CA and MI (04-21-12)

We took advantage of the fact that we would be stationary for a while, and also the fact that we had someone to check on the cat (thanks Karen!!) to fly to Michigan to see our daughter and son-in-law.  No matter how long a visit I have with either of the kids, it never feels long enough.  3 days felt particularly short, but we had a lot of fun and got to spend quality time with Jess and David. 

The day that David had to work, Jess took us to a local farm to visit the horses and see if there were any babies around.  Jess is an animal lover and is happiest when she has a horse to pet.

She had an unpleasant surprise, and couldn’t get out of the stall fast enough when she discovered that the miniature horse inside was indeed trying to bite her leg.

We arrived back in California on Friday, the day before the party celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Fresno chapter of Paul’s fraternity, Sigma Chi. 

There was quite a turnout of “Sigs” and their wives at the dinner, including Actives as well as Alumni.

Paul had a great time reminiscing with all of his college buddies, and paid for the fun with a case of laryngitis the next day. At one point in the evening there was a problem with the sound system, and if you’ve met Paul it won’t surprise you to learn that he had a hand in fixing it. What put a grin on my face was hearing so many of the guys comment that “Porter” hadn’t changed at all- he was still  “Mr. Fixit”.   I have always loved the relationship that Paul has with his fraternity brothers. The friendships have survived the years so well that I have become friends with these guys and their wives and we always have a great time when we get together.

  Sunday breakfast at Kirk and Karen’s was well attended and another opportunity to spend time together in a quieter environment.  After filling our faces yet again, the guys tackled the project of installing Karen’s new microwave and oven.  They love having something to focus their attention on!

Question of the day:  How many Sigs does it take to cut a piece of wood?

wedding photos

A wedding weekend

    The wedding day has come and gone and the whirlwind of activity has given way to sighs of exhaustion.
In the weeks leading up to the our daughter’s wedding, the fullness of our days was stretched to the maximum.  With Paul and I in Michigan with the bride-to-be and her fiancé, we were all working our personal lists of things to do. The high level of activity and occasional times of heightened stress were well worth it when the “day of the rehearsal” dawned and our to-do list was mostly a “done” list.
    Paul and I had one last minute (actually, 2 hours) of panic however, just to make life interesting.  After moving the trailer onsite to Waldenwoods, we tried to open the slides and the bed slide wouldn’t open.  The design of our trailer is such that we have no way of opening the bedroom door without first opening the slide.  After a few minutes of trying, we started calling DRV, the trailer manufacturer, and Lippert, the manufacturer of the slide mechanism.  We couldn’t see if anything was blocking the slide and I was starting to think in terms of taking a saw to the bedroom door.  The bride’s wedding dress was inside, on the bed.  In the end, Lippert walked Paul through a swap of the controller that works the slide mechanism, swapping the vanity slide controller over to the bed slide.  That did the trick and the slide was opened (and a new controller was shipped out to us that day).
That was the last of the glitches, and the following 4 days pretty much ran without many issues at all, certainly nothing major.  We all started to relax and enjoy the festivities!
Rather than try to post pictures here and making this a very long post, I am posting a photo album on the blog page.  Its easier to caption the photos if I use Picasa, rather than inserting the pictures into a post.
Thursday evening was the rehearsal at Waldenwoods, followed by a casual dinner at the trailer for all those who were able to attend, which included my brothers, sister, and sister-in-law, who all flew in from Boston Thursday afternoon. 
Friday morning we were able to start the day slow before heading to the airport to pick up my son.  Afterwards, we headed out to dinner with my family and the bride and groom.
    Saturday was a busy day that started with many of the bridesmaids, my sisters and I, and the bride,  having lunch at Panera and then getting our nails done at a nearby salon.  We made it back to the trailer with just enough time to get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  Several of the bridesmaids came with us to the trailer to get ready, so I am sure the guys felt overrun!
Sunday morning we were up bright and early and headed to the hair salon to get hair and make-up done for the day.   Back at Waldenwoods, Jess headed for the bridal room to meet up with her bridesmaids so they could get dressed together.  I got ready myself, then brought her dress over there for her. The weather forecast was for rain all day, but I am guessing that hanging the rosary beads out the window saved the day, since the sun was out all throughout the afternoon, well past the ceremony time.
After an awesome ceremony and reception, and a very late night, we were up early on Monday, hosting a breakfast for our out of town guests, after which we retired to the trailer to relax before heading out to bring my son to the airport.  One more dinner out, with my family and then today we moved the trailer back to the RV park we had been in before the wedding.  we are both pretty exhausted and trying to recuperate!

