RVing Fulltime with Tom and Ella

2018 February 06 Tuesday

Maker:S,Date:2017-9-27,Ver:6,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar02,E-ve

Maker:S,Date:2017-9-27,Ver:6,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar02,E-ve

Yesterday’s high temperature of 55° came at 10 p.m. That is strange that it became warmer after sundown. This morning has started off at 43° which is close to our predicted high of 48°. It is gloomy outside with fog and drizzle.

Last night we received information about a seventy car pile up near our summer home in Iowa. One dead many injured some critical. Please pray for the victims and the rescue workers who are trying to stabilize and evacuate these people in wind chills in negative numbers and blowing snow.

What a … I’m trying to think of a word to replace “crappy” … a unpleasant weather day. It has been like being inside a creepy, dripping cave. I’m not a fan (could you tell) of this weather.

My joints have been hurting all day also. Another reason to not like this kind of weather.

Okay, it is evident that this is going to be a depressing post … so I’m gonna stop right now. Have a blessed day.

Okay, here is one thing that has nothing to do with the weather. Check out this old Chevy delivery van.

Wouldn’t that make a great little RV?

Awake at five (ah … Good … nice to be back at normal sleep pattern) outside temperature is 35° which is one degree above the overnight low. WeatherBug gives it a “feels like” of 32°. Yesterday’s official high was 70 but I think it must have topped that because it got up to 80 inside with the door and windows open, but before I closed the shades and blinds.

I hear there sounds of traffic zooming down the narrow country side road near our camp site. People are heading to work … probably in Austin which is a forty mile drive to just reach the northernmost edge.

I’ve been retired (except for some seasonal with) for nearly a decade and I don’t miss the rush to get to work. And yet, here I am years later still waking at 5. All those years of working programmed my sleep habits.

I’ve started the coffee, even though I seldom drink it anymore. But my bride of a quarter century does. So it is still one of the first things I do in the morning and I love the smell as it brews.

Did you know that there is biblical proof that the man must make the coffee?* More on that later.

Okay, on that note, I’m going to catch up on my Bible study, email, newsletters, RVillage, Facebook, and other social media.

In my reading of RVtips today someone had posted this question

“I’m getting ready to stock my first RV. I know I’ll load up some tools, kitchen utensils etc. But what will I overlook? What are somethings I may forget to take that you seasoned RVer’s would never leave home without? Thanks in advance for your suggestions.”

I responded with, “Space and weight become more important when stocking an RV. Think about the function of everything you take. Does it do more than one chores? Could it be replaced by something that does more than one thing. For example: an InstaPot can replace a Crock-Pot, a pressure cooker, rice, soup and more. Can it be replaced with something lighter or smaller that works as well. For example: a handheld mixer (or whisk) may replace a large Kitchenaide type mixer.
Also, if your plans include spending time away from shore power, consider what can be done by hand or battery powered devices.
But most of all … Have fun and adapt.”

What suggestions would you give to the question?

After playing Rummikub,

we had baked and breaded fish with hushpuppies for lunch at the Leander Senior center before going to Walmart for medications and groceries.

Ella posted: our new walking exercise class program, “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” began today. We’ve been walking around in Cross Tracks Church’s worship center. It is climate controlled so we don’t have to worry about the weather. This is our first gathering we’ll meet twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays from 2-3.

Tom continues: We began with a short devotional and prayer. It is a move-at-your-own-pace and rest as needed time.

I lasted about half an hour before my knee let me know that I had to stop. On a related subject, I have my next rooster comb injection this coming Friday.

We came home and sat in our recliners with our feet up most of the afternoon.

I took a hydrocodone tablet to help with the pain. They, in the past, have not been very effective for me. However this time it worked. It also left me a little “buzzed” also. That had never happened before either. Didn’t care for it.

