Another Record Broken and Christmas With Family

DeBary, FL.
26 deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 61 deg. sunny, NW winds @ 5 mph. Low temp tonight 39 deg.

Still another record setting low temperature!!! I'm sure glad that, (after today), the forecast for the next 5 days has temperatures in the 70's during the days and no freezing temps at night!!! ;-)

The big news here is that Jim and Linda finally had their Christmas with Laura, Lindsey, Ashley and Anna!! :-) They left here about 2:30, stopped at the office and picked up their mail, and got there a little before 3:00.

After arriving, the first thing on the agenda was to open all the presents that were still under the tree.

Then, about 5:00, Marv, Inez and Grandma Odel arrived and it was time to eat the great meal that Laura, Lindsey and the girls had put together. From what I can gather, they had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, green beans, and pie and cake if you still had room after eating all the other great food. :-) 

Jim and Linda said that they both took it easy on the portions they took because this was actually the fist large meal that they had since being sick.

Everything went great! Everyone got some really nice gifts, but of course the best part of the whole day was finally being able to spend the time with family. :-)

Did you know that the world's first singing commercial aired on the radio on Christmas Eve, 1926 for Wheaties cereal?

They're Gone and Laura, Lindsey And Ashley Stop By

DeBary, FL.
25 deg. clear, W. wind @ 4 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 49 deg. sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

As soon as Linda got up and had her breakfast yesterday morning, she and Jim started sorting packages as to where they were to be shipped. Then the piles of packages were put in plastic bags and the bags were marked on the outside with the name of the family that it was going to. After that was done, Jim carried the bags out and put them in the back of CLT (Cute Little Truck), and off they went to the UPS store. ;-) 

Jim and Linda use UPS because at the store in Orange City, they will put the presents in boxes (with additional packing if needed), tape them up, put the appropriate labels on them and ship them out. No hassle, no trying to find boxes to pack the gifts into, no problems finding packing materials, and usually no long lines to stand in.

It does cost more, but for Jim and Linda, the ease of shipping this way is well worth the cost.

Who needs more stress during the Holidays?  ;-)

So........now the packages are gone and Jim and Linda can relax a little and get back to normal, (what ever that is). About the only Holiday thing left to do is mail out the Christmas cards. They are ready to be mailed, but Jim and Linda are out of stamps. When they stopped by the Post Office yesterday, the parking lot was completely full, and when Jim went inside to get stamps, there were about 30 people waiting in line and only 2 postal employees behind the counter. :-( 

So, Jim will go back again some other time to get the stamps. There's still plenty of time to get the cards mailed.

As Jim and Linda were driving back here from the Post Office, Laura called and wanted to know if they were going to be here because she, Lindsey and Ashley were out and about and wanted to stop by and visit for awhile. (Jim and Linda hadn't seen them since they got back from Illinois).

Anyway, in about 45 minutes, they stopped by, and Jim and Linda got caught up on their trip up north. From what I understand, they didn't have any problems with road conditions at all, but the temperatures during the day were only in the middle teens!!!! Laura said that when they were out at the cemetery for the burial service, it was 17 degrees!!!!! 

Brrrrrrrr!!!!! Now, that's really cold, especially for people from Florida who think 40 degrees is freezing cold!!!

I have no idea what's happening today. I need a good cleaning inside, Laura is off work so she may stop by, and Jim still needs to get those stamps.

I guess I'll just have to wait and see what develops. ;-)

Did you know that the coldest temperature ever recorded in the lower 48 contiguous states was -69.7° F / -56.5° C, in Rogers Pass, Montana, 20 January, 1954?

The Presents Are Wrapped and A Call From Jeff

DeBary, FL.
37 deg. overcast, NW wind @ 15 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 47 deg. partly sunny, W. winds @ 15 to 20 mph with 30 mph gusts!!

Yep, you read that right!!!! The high temp for today is fore casted to be only 47 degrees with high winds!!! Then for tonight, the temperature is fore casted to get down to the low 20's!!!!!!!

That's just too cotton-pickin' cold for Florida!!!!! :-(

I didn't post yesterday because there really wasn't anything to post about. Linda was wrapping presents, Jim was watching TV, playing around with the computers, and helping Linda when ever he could, but other than that, ......nothing!!!!