A brief update (New Hudson, MI 9-19-11)

To say that life has gotten hectic would be quite an understatement.  We are in the final few days before our out of town guests arrive.  Once that happens, I’d like to be able to kick back and relax and enjoy!  Well, at least slow down a little bit.  Most of my family will arrive on Thursday, and my son will fly in on Friday afternoon.  I haven’t seen him since June, so I am looking forward to his arrival! 
       Thursday the festivities begin with the rehearsal at Waldenwoods.  This is just the rehearsal itself, so we’ll be having food for the participants back at our trailer.  Thursday morning we will move about 30 miles up the road to be onsite in the trailer at Waldenwoods for the 5 days surrounding the wedding.  It should make things much easier on us.   Friday evening we’ll have dinner with my family and then Paul and I have volunteered to be designated drivers so that Jess and the other “young people” can go out and have a good time at the local country bar.
     The last few days have gotten busier.  It seems that for every item that gets crossed off   the “to do” list, another gets added!  Jess and David have an apartment now, so we are helping them get their stuff moved in to it.  That entailed a trip to Wisconsin with our truck, to pick up a bed, sofas and bureaus from David’s parents house.  A very long day,  especially for Paul, who had to drive for 11.5 hours.  David has been painting their living room, which now looks awesome! Tomorrow we are taking them “shopping” in our storage unit, to see  what we have that they can use.  There are several things that Paul and I want to get out for ourselves as well.  It’s 30 ft long, and 10 ft wide and we hope to “dig in” as far back as we can, so we’ll need all 4 of us.
   The trailer is definitely shrinking as we work on projects such as centerpieces, cupcake towers etc.  Paul, being the most creative as well as the most “mechanically” talented member of  the family, is in high demand.


 









hmmmm, not everyone seems quite as busy as Paul…..















Dozer does try to help as much as possible, of course.
Anyway, I am sure the the next few days will be incredibly busy, so the next time I post, my daughter will be Jessica McClone!

Tempus Fugit

        Time sure is flying by.  Now that we’ve moved up to Michigan, we can handle all the details of the wedding much easier, and we are all feeling a little less stressed.  Jess is still living with us, and David is spending a lot of time here too, as they do errands together, including looking for a new apartment.  Every day brings a new list of things to accomplish.
       Paul is winding down his list of modifications and additions to the trailer, and is looking around, trying to find a new project to work on.  He’s also been helping with the errands, and arrangements for the wedding, but after a while, his eyes start to glaze over and he starts looking for something to use his hammer on. 
One of his major accomplishments was the addition of our Margaritaville sign. Not content to just put up the sign, he found LED lighting to put behind it. It’s very fancy LED lighting. We can choose one of about 5 colors, or we can have the lighting “scroll through” all the colors slowly, depending on our mood.                             



                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Meanwhile, the list of things that need to be fixed by the factory is growing, so it’s a good thing we are headed there in October. 
        In between bouts of wedding planning, shopping, and 3 billion doctor’s appointments, we are trying to spend some time with friends, taking advantage of the fact that we are here for a month.  So far we’ve seen a few, with plans made to see more in the next few days.
      Today was Dozer’s day to go to the doctor, and for the first time, we took him just on the leash, without the carrier, since it was a short ride.  He did well, and everyone in the office was intrigued by the cat on the leash. He wasn’t too happy to get his shots though, and has been quiet since we got home. It’s funny how much he has changed since we bought the new automatic feeder for him.  The thing is Huge, and holds about a 2 month supply of food.  Now Dozer no longer associates us with getting fed, so he doesn’t cry or fuss at us near dinner time.   And he doesn’t meow in the middle of the night, or bang on our door, trying to convince us it’s time for his breakfast. It’s amazing!  It makes everybody much happier!

and so we enter into our last week in Muncie IN (8-27-11)

         Somehow the time in Muncie has flown by a lot faster than I thought it would. With shopping, wedding planning and exercising, the days filled up.
   The weather has been absolutely terrific, if a bit warm.  Jess and I have played tennis several times, getting better each time we try- although, in our version of tennis we try to hit the ball to each other.  We've been biking many times, so many, that we are getting a little bored with the bike trail here.  The last time we went, Jess was at work, so it was just Paul and I.  To counteract the monotony, we tried riding significantly faster than we had done before, so we averaged 13.5 mph, and therefore we at least got a better workout for our time.
    We’ve done as much for the wedding as we can at this point. The rest will have to wait until we get to Michigan next week.  Once we get there, we will have a whirlwind 3 weeks before the wedding.
    The biggest excitement we had this week was the arrival of David.  He drove across country with two of his buddies, and they dropped him off here so he could spend a day or so with Jess.  After two days, he left to go to Wisconsin to see his parents for a few days before heading to Michigan.

    Yesterday we started paying closer attention to Irene as she barreled towards New England. As it turned out, although it was a deadly storm, it could have been much worse. I guess that’s easy for me to  say, since it was sunny here all day today and temperatures were in the high 70s.  Oh, and I didn’t lose my electricity. 


Well, Jess has 3 more days of work before we leave Muncie for good on Thursday morning.  She doesn’t have too much time to relax in Michigan though, since she got a transfer and will start working at a Toys R Us in Michigan a few days after we get there!

This week’s activities (Muncie, IN 08-12-11)

      I have Hitch Itch.  Yeah, I know it sounds like an awful condition or something, and really, actually, it is.  My full-timing friends will know exactly what I mean when I say it.  I am ready to move. I want to ride off into the sunset, find someplace new to explore.  I want to find out what’s “over that hill”.  I guess Hitch Itch is one of the reasons we enjoy full timing so much.  After staying in one spot for a while, we love going someplace new. I am already trying to sneak in a 3 day stay in Muskegon on our way from here to Novi. I’m not sure we can do it, but I think I’d like to try.  There is a pair of Bald Eagles that make their home in Muskegon, and I’d love to try and find them.
           Anyway, that makes it sound like I’m not having any fun, and really, I am.  Now that the frantic craziness of moving into the new trailer, moving Jess into the new trailer, and getting  us all situated has abated, we are settling in to a routine that’s quite nice.  Jess and I are determined to fit exercise into our daily regime, and so far it’s working very well-so well that we had to take today off completely.  We have overexerted ourselves.  We’ve done workouts with weights, played tennis (hmmm, not great for my foot), and been biking several times. She is doing great on the bike.  She hasn’t ridden in years, but has already worked up to a 15 mile ride.
    In between all the workouts, we are working on wedding details.  We spent a couple of days building the invitations, staying up one night until 2 am to get them finished, and they have now gone out in the mail.  We’re going over all the details of what needs to be done, and when, so we can start knocking things off the “to do” list and into the  “DONE” pile.  Neither of us has much experience planning weddings, so I hope we don’t forget too many details. 
     Paul has been helping us with the the wedding, when we need him, and when we don’t, he is busy making his modifications to the trailer. He has added shelves, bought things like a quick disconnect outdoor shower faucet,  and piping to rearrange the water system, and has started researching things like water filtration systems, weather monitors, Wi-fi antennas, and bike racks. 
        All in all we are having a great time and enjoying the opportunity to be able to spend a significant amount of time with our daughter before she gets married in September.

Happy Mother's Day!

     So far, it's been a pretty good one for me!  Paul cooked breakfast (as usual) and then we went for a 4 mile walk.  Afterwards, I spoke to my son on the phone for almost an hour.  Can't wait to get to Boston to see him! My daughter and her fiance came over for a late lunch.  David is leaving Muncie today.  He has finished school and after stopping at his parents in Wisconsin for a bit, will be headed to California for an internship in the film industry.

David and Jess

   Paul made it back from Texas with no car issues, after spending a week with his mom. The day he arrived home happened to be Cinco De Mayo, so of course we picked up the kids (in their Lincoln) and headed to the nearest Mexican restaurant for dinner.  The Lincoln he brought back with him is an early (very generous!) wedding present for the kids, from Paul's mother-her 2000 Lincoln LS.  The kids were tremendously excited about their wedding gift, and I admit, its nice peace of mind for me to know Jess has something reliable to drive!  So, thank you Gerry!  

     I'm not sure where the time went when Paul was gone, but it sure did fly by.   I did go for a bike ride the day I planned to, but it was a long short bike ride.  It wasn't that many miles but the first half  I had a tail wind and on the way back I had a head wind that was so strong and tough to battle that when I put my leg down to stop for a minute, it didn't hold my weight, I was that tired!  Ugh.    Since that day I've gone walking several times and I am hoping to go for another bike ride tomorrow, IF the weather cooperates, which it really hasn't been doing lately.  I must say, after being back in the Midwest for a while, the deserts of the west are growing on me. The constant sunshine, lack of humidity and milder temperatures are fond memories. A lot of my full timing friends are still in the western states, and I admit I am somewhat jealous and can't wait to get back there.  All in good time though.  I wouldn't give up spending time with the kids for anything.
    One of the ways I have kept busy for the last week was by finalizing the specifications for our new Mobile Suite 5th wheel.  Call us spoiled, but we have decided to go forward with the purchase of our "new" new trailer, for a lot of reasons, actually (that I am not going to get into here).  We ordered it last Tuesday and it should be built by mid-June or so.  We'll know the timing better next week.  We went back to the factory to look at interior colors and make those choices, and also to discuss some of the customizations we have ordered.  I can't even post pictures of existing units and say that's what we are getting because some of the changes we're making are changing the look of the interior.  We sort of took one floor plan and substituted in parts that we liked from other floor plans, and then put in some of our own ideas as well.
   Now that we've ordered the 5th wheel, we need to buy a new truck to pull it. Ours won't tow that much weight, so we are looking to get a 2011 F450.  We've gone round and round on this one- debating 350 vs. 450 and 2011 vs. 2012.  It's too late to order one and have it be a 2011, and Paul, after talking to his buddies at Ford, has decided he doesn't want a 2012. They are downsizing the brakes, apparently.  Plus, because of the Tsunami in Japan, you can't order one with a navigation system until further notice.
So, we have been searching dealer lots trying to find one that will fit our needs.  We finally found one in Pennsylvania, and we're hoping its still there when we head that way next week.