barksdale AFB in Bossier La, that is laying down these long trails of condensation.  Some trails didn't dissipate for several minutes - and even at that point stayed together like a long cloud through the sky.

While watching this my mind wondered about who were the people in these planes. I’m sure some were business people on business trips, families going on holiday and Air Force personnel on training missions to protect our country. I also wondered what was the destination of each flight that passed over head. The major flight pattern was west to east. How many were interstate, cross-country and international. Which one would I liked to have been on? Probably the B-52.
As the day drew warmer even though there were still jets flying over head their were less contrails. My day dreaming came to a close and it was back to my chores of mowing the yard (actually pushing leafs) and some more organizing the shop.

On our way to Mt Pleasant TX for some banking business, we saw about a 9-10 point buck on the highway right-a-way jumping back into the woods. Glad he turned as had it kept coming he would have broadsided us.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Near Perfect Day In the Piney Woods

We were up earlier than our usual 6:15 am this morning as…. Yes we were meeting the BIL James for breakfast at Arnolds. We had a half order of SOS for $2.00.The frost missed us as the low this morning was 36F. The day was just about a perfect day except for a little wind. The sky remained blue just about all day. Our high reached 62F but, the wind kept you from wanting to be outside to long as it had a little bite to it. Did do some shuffling and reorganization of the big bays. I need to do this more often as I was able to eliminate some things we didn't need at Canton during this winter shows.
Since this year is rapidly coming to a close, I felt I needed to get our business financials brought up to date. I was two months behind.

With that project out of the way we worked on shuffling and reorganization of the inside. Yes, we were able to do some eliminating here. I could hear the MH let out a big sigh of relief   when I took the items out to the trailer and some to the garbage. It has always amazed me the amount of stuff we accumulate over a period of time. Next I worked on the organization of the electronic gadgets, USB cords,  cell phone gizmos, TV changers and ear phone buds. I put them in their respective groups in small plastic pencil containers and used a felt pen to mark their contents. Could not believe the number of ear phone buds we had collected. What's that old saying “a better mouse trap comes along and you just have to have it”.
Speaking of mouse traps reminds me of the rat that visited Best Buy yesterday. Maybe he was going there to visit those computer mouse's.

So far my usage on the Verizon Air Card is 758 MB through the 16th which averages about 75MB per day. This being new to me I might be a little more cautious of my usage than I need be. With Sandy’s Iphone she’s being using the cell phone signal for accessing the Internet. I told her she needs to use the Wi-Fi hot spot through the Cradlepoint as our usage so far was looking good. She will use the Wi-Fi from now till the end of our billing period so we can get a handle on our combined usage. Of course Sandy is not a web surfer like my self and we probably will never have a usage problem.

Tomorrow we plan on going through our closets and drawers' to transfer summer and winter clothes. This is kind of tuff at times because in Texas you can be freezing one day and the next you might be in a heat wave.

Until next time….MtnAire Travelers.

What A Difference in 24 Hours

In just 24 hours we’ve gone from warm sunny days back to much colder, winder and wetter days. We are expecting our first frost here in the morning. Just maybe that will be what it takes to knock the remaining leafs off the trees. My BIL, James called this morning and wanted us to join him for breakfast at Arnold’s. He brought us up to date on the weekend hunt of the Walker Brothers. He said he saw the trophy buck that he wanted but just couldn’t get him close enough in his sight to harvest him. He said while the trip was not all that great for hunting the one on one fellowship shared between brothers was great.
After breakfast Sandy and I went into Longview for our weekly  replenishing of groceries for us and her mom. We normally do this on Wednesday's but I had to check the Post Office to see if my insulin from VA was there. The PO is only 12 miles from Longview and to save wear and tear plus the fuel, we decided to go ahead and go into Longview today.

We picked up the insulin and traveled to Hayes RV to check out the Winegard Wingman add on Antenna for digital signal pickup improvement. The young salesman just didn’t have enough right answers for me to purchase and try it. Soooo I must do some more research. It’s suppose to attach to you batwing and improve signal strength. Right now with our batwing we do not pickup any digital signals at all. All TV’s are digital.