Yesterday was more of the same. Linda did get all the presents wrapped and now I have pretty packages setting everywhere. Today, they will get sorted and then shipped to family all over the country.

Speaking of family, Jeff returned Jim's call yesterday. He's the son that lives out in Portland Oregon. Jim had called him last Sunday, but he wasn't home. It's always difficult to find a time for them to find a time to talk because of the big time difference, so Sunday or early Monday morning, (for Jeff), is about the only times that it will work out.

Anyway, Jeff and Heather are doing well. Jeff has been working a lot lately because one of his co-workers broke his shoulder while snow-boarding, so he's been really busy. Right now, Heather is down at her sister's in California. Her sister just had a baby, and Heather is down there visiting and meeting the new addition. ;-)

Well, I guess that's about it for today. Hopefully, Jim and Linda can get all these packages sorted and mailed today, and things can somewhat return to normal around here.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like all the pretty packages, but I really don't have room for this many to be setting around.

Did you know that the use of a Christmas wreath as a decoration on your front door, mantel or bay window symbolizes a sign of welcome and long life to all who enter?

The St. Johns River and Wrapping Presents

DeBary, FL.

49 deg. Foggy, no wind

Forecast today = high temp. 71 deg. partly sunny, W. wind @ 5 mph.

Jim took this photo of the St. Johns River the other day. It runs right along side of the CG and some of the sites are right on the bank. Of course they are considered "premium" sites and are filled with park model homes. Other than down at the marina, there's only one other little space here in the CG where you can view the river without being on someone's lot.

Linda was busy all day wrapping Christmas presents, and she's still not done! :-(  At one point, it was almost impossible to walk through my kitchen area because of all the packages, but last evening, Jim helped Linda get most of them stashed up by my front seats so that there was room to make coffee and get through to the bedroom and bathroom without having to go through an obstacle course. :-)

So that Linda could get as much wrapping done as possible, a pizza was ordered from "Howie's Pizza" for dinner. Both Jim and Linda said that the pizza was very good, and being that they had it delivered here to the park, it was a quick and easy way to have a meal.

Today, Linda will try to finish wrapping the presents. They're also needing some groceries, but I've got an idea that Jim may go and just pick up a few items like bread and milk to tie them over for a few days.

Did you know that the St. Johns River is one of the few rivers in the United States to run north?

Getting Presents Ready and Gram's Kitchen

DeBary, FL.
49 deg. mostly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 68 deg. partly cloudy, N. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

It was still pretty chilly here yesterday, so Jim spent most of the day helping Linda get Christmas presents ready. I'd tell you more about what they were doing, but that would give away some secrets that I'm sure Jim and Linda don't want certain people to know. ;-)

Anyway, after working on that stuff for most of the day, no one felt like cooking, so they decided to go out to eat. Of course one of the first questions that always come up is, "Where are we going to eat?" Well, Lindsey had mentioned something about a restaurant called Gram's Kitchen, and said that he had eaten there and thought the food was good. So, being that it wasn't far from here, Jim and Linda decided to try it out.

All I can say is that it must have been really good, because Jim and Linda were still talking about the great sandwiches that they had when they got back here.

"What did they have to eat", you ask? Well, they weren't real hungry, so Jim ordered a fish sandwich and Linda ordered a patty melt. Jim sandwich was huge. It came on a large bun and there was enough fish hanging over the side of the bun that he brought home a large piece of fish to have another time. :-) And it was really good!!!! Linda's patty melt had all kinds of great stuff on it and was also very large. She said that it was one of the best patty melts that she has had in a long time!! :-)

Needless to say, they really enjoyed the food. The restaurant was nothing fancy, but the service was very good, the food excellent, and the prices were more than fair for what they got.

I'm sure they'll be going back there again to try some of the other items on the menu. ;-)

Oh, and I almost forgot, they each ordered a piece of pie to bring back here. Linda ordered a piece of cherry and Jim a piece of apple. Both were very good, but both Jim and Lind said that they thought the crust was not the best that they've had.

Today I think Linda is going to start wrapping all of those Christmas presents. So I'll have paper, ribbons and gifts from one end of me to the other. I really don't mind though, it kind of gets me into the Christmas spirit. ;-)

Did you know that the first Christmas card was created in England on December 9, 1842?

