More Nasty Weather and Now, I've Seen It All!!

Orange City, FL.
59 deg. scattered clouds, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. mostly sunny, W. wind@ 10 to 15 mph.

It was another nasty day around here yesterday, weather-wise. It started raining early and really never quit until around 6:30 in the evening. Most of the time the rain was very heavy, (with an accumulation of about 3"), and there was constant thunder and lightning. We also had more strong winds with up to 50 mph gusts, but I don't know of any additional damage  here in the park. However there was substantial damage throughout central Florida.

OK, Now, I've seen it all!!! I'm going to try to describe this to you and I hope you can picture this in your mind.

First of all there's this lady who is taking her dog out to do his "business" in the rain. It's a medium sized dog and they are in the grassy area across the street from me. In one hand, the lady has a hold of the leash and in the other hand, she is holding, upside down, an umbrella that has been turned inside-out, (like it's been through a big wind storm), over the top of the dog so the dog doesn't get wet.

The lady has a hooded sweatshirt on but no other protection from the weather, and has to be getting quite wet as the dog is in no hurry.

On top of all of this, (and to me this is the best part), after the dog was done doing it's "business", she put the inside-out umbrella down on the ground, picked up the poop with a plastic bag and then got out a rag and wiped off the dog's bottom!!!!!  She then put the rag in the plastic bag, picked up the umbrella, held it back over the dog and headed back to the RV!!  :-0

Yep, I now think I've seen it all!!!

Laura called yesterday afternoon and suggested going out to dinner at the Pier 16 Seafood Restaurant. It sounded like a good idea to Jim and Linda, so about 6:00 they headed over there and met Laura, Lindsey and Ashley for a very nice meal.

After dinner, Jim and Linda came back here an kind of crashed. The whole day, (except for the meal), had been very stressful, with all the storm cells going through the area, the power going off at least 4 times, and the tornado watches all day with warnings from time to time. :-(

The forecast for the next 5 days looks pretty good, so Jim and Linda shouldn't have any problems getting me ready to travel. :-) Plus I know that they still have some things they want to get done before we leave.

Did you know that each year there are about 1,200 tornadoes in the United States?

They're Gone, A Little Shopping and Chinese

Rantoul, IL.
50 Deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 76 deg. mostly sunny, light East winds.

They're gone :-(  Yep, after a great visit, Cindy and Ken

Sox and Ditka

And their neat MH

had to leave to head up to Northern Indiana to go to the Escapade. I know they wanted to leave about 10:00 but after h and h, it was 10:40 before they left. There was so much to talk about and Jim and Ken seemed to really hit it off and just kept talking and talking. ;-)

It was sure hard to watch them drive out of the park, (they're really a great couple), but I know I'll see them again some day.

Thanks for stopping by, Ken and Cindy. Maybe next time we can spend a longer time together.

After they left, and Jim and Linda had some lunch, they took CLT, (Cute Little Truck), to a gas station and bought him a nice drink of 87 octane. Then, they headed down to Champaign because Linda wanted to go to the Hancock Fabrics store to get some sewing stuff and Jim wanted to go to Office Depot to get a new mouse for this computer. Actually this worked our really well since the stores are right next to one another.

After they got done there, Jim asked a man that was walking through the parking lot if he knew where the New Balance Shoe Store was in Urbana?  (Jim was looking for a new pair of shoes and had heard about the store on a TV add.) Well, the man knew exactly where it was and gave Jim and Linda excellent instructions on how to get there the easiest way.

So......Off they went, found the store, bought Jim some new shoes, and then returned here to the park.

It was about 3:00 when CLT brought them back.

For dinner, Jim thought Chinese sounded good, so Linda called the China Express Restaurant here in Rantoul and placed an order. Then Jim and CLT went and picked it up and brought it back here. It sure smelled good and Jim and Lind both said it tasted good too.

I'll bet it's not as good as good old #2 diesel fuel though. ;-)

Did you know that on this day in 1776, the Continental Congress formally declares the name of the new nation to be the "United States" of America? This replaced the term "United Colonies," which had been in general use

Last Of The Prescriptions and I've Got Company

Ratnoul, IL.
50 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 76 deg. sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

A little after lunch, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed to Walgreen's to pick up that last prescription. While they were there, they also picked up a few other items like bread and milk so that they didn't have to make another stop.