Afterwards we drove to Best Buy upon arrival in the parking lot we saw a pretty good size rat following a customer toward the front door. That rascal managed to sneak into the corridor and the young lady at the entrance proceeded with our help to heard him back outside where he ran toward the parked cars. Humm  I wonder what he was wanting to look at. As for Sandy and I we wanted to get some information on a battery booster for her Iphone. We settled on the Mophie Juice Pack Air.It Protects your iPhone while you charge it with this charging case that charges your phone for up to 4-1/2 hours talk time and features a LED battery status indicator.

Product Features

• Built-in 1200mAh battery
  Charges your phone for up to 4-1/2 hours talk time and 270 hours standby. Supports up to 4-1/2 hours of Web browsing (5-2/5 hours on Wi-Fi), up to 20 hours audio playback and up to 6 hours video playback.
• 4-light LED battery status indicator
  Keeps you aware of battery charge status.

Afterwards we dropped in on the new location for Hobby Lobby (they moved into the prior location of Target) not to long ago. A real nice store and they have neat things for the old sticks and stone homes but nothing we saw would work in the MH.

Our last stop before heading home was of course Wally World. We made a good day of it arriving back at the MH around 4pm.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

My Visit To VA Hospital Shreveport LA

The front arrived this morning around 1:45 am. The rain sounded torrential at times and the winds rock the home a bit.We were up at 5:45 am and made preparations for our one and half hour drive to see my dermatologist and the doctor who did my nose surgery. On our way over we stopped at McDonalds in Jefferson TX for breakfast. Upon arrival at VA we drove around in the parking lot looking for a place to park. After about ten minutes I spotted an individual heading to the parking lot and I asked him where he was parked. He said follow me and sure enough we were able to get his spot after he backed out. I first thought I was going to have to spread eagle my body across the space to prevent others from trying to take it before Sandy got there. The only gripe I have with this facility is the lack of parking. You need to allow 30-45 minutes in your schedule sometimes just to find a parking spot.
We checked in with the dermatologist and our waiting was about 20 minutes before we saw her. She checked the prior spots she had frozen off on my arms and head. The new scaly spots on my arms and whelps on my chest were a little puzzling to her. She got an second opinion from the head doctor who suggested it might be psoriasis  or subacute lupus. They decided to do some lab work and take two biopsy’s one from the arm the other from the back. It will be 7-10 days before they get back the results. So, in the mean time we will itch and wait. Because of the biopsy’s and the lab work we did not have to kill any time for my 1pm appointment with the surgeon. After lunch at the cafeteria we proceeded to the ENT Clinic. They saw me right on time and advised everything look good and they were going to release me.

Boy! what a game last night Colts 35 – Patriots 34. Sandy all but gave up on the Colts and then Belichick’s dumb fourth down call just made it easier for Peyton Manning and the Colts. I felt even had they punted Peyton would still have brought the Colts back. He’s that good.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

 
Hang in there!

A Full Day of Football and NASCAR

We were up at our usual time 6:15 am and had our cereal, bananas and blue berries for breakfast. The sky was overcast with the sun peeking out every now and then. The system that hit Arizona couple days ago is suppose to be here by morning. We are forecasted to be much colder and wetter tonight through tomorrow.  I have my follow-up visit with the surgeon that operated on the old smeller and skin dermatologist tomorrow at VA Shreveport.
Got the blower out and blew some more leaf piles. I might add for the most part most of the leafs have fallen and this system tonight just might take the rest out. Then we begin the chore to pick them up and haul them to the burn pile.

Sandy had control of the remote during the noon game between the Vikings and Lions. Her favorite football quarterback is none other than Brett Favre. For a forty year old he does a good job. I bet that young whippier snapper from the Lions, Stafford, learned something today. When the race started she would allow me to go back to the NASCAR race in Phoenix in between commercials. Looks like Jimmy Johnson has a lock on his fourth consecutive Sprint Cup championship. The Cowboys just escaped a shut out.They scored in the final minute. Even though you can not put all the blame on the coach I don’t look for Phillips to be their next year. Sandy and I both were die hard Cowboy fans until Jerry Jones did what he did to Tom Landry.