A Little Warmer and Making Progress

DeBary, FL.
43 deg. overcast, light NW breeze
Forecast today = high temp. 63 deg. becoming mostly sunny this afternoon, N. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Ahhhhh!!! Not as cold last night. :-)

Being that it was pretty chilly outside yesterday, Jim spent most of the day inside, playing around with his New Streets and Trips Program. The old program was a 2006 version and there have been quite a few changes made since then. He says for the most part, he likes the changes.

Jim has also been helping Linda, ( as much as possible), sort and organize Christmas presents. She got a lot done yesterday and now, I think she's feeling a little better about her progress.

We haven't heard anything from Laura and Lindsey. If you remember, they're up in Illinois for a funeral. I've been watching the weather for the area that they're in and I'm betting that they're just about frozen by now. ;-)

I imagine that they'll be heading back down here today, as Laura has to work Saturday.

Don't know what's happening today. I do know that Linda wants to do a couple of loads of laundry. Jim, on the other hand, will probably be spending some time outside, as it should be warmer today.

A Point to Ponder:  You know the expression, "Don't quit your day job?" Well what do you say to

people that work nights?

Pretty Dang Cold, Shopping, and Eating

DeBary, FL.
29 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 58 deg. partly cloudy, N. wind @ 5 mph.

Well, I've made a decision not to talk much about the weather. You see, this morning, I've checked the heading on a whole bunch of blogs that I follow, (but haven't read yet), and almost everyone seems to be talking about how cold it is, so I don't think I need to bore you with any more of the same.

I'll just say that it's pretty dang cold here in DeBary, and I don't think anyone around here is too happy about it. :-(

After lunch yesterday, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed over to the Staples store to pick up a few things. Jim got a new Streets and Trips program for this computer, (they were on sale), a new phone case to carry the cell phone on his belt, and Linda got some green and red pens for use during the Christmas season.

Besides going to the store, Linda has been very busy trying to get everything ready for Christmas. You see, all the gifts, (except the ones for Laura and her family), will have to shipped out either by mail or UPS. That means there will be presents going to VA, NC, IL, WI and OR. Plus, Linda sends out a lot of Christmas cards, so they have to be filled out and mailed also.

Well, anyway, being that Linda has been so busy, Jim suggested  that they go out to eat so she wouldn't have to fix anything here. Needless to say, Linda liked that idea very much, so it was decided that they would head over to the Pier 16 Seafood Restaurant in Orange City. :-)

Again they had a very nice meal. Pier 16 is one of their favorite Seafood restaurants in the area. Both the food and the service were very good as usual.

After they returned here to the park, Linda continued working on some of her embroidery projects, (they're going to be Christmas presents), while watching TV, and Jim played around with the computer and watched TV.

Did you know that the lowest recorded temperature in the United States was   -79.8° F / -62.1° C, at Prospect Creek, Alaska, 23 January, 1971?

More Decorations, The Weather and An Inventory

DeBary, FL.
36 deg. clear, no wind
Forecast today = high temp. 65 deg. sunny, N. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

OK! Now what is that silly Blaine doing now? If he's not careful, he'll fall off of there and get hurt!!

Oh, now I get it, he's waiting for it to get dark so he can look at the decorations that they put up on the Club House yesterday.

I've got to admit they're really purdy and being that I'm parked right across the street, we probably have the best view in the park. :-)

I know I'm not supposed to complain, and I know it's much colder up north, but for Florida, It's COLD!!!!

It never got much above 60 yesterday, (with a pretty good breeze blowing), and now it's 36 deg.!!!! If it's this cold, this early in the year, what's it going to be like in January, which is Florida's coldest month? :-(

Jim and Linda got out all of the Christmas presents yesterday and spread them out on the bed to sort them out and take inventory. Linda says that there are presents for everyone, but they still need to pick up a couple books for a few of the small kids in the family.

While they were doing that, Linda had a load of laundry going in my washer/dryer. By the time they were done with the presents the wash cycle was done, so Jim went out and dumped my tanks.

For dinner, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to the Steak 'n Shake. They weren't gone very long and soon they were back here watching TV.

I have no idea what is going on today. Laura is off of work, so maybe she'll come over for awhile, but we'll have to see. I'm sure she's got lots to do yet before Christmas.