Once back here, Linda baked some brownies for desert and Jim took a little nap.

About 4:30 or so, I saw this Cross Country MH pulling a jeep pull into the CG, and sure enough, it was Ken and Cindy coming to visit. :-)

After h and h, they checked in with Louise in the office and then Paul led them to the site right next to me. Once they got set up, everyone sat outside and talked. After they had talked for awhile, it was decided that Jim would cook some brats, that Ken and Cindy had brought, on his grill and Linda would make a green bean casserole to go with them. Cindy also had brought a fruit salad and some chips, and once the brats were done, everyone came inside of me and had a very nice meal with great conversation. :-)

I think that they would have liked to eat outside, but yesterday was another windy day and they would have had problems with everything blowing away. :-(

After dinner, they all sat and talked until about 9:30 when Ken and Cindy left to walk their neat dogs, (Sox and Ditka), and get get some rest, as this had been a long day for them.

This morning, they'll be leaving to head up to an Escapade in Indiana. I sure wish they could stay longer, but I've found out that they are planning on going to the RV Dreams Rally in TN. next spring, so I'm hoping we'll see them and their MH there.

Did you know that September is "AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Month"?

Blaine's Big Adventure

Rantoul, IL
61 Deg., clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp.84 deg. mostly sunny, light NW winds.

Today, I'd like to talk a little about Blaine. Who or what is Blaine, you ask?

Well, if you don't already know from reading some of my older posts, or have missed it, Blaine is Jim and Linda's dog. I don't talk much about him because he usually doesn't do much. He has been full-timing with Jim and Linda ever since they started back in 2001, and he usually rides on my dash when we are traveling in his own little spot right in the center. He doesn't bark, and Jim and Linda don't have to take him for walks.

Most of the time, he's a very good dog.

So, why am I writing about him today, you ask? Well, yesterday for some reason, Blaine wanted to go outside. He hardly never goes out, but I think he saw Jim find that little leash just laying on the ground at that CG we stayed at in Indiana, so I guess he wanted to try it out.

Well anyway, Jim took him out and tied him to the picnic table.

It seemed like he was enjoying himself and I thought everything was going to be all right, when all of a sudden I saw him up on top of the picnic table!

Well, that wasn't too bad, but the next time I checked, he was on Jim's bicycle seat!!!

I wonder how in the world he got up there?

About this time, Jim saw him and just as he reached for Blaine, he slipped and fell off of the bicycle and almost choked himself!!!  And, he would have too if Jim hadn't been there to catch him. :-0  So...... being that it didn't look like he was going to stay out of trouble while he was outside, Jim took the leash off of Blaine and put him back inside of me.

And there he sat with those sad puppy eyes looking like he had been mistreated or something.

If he had just stayed on the ground where he belonged, he probably could have stayed out there all day.

Did you know that Dachshunds are the smallest breed of dog used for hunting> They are low to the ground, which allows them to enter and maneuver through tunnels easily

The Weather? and A Few Photos

Virginia Beach, VA.
66 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 77 deg. partly cloudy, 40% chance of a t-storm, SW wind @ 15 to 20 mph.

I don't know about this weather forecast. Yesterday, they were forecasting a 70% chance of t-storms and possible heavy rain, and I think we had 13 drops of rain all day. Now, today, they're forecasting a 40% chance of t-storms, so I'm wondering if we'll even have any clouds? I've talked about this before, but I'm still wondering how someone can keep their job with such a low percentage of accuracy? I know that If my mechanic did even 30% of the work on me wrong, Jim wouldn't take me back there again, but I'm sure that some of these weather people are only right about 50% of the time. :-(

Since the weather was so nice yesterday, Jim rode his bike some, helped Joe get the above ground pool in the back yard ready for use, and took a few photos of the beautiful azaleas that the neighbor down the street has. They're in full bloom right now, and many people in this area have them planted in their yards.