This photo is looking out of my deer stand (actually our living room drivers side window). That old blue chair is where I set and do a lot of pondering, bird watching and day dreaming. We have been able to see wild life come across this area but so far now that hunting season is in full swing ….nothing. Heard from the Walker brothers and their hunt in Brackenridge so far has been slow. Weather to warm I guess. David harvested an eight point buck, James two turkey tom’s and Dwayne is batting zero. They still have until the morning before they head out for home and the weather has turned colder……so just maybe.

Sandy’s second most favorite quarterback, Peyton Manning’s team Indy Colts, plays the New England Patriots tonight and I'll lose control of the remote again. I guess Eli Manning would be her third.

Mike and Pam, Sandy’s BIL and sister, dropped by for a short visit on their way back to Longview. They had been over to Mike’s mom in Atlanta TX (about 45 minutes from here). It seems they are at a point with his mom that they need to get her closer to them. We know what's that's all about with Sandy’s mom.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

A Do Nothing Day

This is going to probably be a short post……and the crowd said Yeahhhhhhhhhhh. I guess staying up late at night watching those Frasier re-runs on TV caught up with me. I slept till 8am and had it not been for Mom Alice calling when she did I might have slept longer.

Sandy had been up since 6:15am and was in the living area reading her book and listening to the Food Channel on TV. She said her mom apologized for waking me up. Hummm I wonder if Sandy didn’t call her mom and asked her to call her on the phone. We had a late breakfast and didn’t do a lot. Watched several college football games and presently watching the NASCAR Nationwide  race in Phoenix. I see some of those clouds and winds that Al with the Bayfield Bunch posted on his journal yesterday evening. Oops the point leader Kyle Busch just had a crash. Doesn’t look as bad as Jimmy Johnson's crash last week end.

I meant to congratulate my SIL, Beverly, on her trophy buck she took down last weekend at Brackenridge. It was an eleven point buck with a near perfect shape rack. She’s having it shoulder mounted for their den. My BIL James said it was a good looking trophy. I tried to tease him a little but he quickly advised that his trophy was still out there.

 
 Texas 47 – Baylor 14

Until next time…..MtnAire Travlers.

The Walker Brother’s Off to Brackenridge

  Well now that deer season is in full swing Sandy’s three brothers, James,Dwayne and David, left today for their Brackenridge deer lease. Their necks were so swollen I wonder how they manage to breath. I’m sure once they arrive and climbed into those hunting stands the swelling will go down a little. Since, I don’t have good vision in my right eye and being right handed I can not shoot a rifle.Besides some one had to stay back and care for the women folk.

Now this is what you call hunting in Texas Style.
No its not there's but I bet they wish they had it.

   
I had great plans to get the buffer out and start waxing the MH with the Klasse two part wax system. However, due to the unusual cold morning (47F) lasting well into the afternoon I did not get started. Instead I did some more leaf blowing into piles and we tried to burn some tree limbs in the burn pile. They are still to green and wet from all our previous rain that the fire just would not catch and stay lit.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

A Day in Longview

The alarm went off this morning at 6:15am. I was up first and showered. This was our day to make that weekly trip into Longview for some earns and grocery shopping. Shortly afterwards James, Sandy’s brother, called and he wanted us to eat breakfast with him and his friend Wendell at Arnold’s. We had our usual eggs, beacon and toast for $3.00 each. It’s official now Sandy no longer has a job working for her brother. The general contractor that James had sub-contracted to sold the business to another group who have their own mowing crews and no longer needed his services. One good thing, however, is this new guy needed more tractors and bush hog’s  and will be  leasing them from her brother.

After breakfast we journeyed the 38 miles to Longview with the first stop being Lowes where I pickup this Bosch cordless drill. It had a special sales price of $119 normally $149. The old 9volt Makita that I had for nearly 15 years finally bit the dust. This Bosch is a 12v 3/8” drill with Litheon batteries. It came in its own case with charger and two 12v Litheon batteries.

After Lowes we went to Sandy’s hair dresser for her to cut Sandy’s hair. I like it and I know she does too. While waiting for Sandy I borrowed her Apple 3G Iphone to read some blogs and really enjoyed Rick’s post on Picasa and Google tips, Al’s on Rattlesnake Crafts in the desert and Speedy’s on reflections from a dreamer journals. If you want some good tips, photo’s  and stories jump over to their blogs by clicking on their names in red.  Al had some interesting photos on his blog. I particularly liked the one that showed his reflection in the blue ball. Speaking of rattlesnakes how would you like to come upon this site while walking in the woods.

This is one of those email forwards we get
and I believe it was somewhere in Florida 

After the hair cut we were off to the two used book stores in town for some book exchanging. Afterwards a meal at Whataburger and then to Walgreens to pick up her Mom’s medicine. Our final stop yes you guessed it was Wally World.  on our trip back to the RV we stopped at the Post Office and picked up a weeks worth of mail.

Now wasn’t this just a fun filled day.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Veterans Day

Every day should be Veterans Day. We need to make a point to always remember the men and women in our military. We thank them for all they do for us to protect our country. One of the reasons freedom thrives in America is because of brave men and women who endured the true pain of preserving our ideals. A retired Army buddy of mine emailed  me the following  which pretty much says it all about our military.

It is the soldier,
not the President,
who gives us democracy.

It is the soldier,
not the Congress,
who takes care of us.

It is the soldier,
not the reporter,
who has given us Freedom of Press.

It is the soldier,
not the Poet,
who has given us Freedom of Speech.

It is the soldier,
not the campus Organizer, who has given us the
Freedom to demonstrate.

It is the soldier,
who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
that allows the protester to burn the flag.

Father Dennis O’Brien
US Marine Corp - Chaplain

    This just about says it all for me and  may God bless all of our men and women in uniform…past,present and future. and thank you for your services to our great country.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

A Day Of Odd and End Chores

  Up at 6:15am when the phone ranged and it was James, Sandy’s brother wanting to know if we would eat breakfast with him at Arnolds. We joined him and one of his friends Wendell. After our breakfast I installed my Battery Conditioner Indicator which came with the #12248 BatteryMINDER I installed recently. This little device gives you a quick check of the condition of my chassis batteries by the touch of a button. It came free when I registered the BatteryMINDER warranty. I might also add after using the BatteryMINDER now for a little over two and half months they no longer show sulfation.
Later this morning I went back up on the roof of the MH and put some more sealant on the seams and around the vents.
Helped Sandy’s brother install the fence gates on his property. Then Sandy and I weed eated all the drain culverts (total six) on the road in front of his home and the four acres next door. Afterwards we installed the traditional DOT red/silver reflector strips on half of the culverts to help identify the entrances at night.

Had a little scare this evening while I was posting this blog my vision started getting blurred and I had difficulty seeing  what I was typing. The next signal was the sweating and the shakes. I’m familiar with these signs. Yes, the old blood sugar was low 53 to be exact.  I guess all this activity today was just to much for the old body. I garbed a handful of jelly beans and in a few minutes my blood sugar went back up and all was fine again.

Oh, thanks to Rick , Phil and Cynthia for their information given on my Verizon AC and Cradlepoint issues. Everything is working like it should.

Received some disappointing news from our realtor on the sale of Mom’s home. The loan for the buyers after going through the approval process for about 90days now was turned down. So, the house is back on the market again. Things happen for a reason and I’m sure something good will come out of this.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Verizon Air Card In Conjunction with Cradlepoint

  Boy did I get a surprise of my life this evening. It seems according to the Verizon tech guy I spoke with you can not use the Verizon Air Card with the Cradlepoint MBR1000 even though I managed to get it connected up through the 3G Store tech. It seems one can not get info about my account unless the air card is connected directly to my laptop. The Verizon tech said they did not support Cradlepoint and if I wanted a Wi-Fi hotspot in my motor home I should have purchased the Verizon Min-Fi . I explained I thought this device wasn’t as strong of a signal as the combination I was using. I got so confused as I told the young man the 3G Store said nothing about their device not being compatible. He said their Air Card for user protection was not encrypted for use with the CradlePoint or any other router other than your laptop.. I know it works but there is a big problem of going from the air card from the Cradlepoint to the laptop and visa versa. Maybe I just don’t know the proper steps to take to make the transitions smooth?

What started all of this out was I was trying to set up my online account with Verizon  as well as find out my usage to date and wham this guy hits me with this when I called to find out why I was having so many problems. I made the mistake I guess telling him my air card was connected to a router other than the laptop. We tried calling a tech at 3G and all lines were busy. We will try again. I know there are a lot of you Dreamers out there that use the Cradlepoint and Verizon air card without problems. Could you please share your secrets with this old knot head.? Rick if you read this I bet you have a system on how one goes about this so you don’t get so many delays going to and from laptop to the Cradlepoint. They both appear in my VZAcess manager but it seems you must reboot when going from one to the other??? It took what seems a life time for this to take place.

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.

Today Was the Day To Give The MH A Bath

Slept in this morning till nearly 8am. The clouds had moved in and there wasn’t much sun light coming in the window. I am trying to come up with an excuse to why I slept in so long.  I guess the beacon & eggs photo Rick recently posted on his journal gave Sandy the idea
as she prepared a great breakfast this morning for us consisting of two eggs over easy, crispy beacon an toast.
While eating our breakfast we talked about what we might do today.
We decided sinc the last time we washed the Motor Home was 60 days ago (we use The Solution between washes) it was time to give her that bath. I first went upon the roof and scrubbed it down good with soap and water. First had to blow off all the leafs that accumulated on it since yesterday.
Afterwards Sandy and I gave the lower part a good washing. Sandy used the brush, and I used the hand mitt. She after washing with the brush was also the rinser as noted here. I came behind her with the squeegee and chamois. With the threat of rain Monday I may have to postpone the start of my  quarterly Klasse waxing. That will take me several days once
I get started.
Just wasn’t meant to be. After leading the most laps Kyle Busch missed out on winning his third consecutive NASCAR race this weekend. He was leading with just three laps to go and then runs out of fuel. His brother Kurt won the race. I’m not necessarily a Kyle Busch fan but you have to hand it to him he is a good race driver. Little temper and immaturity maybe but that seems to be in moderation now. Joe Gibbs his car owner being the man he is I’m sure has influenced Kyle some.

Until Next time….MtnAire Travlers.

A Visit To The Local Ace Hardware Store

I can’t explain why this local hardware store is so attracting. I guess the small town atmosphere, only thing going as far as hardware is concerned in a small community and finally the “it” factor. I love going in and just browsing all the aisles and shelf's. They just about have everything from A-Z you might need. They usually have that friendly “Ace Hardware Man” that can help you in any category as well as suggest what you might need to build or repair it. This area being so small hasn’t had Wally World move in and as a result close all the Mom and Pop stores down.
I received in the mail this 20% off coupon on anything you could fit in a standard brown paper grocery bag.It literately got my “what do I need juices” flowing.
So, I was up this morning and after breakfast traveled the six miles to Dangerfield where the hardware store is located. As I pulled up into their parking lot all the parking spaces up front were occupied and I had to park on the side. Walked in and there were plenty of customers all with the brown bag in their hand walking the aisles.
so, I picked up my brown bag and established a game plan for what I was going to do. I started at the far side of the store and stated my shopping going down each aisle and looking at everything….now let me see what do I need. hummmm This meant troubled as if you don’t make a list you either overbuy or forget. Okay so I didn’t have a list I would just let it reach out and grab me. If it was something I could not do without or really needed I would just put it in the bag….right. Wrong I spent about 45 minutes in that little store walked every aisle some twice and would you believe when I got up to the cashier I had only two items in my bag (6ft extension cord and a tube of silicone) for whopping $5.87 purchase. I did have more stuff in the bag but after applying that “Want vs. Need” logic I put them back.Wow! the little lady cashier said “now don’t tell me you couldn’t find anything else”.  I explained to her that I was the last of the big time spenders. While standing in line to check out there was a father with his young teenage daughter and were buying her first hunting license.
Her comment to the cashier is we live on a farm and I can set on my front porch and see all kinds of wildlife. Then she said “You watch now that deer season has opened I won’t see a deer one”. She’s probably right as we haven’t seen any deer come across my BIL land next door in quite awhile.

Texas 35 - UCF 3

Until next time….MtnAire Travlers.
All this shopping just wore me out