*Hebrews he brews

2018 February 03 Saturday

I was awake (fully) at around three. That is several hours too early even for me. But early or not, I was awake. I considered getting up, dressed, and about my day. However, I considered that the noise and activity of that would trouble Ella’s sleep. So I lay abed, opened the smart phone (screen on night mode and as dim as I could make it), did my Bible readings, made some sermon idea notes, checked the email for prayer chain posts, sent some prayers, read some social media, checked on news feeds, and began working on this blog post.

Yesterday’s high was 54° and last night’s low was 44°. My WeatherBug says that we are having light rain. However, as I look out the window into the dark, I see no sign of rain. The sunrise is still a few hours away. If the sky allows, I’ll get a sunrise photo.

It is now 5:15 a.m. and I am going to get up and get moving.

I got a loaf of frozen bread dough from the freezer and put it in a bread-pan to thaw and rise. Since it appears that it will be cooler again today, some fresh baked bread sounds like a good idea for both the bread and the little extra heat.

It is now a half hour after “sunrise” but no sun. And the light rain that WeatherBug mentioned has actually arrived. I’m not a fan of thunderstorms and high winds but soft rains sound somehow comforting to me.

How many other RVers like the sound of a gentle rain on the roof? comment below

We went in to Leander Texas to do some laundry at the laundromat.

And then out to lunch at Taco Bell.

The next stop was Walmart for some groceries and prescriptions. Unfortunately, not all of the prescriptions were ready. That means going back on Monday after games and lunch at the Leander Senior Center.

When we returned home, I checked on the bread dough. It had about tripled in size rather than double. I punched it down and set it aside for a while and then baked it anyway. All I can say about it is, “I’m glad we purchased a loaf of bread while at Walmart.”

Although there wasn’t a visible sunrise this morning, the sunset was worth seeing.

Cross Tracks Church hosted a Game Night. People brought board games to play and some snack foods. We had six people playing Fast Track at our table. There was a rather spirited group playing Chicken Foot Dominoes at another table. There were also children playing more “enthusiastic” games with foam dart-guns and Nerf footballs. The Bridge players went into one of the classrooms to play as it was too noisy. We arrived home around 9:45 which is close enough to bedtime. So to bed we went.

What are some of your favorite games to play with friends and family?

2018 February 04 Sunday

It was 48° this morning and damp. Most of the fog had dissipated before I got outside for a photo.

But if you look closely you can still see it lingering in the background.

We attend Cross Tracks Church while in Texas. They claim to be there friendliest church in Texas. And quite frankly, they live up to that. You are greeted in the parking lot and assisted as needed. When you enter the building you are greeted again and given a bulletin. Your next stop is at the breakfast bar which is stocked with breakfast sandwiches, burritos, fruits, cookies, donuts and rolls, as well as coffee in assorted flavors. There are also juices, sodas, and bottled water.

You’re likely to be greeted several more times with handshake and hugs before and after entering the sanctuary.
There are two worship services (except when a month has a fifth Sunday, when there is a combined service*).

The first service at nine is traditional and the eleven o’clock service is contemporary. Sunday School classes for all ages is between s worship from ten to eleven. There is a staffed nursery and children’s church.
And that’s just Sunday. There are groups, meetings, and activities here all the time. This church is alive and likely.

*The fifth Sunday’s combined service is followed by a huge potluck.

After worship and Sunday school, we returned home. Normally we attend whatever game or activity that the grandkids are participating in on Sunday afternoons. Lately that had been Tate’s football games. However, since this is Super Bowl Sunday, Tate had no game. That means, for us, nothing particular to do. And nothing in particular did we do.

Here is a follow up on the rooster comb injection that I had last Friday. My knee hurts as normal and yesterday there was some discomfort at the injection site. Not enough to be called “pain” but also not normal.

Ella posted: Days like today, remind me why we come to Texas in the winter. It’s a beautiful day, the sun is shining, not hot but not cold. We can sit back with the doors and windows open and enjoy the fresh air. Very restful.

2018 February 01 Thursday

Welcome to February goodbye January. Have you heard the saying “the worst thing about January is that it is followed by February”?

Thursday is our normal day to spend at the Over the Hill Gang (self funded senior center in Liberty Hill). We eat, visit, and play games with friends. Today they announced that the city wants to buy the building (which is actually owned by the county) and turn it into a parking lot for the downtown business. Many of the seniors are upset about this because they feel at home in this building. However, as I understand it, part of the purchase deal would be that the city would have to provide a suitable building (with a kitchen) for use by the Over the Hill Gang. Since Ella and I are not legal residence in Liberty Hill (or Texas) we don’t really have a voice in what the local government does or does not do.

When I went out to go home, I discovered that I have a broken mirror of the driver’s side of the truck. No noticeable damage to the truck … just the mirror.

Oh yes, the weather report … we climbed into the low seventies today with lots of sunshine. This has been the best day of the year. And looking at the ten day forecast, the best day for the next couple of weeks too.

2018 February 02 Friday What a warm night! 52° was the overnight low. There were rows of clouds in the sky in the morning that mostly disappeared by later in the day.

Maker:S,Date:2017-9-27,Ver:6,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar02,E-ve

Maker:S,Date:2017-9-27,Ver:6,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar02,E-ve

I started my day with a visit to the Orthopedic doctor for an injection of rooster comb  into my left knee.

 This was the first of 5 injections over the next 5 weeks.  There was nearly no pain involved. First he sprayed the knee with a numbing agent. Then I was injected with something to further deaden the pain. After that injection, the syring part of the needle was unscrewed and the needle left stick out of my knee. The rooster comb substance was then screwed onto the existing needle and injected. So, just one “stick”. All in all the most “pain” was from the original spray that began to sting a little just before he stopped spraying.

After leaving the doctors, we stopped for gas. At $2.29 a gallon it doesn’t take long, in our truck, to go over $50 in gas.

The next stop was the Leander Senior Center on Bagdad. Today we had spaghetti. Actually it was linguine noodles with spaghetti sauce. It was good but not as good as last time because it didn’t have as much meat in the sauce.

We stopped at the post office and picked up the package containing my new slide-out jacks.  Since the fifth wheel sits here for seven months of the year with the slide out, And considering the trouble we had last year with the floor of the slide room giving way, jacks seemed like a good idea. However, they are mad to brace the rams instead of the floor. So, I will be purchasing a 2×4 or 4×4 and then using the jacks to hold that in place on the underside of the floor near the wall. The jacks were purchased through Amazon.

Speaking of Amazon, I also placed an order today for a replacement driver-side mirror  for my truck. When we came out from Over the Hill Gang yesterday, I discovered that someone had broken the mirror. There was do damage to the side of the truck so I am assuming that someone drove too close to my truck and hit the mirror with their mirror. However, it is just a guess because no one came in an confessed to having done so. Before ordering a new mirror, I called around to salvage yards hoping to find one locally (and cheaper). However, to my surprise, these places wanted $40-50 for a used mirror and I’d have to go pick it up or pay the shipping. So when I found that I could get a new one for less and have free shipping (with my Prime membership), it seemed like a no-brainer to purchase through Amazon.

2018 January 31st Wednesday

So did y’all get up and go out to see what hadn’t been seen 1866? The super (closest in its elliptical orbit and 30% brighter), blue (2nd full moon of the month), blood moon (full lunar eclipse)? Ella and I did. We sat in camping chairs in the middle of a large open space. We bundled against the 47° temperature and 11 mph breeze.

Starting at 5:45 a.m. local Texas time the top of the moon started to be eaten away by the Earth’s shadow. We took photos but our camera phones didn’t do the spectacle justice. We watched until the moon was totally swallowed up. We did not, however, wait for it to become uneclipsed (not a real word but you get the idea).

Once it was over, Ella voted to go back to bed. Instead I started breakfast. Since we ate earlier than normal, we had plenty of time to get ready to go to our Grandies meeting.

Grandies For Christ is a service club of old people. Our biggest mission is a card ministry. We mail: get well, missing you, sorry for your loss, happy birthday, happy anniversary, merry Christmas, and more cards. We also purchase snacks for those children in our schools who may be homeless, impoverished, or otherwise in need. We also partner with Operation Liberty Hill which is a combined food pantry and thrift store. We will soon begin purchasing candy and filling several thousand (not an exaggeration) Easter eggs for Cross Tracks Church’s egg hunt. There are many more mission projects that we support or participate in thought the year. Oh yes … we also play games (Canasta, Dominoes, Bridge, etc.) after the meeting.

After Grandies Ella and I had lunch at one of our favorite local restaurants Hobo Junction. It is in an old train depot and was originally named Hobo Depot. If you like good southern country cookin’, this is the place.

Our afternoon was just boring stuff that two old people do on a sunny day.

In the evening we went to Dahlia’s for a snack before choir practice. Dahlia’s is a locally owned restaurant that serves what I call fancied up country food.

They are also an outdoor music venue when the weather is nice. I is definitely family friendly. They have a large playground area and outside dining … again when the weather is nice.

At choir, I have to say, to my untrained, partially deaf ears, we sounded pretty darn good. We have just started practicing for our Easter cantata.

By the way, do you realize that Easter falls on April Fools Day this year? Who among you readers know why April First is called April Fools?

2018 January 30 Tuesday

We did our usual trip to the Leander Senior center for games and lunch.

Ella had scheduled a doctor’s appointment for 1:40 today. She is still trying to get rid of her cough and find out why she keeps getting it. The doctor prescribed a higher potency inhaler. When we arrived, I asked the scheduler for an appointment because I’ve had several dizzy spells this week. To my surprise, she piggybacked my appointment on to Ella’s. 

Maker:S,Date:2017-9-27,Ver:6,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar02,E-ve

Maker:S,Date:2017-9-27,Ver:6,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar02,E-ve

Doctor says I’m not dizzy (which is a blood pressure or blood flow problem) I have vertigo which is an inner ear problem. I flashed back to scenes in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie of the same name.

From the doctor’s we went to the pharmacy (around 10 miles) for our prescriptions.

It was after 3:30 when we headed home. To my surprise, we didn’t encounter any school buses. These narrow two lane, twisty, and hilly 60 mph roads are not good places to come upon a stopped bus. So this time of day, I am particularly vigilant.

What we did see (and smell) was a lot of smoke.

Before I went to bed a took a photo of the Super Blue Moon which tomorrow morning will also be a Red moon. The last time that all three of these events occurred was in 1866. (Super because it is as its closest to the earth in its elliptical orbit and 30% brighter. Blue because it is the second full moon in the month. And Red because there will be a total lunar eclipse and the darkened moon will be reddish colored during that phase.)

2018 January 29 Monday

I slept in this morning. I didn’t wake until around 7:30 which is quite late for me (and early for Ella). It was 41° outside and chilly inside. I got up, turned the furnace on, and returned to my nice warm bed.

While waiting for the trailer to warm I got caught up on posts on RVillage.com and Facebook.

On Facebook I found that Ella had posted this: “Well, it’s been a quiet weekend devoted to rest. We did go to Church and Sunday School this morning otherwise we stayed in napped and recovered.
I feel like the crud had gone bye bye. Now it’s time to tackle the basics. I’ll be making appointments tomorrow.”

And make appointment she did. She will be going to our local doctor (Liberty Hill) early tomorrow afternoon. Several of the kids have been telling her that she needs to be tested for allergies. They believe that her constant bouts of bronchitis must be triggered by something in the environment. She had a series of allergy skin tests done several years ago that didn’t show any allergies. This photo shows the type of test that she did years ago.

However, I’ve heard that your reaction and or resistance to allergies can change over time. So we’ll see what the doctor has to say.

Today turned out to be a beautiful spring-like day with brought sunshine an temperature in the low sixties.

Speaking of bright sunshine … the afternoon sun shines through our door (or window in the door) and directly on Ella’s recliner. I came up with a simple solution.

I mounted a roller shade above the door. Now we can have the door open to let these nice spring days inside and block the sun from shining in my brides eyes.

And while we are on the subject of DIY projects: I’d posted earlier about picking up a three pack of battery operated under the counter lights. They have a setting for off, on, or remote control. I found them so handy that I purchased more.  I’ve mounted one above our headboard for reading in bed. Yes there are factory installed ones there. However, they shine DOWN into our eyes rather than out from the wall. Another it’s now mounted in the bathroom/stool room. The factory installed light operates from the hallway and turns also turns on a light in the hallway and in the shower. In the middle of the night, I don’t want to turn on all of those lights and wake the wife (or have her wake me). As I’m writing this, I just realized where that third light is going to be mounted… the shower … for the … same reason as the bathroom. Occasionally, I am up and wanting to shower while Mrs. Williams is still snoring.

Okay, switching subjects. We did our normal Monday routine of playing games at the Leander Senior center and then have lunch. A quick stop at Walmart for the lights, roller shade brackets and a couple food items. We filled the truck with gas and ran it through the car wash.

And then home again to do the DIY projects that I’ve already told you about.

It looks to be a near freezing night so I’ll be turning the furnace on tonight. I’m glad I installed the heated water hose. Did I mention that in a previous post?

2018 January 28 Sunday

Yesterday’s 80% chance of rain amounted to .06”. that’s right six one-hundredth of and inch. We woke this morning to 41° and apparently a cloudless sky. (The sun hasn’t risen yet as I’m writing this.) Maybe I’ll get a sunrise photo today.

(Insert passage of time) We have now returned from Worship and Sunday school. As always, we ate breakfast at church. Hmm, I just realized that I should have taken of photo of the great breakfast bar that greats people as they come in the front door of the church. Maybe next time. The theme of the sermon was about making amends for those times that we have wronged someone else, I have to admit that when I pray the Lord’s Prayer and get to the part about “forgive us …. As we have forgiven…”, I often pause to think of who I might not have forgiven. Now I will also have to think of those that I need to ASK for forgiveness. At the moment, I can’t think of anyone that I have INTENSIONALY wronged. I just hope that there isn’t anyone who FEELS wronged by me.

In Sunday school we are getting into the second chapter of Adam Hamilton’s book “Enough”. In the first chapter he makes a good point of how we (99.9%) of us are affected by the culture of consumerism. We are not getting to the what-can-we-do-about-it part of the book. It generated a lot of discussion in our group. I really look forward to more discussion next week.

As I mentioned, we ate breakfast at church. That breakfast was both larger and later that we eat at home. This has caused us to delay our noon meal (see how I avoided the lunch or is it dinner discussion?) until mid to late afternoon. I have a nice steak dry aging in the refrigerator. I’ve salted, peppered, and seasoned it so that the seasoning can be drawn into the meat as it ages. The steak will be grilled and served with cheesy potatoes, corn, peas, and garlic toast.

Just for the fun of it, I ran today’s photo through an art filter app and this is what I got.

2018 January 27 Saturday This is a “free” day for us. There is nothing on our schedule.  This will give Ella another day to recover from her bronchitis or cold or whatever it is that has been hanging on for so long.

It is another “no sunrise” day just a lot of high fog. Overnight temperature was 56°. We have an 80% chance of rain today. That’s not a bad thing at all. This little section of Texas could use a good rain to refill the stock-ponds, rivers, and lakes.

I think I’ll use this free day to get caught up on some reading. Our Sunday school class is reading the book “ENOUGH, Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity” by Adam Hamilton. I’ve only read the first couple of chapters but I wish I’d read (and followed) his advise years ago. I also think that every RVer should read it because it speaks to the lifestyle most of us have chosen to follow.

The other book that I’m reading is “Acts 29” by Dr. Terry Tykl. I’ve only just started with it but the premise is that the new testament book of Acts of the Apostles didn’t end at chapter 28. That it is continuing to be written now by the actions of today’s followers of Jesus the Christ.

My other planned activity for the day is to work on a sermon idea that has been percolating in my brain for a while now. If you would like to see some of the  sermons that I’ve posted on my Armchair Sermons blog, go to ThomasEWilliams.blogspot.com.