Did you know that on December 3, 1979, the last Pacer rolled off the assembly line at the American Motors Corporation (AMC) factory in Kenosha, Wisconsin?  When the car first came on the market in 1975, it was a sensation, hailed as the car of the future. "When you buy any other car," ads said, "all you end up with is today's car. When you get a Pacer, you get a piece of tomorrow." By 1979, however, sales had faded considerably. Today, polls and experts agree: the Pacer was one of the worst cars of all time.

A Birthday Present, Saying So-long, and Dinner

Rantoul, IL.
60 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 79 deg. mostly cloudy with scattered showers and t-storms, light NW winds.

Wow!!!! What a day it was for Jim yesterday!!!! It started out early, when Cindy and Ken found out that it was his birthday, and tried to figure out what they could give his as a present. Well, of course they weren't prepared so they had to improvise!

Well, this is what they came up with!!!

A can of beer with birthday candles taped onto it!!!! And, they had the candles lit as they came out of their MH to give it to him!!! What a great idea!!!!! Everyone got a kick out of if!!! :-)

But, the fun could only last so long, as Ken and Cindy had to get going. Before they did though, Jim took this photo of Linda, Ken, Cindy and Sox and Ditka, standing next to their MH, just before they left.

Then, we all looked on as they pulled out of their site and headed out of the CG. :-(

Wow!!! What good friends Ken, Cindy and their MH have become. We'll really miss them and are looking forward to the next time we meet up with them again.

The afternoon was spent taking naps, helping Paul and Louise move a couch out of their 5th wheel and move a new recliner into it, and then getting ready to head down to Champaign for dinner.

You see, Jim and Linda don't usually buy each other presents for their birthdays any more. Oh, maybe a card or something like that, but unless it's something small that the other person really wants, the presents really don't seem necessary any longer. What they usually do, is to go out for a nice dinner someplace.

In this case, Jim decided that he would like to go to the Lone Star Steakhouse, so a little before 5:00 they took CLT (Cute Little Truck), and headed down there.

By all accounts, they had a very nice meal and the food was very good. :-)

The evening was spent watching TV until bedtime.

Oh, thanks to all who took time to post the nice comments on yesterday's blog. It's really nice to know that people like what you're doing. And of course Jim wants to thank all the folks who wished him a happy birthday too.  :-)

Did you know that 23% of all photocopier faults worldwide are caused by people sitting on them and photocopying their butts?

Catching Up, Wakefield MI to Spooner WI to River Falls, WI.

Rantoul, IL.
65 deg. clear, no wind.some fog.
Forecast today = high temp. 92 deg. mostly sunny, light South winds

OK, I'm going to try to get caught up on my travels in the next couple days, so I hope you'll bear with me.

In this post, I'll try to cover my travels from Wakefield, MI., where I was when I  was last able to get on the Internet, down to River Falls Wisconsin where Linda's brother Glenn, and his wife Jeanette, live.

On Thursday, July 22, we left the city park in Wakefield and headed West on US 2. 2 took us out of Michigan, and into Wisconsin, through Ashland and to US 63. We then took 63 all the way down to Spooner, where we pulled into the Country House Motel and RV Park. It was a nice short travel day, and it only took us 2 hours and 40 minutes to travel the 137 miles of good road.

Jim had read mixed reviews on this park, and so he wasn't surprised when the man in the motel office told him that they no longer gave the Passport America discount and then started to put down the RVers that he claimed took excess advantage of his pool and other amenities, while only paying half price. Jim just ignored him and payed the nice lady that was checking me in, and then came out an pulled me around to the back of the Motel and into a nice long pull-through site.

I don't know what this owner has against PPA, but even though he has a fairly nice CG, it's not worth the $30 that Jim was charged. I was the only camper in the park and I think that it would be better to get half of that, rather than have all the sites setting there empty. Because of the attitude of the owner and the high price, we will not be staying at this CG again. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the CG was closed in a few years, as no one wants to hear negative comments about RVers as they are checking in.

Since it was Linda's birthday, Jim found out that there was a restaurant in town called Nick's that was supposed to be good, so for dinner, they took CLT and headed over there and had a very nice meal.

On Friday, the 23rd of July, we left the CG in Spooner at about 10:05 and continued South on US 63. We stayed on 63 all the way down to I-94, where we tuned West for a few miles and then took Rt 65 South and to River Falls, WI, where we pulled into Hoffman Park.

It was almost exactly 12:00 when we pulled into the park so it took us one hour and 55 minutes to travel 94 miles.

I've been to Hoffman Park in River Falls before, so I knew just how to get into one of the nice back-in sites. It's a small city park with level back-in sites, 30 Amp electric, and a nice dump station. It's well maintained, always neat and clean, with paved roads and pads, and they only charge $15 a night. :-)

Oh and one other thing, it's only about 3/4 mile from Linda's brother's house!

After taking naps and getting the inside of me cleaned up some, Jim and Linda took CLT (Cute Little Truck) and headed over to Glenn's house. Of course Glenn and Jeanette knew that Linda had just had a birthday, so they ordered pizza and made a cake to celebrate. :-) Glenn and Jeanette's son Ed, his wife Michelle and their son Thomas are living temporarily with Glen and Jeanette, so of course they joined in on the celebration too.

I think Linda was really pleased as she was still talking about how nice it was of them to make a cake and give here a few gifts when they got back to the park.

After dinner, Jim was telling Glenn about our computer problems and how we were not able to get on-line with the air card, so Glenn looked up the location of an AT&T store on his computer and found one over in St. Paul, MN. So......Saturday, Glenn and Jeanette came out to the CG, picked up Jim and Linda and headed to the store.

The guy at the store found out that the card was working properly and told Jim that he was almost positive that the computer was infected with a virus. Well, they talked about taking it to a store in St. Paul, but Jim decided that he wanted to bring it back here to Rantoul and have Greg from Geeky Guys come and take a look at it as he had done a good job fixing a problem that they had a couple of years ago. So, they came back to the CG and talked for awhile.

That evening, they all went to a Perkins Restaurant for dinner, and then Sunday most of the day was spent at Glenn and Jeanette's talking and spending some one-on-one time with them.

Our stay in River falls was very good and I know that Linda enjoyed spending time with her brother. It had been quite awhile since we had been up there and it was good to see them and their house again. :-)

Did you know that River Falls is home to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, (where Glenn is a Professor), and through 2009 the site of the summer camp of the Kansas City Chiefs?

More About Talking, Heat and Storms, and That's Just Rude.

Rantoul, IL.
65 deg. partly cloudy, S. wind @ 8 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 92 deg. mostly sunny, humid, W. winds @ 10 to 15 mph. 20% chance of afternoon showers.

I received a couple of nice comments on yesterday's blog. Thanks.

I think that everyone needs to sit down and talk to their significant other about things you might want to do or don't want to do in you future. Or, if you're on your own, take time to really be honest with yourself and make sure you're doing, and are going to be doing what makes you happy. I've seem so many couples that don't seem to be able to communicate at all, and usually one of them is not a very happy camper. :-(     Especially when you're traveling, it's important for both parties to agree on where, when and how to go, and where and when to stop.

It was pretty hot here yesterday, (I had 91 deg. on my thermometer at one time), so Jim and Linda didn't do much. Jim took a little bike ride in the morning, took the garbage down to the dumpster, talked to Louise for awhile, and put out my awnings.

The awning thing is getting to be a joke. Jim puts them out in the morning so that they shade me from the hot sun, but then in the afternoon, it storms so he has to roll them back up again. I know that some people leave them out all the time and tie them down, but Jim doesn't feel comfortable doing that, and just worries about them while they're out in a storm, so...... he does what he feels he has to do.

Speaking of that, yesterday afternoon, Jim cooked a couple of small steaks on his grill for dinner, and no more than he and Linda were done eating, the skies started looking black, so he went out rolled up the awnings. It's a good thing he did because within about 10 minutes we had some really strong gusts of wind and lots of rain again.

In fact, I just checked Jim's rain gauge and we had another 1.6 inches of rain yesterday and last night.

Oh, do you remember me telling you that there were 20 or so RVs coming into the park this weekend for a Rally? Well, they didn't show up!!!! Yep, you read that right. No phone call or anything. They just didn't show up!!!! Can you imagine scheduling a rally at a CG, (even a small rally), and then not showing up or calling the CG to tell them that you changed plans???

How rude is that!!!! Needless to say, Louise was quite upset with the group, and I doubt if she'll ever agree to have them back again.

I'm sure that all of you are aware that Sunday is Father's Day, and you want to get good old dad a present, but did you know that there are more than 14,000 hardware stores and over 23,000 sporting goods stores where you can get him that perfect gift?

.

Mike, Gina, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon Come To See Me

Apex, NC.
55 deg. Mostly cloudy, N. wind @ 7 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 68 deg. becoming mostly sunny, NW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.

First of all, I'd like to wish all of you mothers out there a "Happy Mother's Day"!!!!

Jim and Linda did a little cleaning inside of me yesterday morning in preparation for Mike, Gina, Brenna, Savanna, and Dillon coming in the afternoon. The planned dinner was to be a simple meal of Sloppy Joe's, squash, chips, raw vegetables, and drinks, so there was not a real lot of preparation that Linda needed to do.

While Linda was doing inside things, Jim was outside putting down the patio mat, getting out lawn chairs, and cleaning up the picnic table.

I was a little after 3:00 when they pulled up with their van and Mike and the 2 girls got out. What happened to Gina and Dillon, you ask? Well, Dillon fell asleep on the way over here so rather than wake him up and have him be fussy, Gina sat in the car with him while he snoozed for awhile.

While he was sleeping, Mike, and the girls play with a ball they had brought along, and sat under my awning and talked with Jim and Linda.

Jim did manage to remember to use his camera yesterday, so I've got some photos to share with you. :-) This first one is of Brenna,

This next one is Savanna

Dillon

Gina

and Mike

After Dillon woke up, everyone helped carry food out of me and to the picnic table and then everyone sat down and had a very nice meal. The girls and Dillon don't much like Sloppy Joe's, so Mike nuked a couple hot dogs in my microwave for them.

After dinner, Linda was surprised with a Mother's Day gift.

You see, Jim and Linda won't be seeing them today because they have prior commitments. So, they brought her a box of sugar free candy and a card out here and wished Linda a happy Mother's Day, a day early.

What a nicer thing for them to do. It rally made Linda's day. :-).

Did you know that in May of 1908 that the 1st Mother's Day was observed,? Then by the late 1920's Mother's Day became one of this countries most prominent holidays. 

Presents For Full-Time RVers, and A Great Christmas

Orange City, FL.
52 deg. cloudy, light NW winds.
Forecast today = high temp. 66 deg. partly sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Well, I hope Santa brought you everything wanted this year. If you're a full-time RVer, you probably didn't ask for too much because there's just not much room for "stuff" in your home. In fact, full-timers are constantly fighting the problem of accumulating more things than they have room for. Even if you have the room, there's still the problem of overloading the RV and exceeding it's weight limits. (Not a good thing). :-(

Many RVers prefer gift cards from restaurants or stores. If they are from National chain restaurants, they can be enjoyed where ever they are during their travels, and if they are form large chain stores, they can be used to purchased items that will fit into the RV or even groceries that will be consumed.

About 11:30 CLT (Cute Little Truck) took Jim and Linda over to Marv and Inez's house yesterday. Inez had prepared a full Christmas dinner with all the "fixins" and by all accounts everything was delicious. After eating, the presents under the tree were opened and then everyone sat around and talked for awhile. Jim and Linda stayed until about 3:00 and then came back here to be with me. :-)

Again, Jim and Linda want to thank Marv and Inez for their hospitality. It was very nice of them to include them in their family Christmas gathering.

The rest of the day was spent watching TV, taking naps, eating a light evening meal, and in general just relaxing after a busy couple of days.

Oh, I almost forgot. While Jim and Linda were at Marv and Inez's, Glenn and Jeanette (Linda's brother and his wife), called from Wisconsin to wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Then, Linda called Joe in Virginia Beach, VA. to wish him and his family a Merry Christmas, and then after Jim and Linda got back here, Mike called from Apex, NC. Everyone seemed to be having a great Christmas and were enjoying the time with their families. :-)

So, yesterday turned out to be a very good day, spent with and talking to family and friends. It was a great Christmas!!! :-) I hope yours was too!

Today, I have no Idea what's happening. I don't think there are any plans at all. Oh well, I'll just have to wait and see what develops.

Did you know that on this date in 1865, James H. Nason received a patent for a coffee percolator?

Merry Christmas

Orange City, FL
69 deg. partly cloudy, SE wind @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 77 deg. becoming mostly cloudy, with a 60% chance of showeres and t-storms. SW wind @ 10 to 15 mph.First of all, I'd like to wish all my followers and very Merry Christmas! I hope today will be one filled with Joy and Happiness. Please take a few minutes to remember the true meaning of Christmas.
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Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Orange City. We had temperatures in the mid 70's, it was mostly sunny, and there was a little breeze blowing. Today, they are saying on TV that they don't expect any severe weather here, but there is a pretty good chance that we'll have some rain later on, followed up by a cold front that will drop the temperatures down about 15 degrees. I hope the weather where you are at is nice enough that you can be with family and friends today.
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Yesterday evening, Jim and Linda took CLT and headed over to Laura and Lindsey's. Ashley was there and Anna and Chris were there from South Carolina. A little later in the evening, Marv and Inez (Lindsey's parents), stopped by for awhile and everyone had a good time talking, eating "finger food", and opening presents.It was almost 10:00 before CLT brought them back here to the park, so they must have had a good time. :-)
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Today, about noon, CLT will be taking Jim and Linda to Marv and Inez's house in DeLand. They'll probably spend most of the afternoon there. It sure is nice of them to invite Jim and Linda to join their family on this special day.
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Did you know that Christmas became a national holiday in America in 1870?
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Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!

Official Start of Winter, Clean Up Myrddin Day, and Laura Stops By

Orange City, FL.
41 deg. partly cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 61 deg. partly sunny, NW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Winter officially starts at 12:47 PM EST today, but for the most part, I think most people think it started awhile back. With the cold weather and snow storms that have crossed the northern part of the US in past weeks and the cold rainy weather in the southern sections, it's hard to believe that winter isn't here already.

Today, is also the day with the least amount of daylight. Some people say that it's the shortest day of the year, but that's really not quite right. The day still has 24 hours in it, and is exactly the same length as all the other days. I for one am glad that from here on, the amount daylight we have will be getting longer. I don't like all of this darkness and the cold weather that comes with it. Give me a good old sunny day with those warm temperatures, that the days with more daylight bring. :-)

Yesterday was "Clean Up Myrddin Day". Jim and Linda spent most of the day cleaning the inside of me and getting some cabinets reorganized. They also put away the Christmas wrapping paper, ribbon and wrapping supplies that were scattered about in me. Actually they put the Christmas stuff in a cabinet in the bedroom for now. It'll get put in a box in my basement when the decorations are put away after the holidays.

Sometime during the afternoon, Laura called and said that she was out shopping, and said that if she had time, she'd stop by for awhile later. I really didn't think she was going to make it, but about 6:00 she pulled into my site and came in to visit. She had been shopping all day, and was really beat, so she didn't stay too long, but it was sure good to see her again. She said she still has more shopping to do, but has to work 12 hour shifts both today and tomorrow, so that means she'll have to try to finish Wednesday and Thursday.

I think that's cutting it a little close.

Oh, and Wednesday, Anna and Chris will be getting to her house from South Carolina, so I'm sure Laura will want to spend as much time as possible with them.

As for Jim and Linda, I think they're about done with things they have to do before Christmas. The last of the Christmas cards were sent Saturday, and about all that's left is for Jim to send some e-cards to a few more people. Oh, I almost forgot, Linda says she wants to bake some cookies to take to Laura's when they go there to open presents. And, it sounds like they'll be going to Lindsey's parents house, (Marv and Inez's) Christmas day, so she'll want to make something to take there too.

That's fine with me. When Linda bakes or cooks, it always make me smell so good inside! ;-)

Did you know that the poinsettia plant was brought into the United States from Mexico by Joel Poinsett in the early 1800's?

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.

A Little Let-Down?

Orange City, FL.
67 deg. clear, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 84 deg. mostly sunny, humid SW wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

It was a real slow day around here yesterday. I think it's probably a little let-down after working so hard to get all of the Christmas presents, and then get them all wrapped and ready to be sent off.