He also took this photo of Sami, lying on the floor and doing some drawing for a school project.

This one of Joe, talking to Linda.

And this one of Sarah.

She's a good old dog. :-)

I'm sure that soon, he'll get photos of Nancy and Amber too, but hasn't had the chance so far.

The rest of the day was spent visiting with Joe and his family, watching TV and eating another delicious meal that Nancy prepared.

Did you know that over 10,000 different Azalea plants have been registered or named?

Re-leveling and Seven Visits Me

Orange City, FL.
63 deg. cloudy, NE wind @ 6 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 71 deg. mostly cloudy with a 40% chance of rain. E. wind @ 10 to 15 mph.
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About 10:00 Jim fired up my engine so I could pump up my air bags to raise myself off of my leveling jacks. This was done for 2 reasons. First, the man at HWH, (the place that made my hydraulic levelers), told Jim that my levelers need to be exercised once a month when I am parked someplace for a long time, and Second, my rear leveling jacks were sinking into the sand and I was not real level any more. So, after I got my air pumped up, and got my levelers retracted, Jim poured some gravel in the holes where they had sunk in. Then he pushed my leveling button and I re-leveled myself. Now, I'm all set for another month. :-)
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I had an unexpected visit from Seven yesterday. Who's Seven, you ask? Well, Seven is Laura, Lindsey and Ashley's dog, and Laura and Ashley brought her by to visit me about 11:30. :-) She was a little nervous being here at the park because she normally stays close to home to guard the house and doesn't get out much. Also, Laura and Ashley had just taken her to the Doggy Doctor where she had gotten some shots and a complete check-up, so that didn't help either.
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Seven is a very nice dog and is very well behaved. Like I said, she was a little nervous and did some pacing around when she first got here, but calmed down after awhile. I'll bet your wondering about her name. Well, it's really quite simple. She was the seventh pup born out of a litter of 8, and so Ashley named her Seven!
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Makes sense doesn't it?
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Anyway, Seven, Laura and Ashley stayed for about an hour and a half and then headed back to the house so Seven could resume her guard duties. It was a real nice unexpected visit, especially since I had never met Seven before.
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Now, I can't verify this, but on the radio yesterday, this is what they said.
Did you know that 1 out of 5 people will injure themselves opening a bubble wrapped present this holiday season?
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They were talking about the items that come from the store totally encased in plastic and you have to use an knife or scissors to open them, so please be careful.

Who's Blaine? and Other Animals?

Casa Grande, AZ
48 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 68 deg. clear, light NW winds.

On Thanksgiving day, I made the statement that Jim, Linda, Blaine, CLT and I would like to wish everyone a happy and safe Holiday. Yesterday, it was brought to my attention that some of you don't know who Blaine is. Well, Blaine is Jim and Linda's pet. He's a little dog that is very well behaved, (usually anyway), who rides along with us everywhere we go. He's very easy to take care of, and never barks at people. If you want to learn more about him, you can check out my blog entry for March 20, 2008.

Probably the easiest way to do that, is to scroll down this page until you come to the section on the left side of the screen that says "Labels", then go down to the "Pets", category and click on that. When the next screen comes up, scroll down through those entries and you will find the post about him.

It was a real quiet day around here yesterday. I think everyone was resting up from the holiday. I know Jim and Linda didn't do much. Jim was on this computer quite a bit, and Linda was busy with her sewing projects.

Did you hear about the Wal-Mart store employee that got trampled to death in New York? It made the national news yesterday. It seems that this mob of people came crashing through the store entry doors when the store opened, to try to be first to buy on-sale Christmas stuff. They trampled this poor employee in the process, and then were upset when they were asked to leave when the store manager closed the store because of the man's death.

I sometimes wonder what people are thinking. Are people turning back into animals, where their individual wants are more important than even human life? Was it worth that mans life to be first through the door to buy some Christmas presents? I don't think so.

Did you know that in Arizona, because of the hot weather, it is unlawful to refuse a person a glass of water?

T-storms and Rules

Rantoul, IL
71 deg. overcast, light breeze.
Forecast today = high temp. 81 deg. partly sunny with a 50% chance of rain, W. winds at 15 mph with 25 mph gusts.