It seems that there is a let-down after you get any major job or activity done. I know it's even like that with me after I get to a destination at the end of a long trip. For instance, when we were on our way down here, I was excited to get to Joe's and once I was parked in their driveway, I just sat there for a day or so and didn't want to do anything at all. The same thing happened after we got to Mike's, then to Anna's, and finally here. Oh, and when we went all the way out to Oregon last year, and Jim pulled me into that CG near Jeff's, I didn't want to do anything for 3 or 4 days!

Last night, Jim and Linda took CLT and went to the Steak 'n Shake restaurant for dinner. Then, they came back here and watched a movie on TV called "The Polar Express". After that was over, they watched the news before going to bed.

A real exciting day, Huh?

Did you know that electric lights were first used for Christmas trees in 1895?

Laura Stops By

Orange City, FL.
64 deg. cloudy, no wind.
Forecast today = high temp. 78 deg. mostly cloudy with a 50% chance of a shower, E. wind @ 5 to 10 mph.

Laura stopped by for a little while yesterday. She's been really busy and she was on her way to the store when she left here. She did take all the Christmas presents that Jim and Linda had for her family, so now at least there's some room inside of me to move around. :-)

Today and tomorrow, she's working again, so it'll be at least Monday before we see here again, and then I know she'll have bunches of things to do to get ready for Christmas.

I don't think Jim and Linda have anything planned for today. They still need to get the rest of the presents sent off, but because of the crowds on Saturday, I don't think they'll try to do that until the first of next week.

Did you know that the first U.S. president to decorate the White House Christmas tree was Franklin Pierce?

Finished At Last

Orange City, FL.
53 deg. mostly cloudy, N winds @ 10 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 59 deg. mostly cloudy, 20% chance of rain, NE wind @ 10 mph.

The last present was wrapped yesterday afternoon, and now all the presents are sitting here awaiting to be sent to different family members across the country. I don't know just when they'll get sent off because today, Laura is off work and Jim and Linda may get together with her if she's not too busy. If they are able to get together with her, and she has her Christmas tree set up, they'll get her family's presents over there and that will help with the over-crowding problem I have inside of me right now. :-)

Other than finishing up the presents, not much happened around here. It rained most of the day, and the sun never did peek out from behind the clouds so it was not a day to do anything outside.

For dinner, Linda just heated up some Arby's roast beef sanwiches that were in the freezer, put together a salad for Jim, and got out some chips to with the sanwiches.

After eating, they watched TV until it was bedtime.

Did you know that the word Christmas is Old English, a contraction of Christ's Mass?

The Last Present, The Salvage Yard, and Lunch With Laura

Orange City, FL.
73 deg. cloudy, SW winds at 8 mph.
Forecast today = high temp. 73 deg. with falling temps throughout the day. becoming partly cloudy, Wind becoming NW at 10 to 15 mph.

Didn't post yesterday because absolutely nothing happened on Tuesday. Yesterday, Jim and Linda decided that it was finally time to get that last Christmas present so Linda could finish up the wrapping and they could get everything ready to send off to the appropriate places.

So.... off to Target they went in CLT (Cute Little Truck), and in no time had the present. Then, Jim decided that they would try to find the Auto Salvage Yard here in Orange City to find CLT a plastic vent piece that flew off somewhere between Beverly Beach and here.

Oh I'm sorry, didn't I tell you about that? Well, this is the plastic piece on the cowl, (between his hood and windshield) where the air gets drawn in for the heater and air conditioner. We don't know what happened, but when we got here one of the 2 plastic pieces was missing and Jim had to put some duct tape over the opening to stop the sticks and leaves from going down into the heater/AC.

Well, anyway, they found the Salvage Yard and Jim was able to get a replacement part that's not exactly the same, but fits in the opening, and will work just fine. (It cost him a whole $5).

While they were at the Salvage Yard, Laura called and was wondering if Jim and Linda would like to get together for lunch someplace. Well, she was headed towards the area where Jim and Linda were at, so it was decided that they would meet at the Pier 16 Seafood restaurant which is on US 17 here in Orange City. Well anyway, they met there, had a very nice lunch and sat and visited for awhile. ;-)

After they got back here to the CG, Jim installed the plastic piece on CLT and then took a nap. Linda wrapped some more presents, they both had sandwiches for supper, and then they watched TV until bedtime.

Another good day. :-)

Did you know that on this date in 1817, Mississippi became the 20th State in the United States?