It threatened rain all day yesterday. First a t-storm went through just North of here, and later in the day, one went through just to the South. Then about dinner time, we had a pretty strong t-storm here.

During the week, it's been really quiet here, but yesterday, quite a few RVs came into the park for the weekend. They seem to be in small groups, so I would imagine they're here for family gatherings. It will be interesting to see how full this CG gets for the 4th of July weekend. In years past, this CG has been almost full. It still might be though, because most of the people who come here for the holidays are from the surrounding areas.

Oh, Oh, There's a dog running loose in the park. I hope it doesn't belong to one of the RVers. Louise, (the CG host) is very strict about keeping pets on a leash, and if someone doesn't follow the rules, she will have a "talk" with the owners. In one case, a few years ago, (after having a couple of "talks" with them), she even told some campers that they would have to leave if they didn't keep their pet tied up, (and she meant it). They finally got the message.

Hmmm! Now I'm hearing thunder to the South of us, and the sky looks pretty dark in that direction. I think this going to be another one of those days when t-storms just pop up from time to time. Yep, now it's starting to rain. I thought it might. Oh well, it looks like a day for Jim and Linda to get caught up on inside stuff.

Did you know that skunks can accurately spray their smelly fluid as far as ten feet?

Blaine

Bushnell, FL.

63 deg. cloudy, light rain, NW winds @ 5 MPH

Forecast today = High temp. 74 deg. becoming mostly sunny, NW winds @ 10 to 15 MPH.

The other day I was talking about pets. I was telling you that Jim and Linda had a pet named Blaine, and that I would try to find a photo of him. Well, I finally found one. It's not the best photo that I've seen, but I guess it will do.



Now before you make any conclusions, let me tell you why Jim and Linda think he is the perfect pet for them.

He never barks, doesn't need to be taken for a walk in the rain, doesn't need baths, doesn't need to go to the vet, and doesn't cost anything to feed. For the most part he behaves very well, (he did get into Linda's sewing stuff one time), and just rides along to where ever we're going without any complaints.

Now, if you're still reading this and haven't given up completely on this blog, I'd like to tell you a little about Blaine's past.

He was bought for a little girl who loved him very much, but the girl grew up, and decided to sell him. He was put on a table at a garage sale where lots of people looked at him, but no one bought him. After the garage sale was over, he was put in a box and placed in the garage, where he patiently waited for over a month. Then one day, the little girl's mother decided that all of those boxes in the garage needed to thrown away, so she set them out by the curb for the garbage man to take away to the dump.

This is when Jim found Blaine. He just couldn't resist bringing him home. He showed him to Linda and they both decided that he would be a good addition to their family, and fit in with their full-timing lifestyle. So, for about 6 years, Blaine has been the perfect pet, riding along to all the places that Jim and Linda have gone to.

Now you know "The rest of the story".

Did you know that the average American spends about 3 years of his life sitting on the toilet?

Pets

Bushnell, FL
59 deg. cloudy, light SE winds.
Forecast today = High temp. 83 deg. partly sunny, humid, 10 to 15 MPH SE winds.

It rained most of the day yesterday. Not very hard, but just light rain all day. Some people were out under their RV's awnings, but most people just stayed inside. Of course the people who have dogs for pets had no choice but to go out in the rain to walk them.

Jim and Linda have a pet too. Those of you that have read my monthly printed newsletter know about him. I haven't talked much about him, because he doesn't do much. He just sits around all day. Once in awhile, he gets into some trouble, but basically, he's a good pet. The thing I like about him, is that he doesn't bother me at all. He sits on my dash with his nose pressed against my windshield when we're traveling, and his usual place, when we're parked, is up on top of the printer or on top of one of my front seats.

Jim and Linda found him abandoned, back in Illinois, about the time they started full-timing. Actually, Jim found him and rescued him from a fate worse than death, and he has traveled with them ever since. They named him Blaine, because he was found on Blaine Street in the town where they used to live.

I'll have to see if I can find a photo of Blaine. I know there's a couple on this computer someplace.

Did you know that in the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated?