Welcome Little Blue...

We recently decided that a new RV was in order.  Uh, well, perhaps I should say an additional RV.

We decided that we would like to have a more mobile unit to pull with the Durango.  Our original thought was that this would be perfect to stay in when we went to KS to see our son and visit our doctors.  Having 3 dogs makes options limited.  We do have friends who have full RV hookups at their barn and we always have a great time with them.  We call them Big Daddy and Big Mamma.  This is another story though.

So, we set a price that we wanted to pay and went in search of our "Vacation Home". 

We found a 1970's beauty that had no title and only SOME busted pipes, one that was about 100 miles away that looked good, but needed new tires due to checking and was a bit larger than I thought I wanted to pull with the Durango, and the cute little honey that suggested with was a honeymoon/hunting cabin.  Oh my!!!!  I think the gun rack put that one right up to the top of the list!  There was the one that had the "pretty blue curtains that enhanced the windows"--not a lot of info other than that on that one. 

I spotted this one as I was driving down the highway...

 
and the NASCAR fan in me went a little nutty--however, I couldn't figure out how to pull it with the Durango--perhaps it could have pulled the Durango???  Well, right team, wrong driver...

Then I called Loveall's in Columbia, MO.  I talked to Dan who told me that they didn't have anything in my price range at the moment, but one was going to be coming in as soon as the owners could get it out of their muddy yard if I had time to wait. 

Sure.  Didn't need it til April probably.

Dan sent pictures of the unit just to wet my appetite.  Actually, he was very nice and kept in touch the whole time.  I was definitely interested!

On March 9 he called to tell me that the camper would be in the next day.  Thursday is the day that dad and I deliver Meals On Wheels, to I told him we could be there after 2:00.  Dan said he would hold it for me and once I saw it, I bought it.  Dad and I had a great time looking at the camper I bought and at some big toy haulers they have in the lot.

There were a couple of things that needed to be done to the camper and I was able to pick it up on Friday, March 18.  My hubby, who had been working in Dallas, was working from home and able to go with me to see what I bought as was my brother Tom.  ;-)  He really liked the camper and after working from home for a few days, we decided that not only would the camper be a good vacation home, it would be a good office for him to work in!

The people at Loveall's are just GREAT!  From Dan Oswald who sold it to us to the business office to the technicians--they ALL show pride in workmanship and are there to help in ANY way possible. 

This is the COMPLETE OPPOSITE of the AWFUL experience I had with Camping World in Strafford, MO when I purchased the 5th wheel.  If you want to know how terrible Camping World is, just go here to read my story of THAT!  Phhhttttt!!!  Still makes me hissssssss...

Back to Loveall's who are GREAT!!!!  The Loveall's tech went over the whole camper with us bumper to bumper on the outside and then all the way through the coach--making sure that all questions were answered and not trying to hurry us along or anything!

Then, they went over how to hitch the camper properly with the weight distribution hitch and the sway bar and we were off!

I would truly recommend Loveall's to ANYONE!!!!  Go see Dan and tell him I sent you!!!  Then, take it to Kan-Do Kampground for a nice vacation!  (Unapologetic commercial here!!!!)

Originally, I was going to drive it to KS in April and leave it there, but when we decided it would be a good office and then decided that it would be a great guest house too, we spoke with the owners of Kan-Do Kampground who said we could park it on the same site with our 5th wheel. 

This is the site and I figured it would fit inside of the fence just fine if I changed some of my "stuff" around.  I measured and moved the burn ring and picnic table.  I measured between the tree and the satellite dish to see if I could drive between them--Durango is 7 feet wide, 8 1/2 feet between the tree and satellite dish--okay.

I have dubbed the new camper "Little Blue".  Why?   It just came to me.  It is much smaller than the big guy there and has blue on the interior, so Little Blue it is!

So, meet Little Blue...

He's a 24 ft Rockwood and he fit perfectly into the yard...see the fence surrounding it?

This is how it looks when you enter

He has a queen bed in the front

The bed raises up on hydraulic jacks to provide a lot of storage

There is a kitchen in the middle with a nice two door refrigerator and a pantry

There is a 3 burner stove

and a double sink

along with a microwave and drawers and cabinets that have solid wood fronts--nice in a smaller camper!
Across from the kitchen is the dining area

The table goes down and it turns into a double bed (if the two people are smallish).  This would be hubby's desk as well.

There is a bath in the back with a sink

and a closet with a hanging rod for clothes to the left of the sink
Of course there is a potty

and a shower with a little tub

One of hubby's favorite things is the stereo with cassette and CD which has speakers throughout the coach

Everytime he goes into the camper, he turns the stereo on--just for fun!  

Tango, Frank and Tank gave it two paws up

My fellow campers who are just popping back out to their campers were sure surprised to see TWO campers this year!  It sure started some speculation and conversation.  Several came over for the grand tour and to chat.

Some gave us nicknames like Garrett Corner, Garrett Compound, The Compound--who knows what else.

We call it Garrett Square and Home...

Kiss Me--I'm Irish...

An Irish Prayer for St. Patrick's Day

May those who love us love us,



and those who do not love us,


may God turn their hearts,


and if He cannot turn their hearts


may He turn their ankles

that we may know them by their limping.

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE!!!!

Technical Tuesday...Ready, Set, GO!!!!

I am a day behind due to a day out with the family yesterday. 

I have been thinking for a while about doing Technical Tuesday about the Technical issues that I have found helpful to myself and my family--both in the RV and for anytime, anywhere.

It was like Mary Hunt (Cheapskate Monthly/Debt Proof Living) read my mind yesterday when I received an e-mail that reminded me that disasters happen.  Spring is here and it is tornado/flooding season here in the midwest and so it is time to check out my emergency kits.

First, here is Mary's article on the subject.  I definitely saw some things that I don't have in my kit and will take steps to add in the future. 

When I was in the house, I had the tornado shelter (Kansas folks!) stocked with supplies which included the big 5 gallon bottles of water.  Those have come in handy on many occasions--like the time that the city lost power to the water treatment plant for a couple of days.  Water flew off of the shelves of stores for miles around.  I just grabbed my water from my emergency stock and no problem.  Or the time that we were under boil restrictions on the water from the city, or the time that we had the tornado...you get the drift.  It isn't just for the major emergencies!

It also included pet kennels.  Having been in a F5 tornado (fortunately, it skipped over our house and touched down before and after) I can tell you that pets are really affected by the pressure change. 

They whine, turn in circles and are very uncomfortable to the point that it is possible that their humans could be bit, scratched or both.  Cats are especially liable to scratch and try to run off.  To keep them safe, I had a kennel for each in the shelter.

I still have kennels--both for emergencies and for the times that we move from one venue to the next.

And this brings up the items that most often get left out of the lists--our pets.  If you have pets, be sure that you remember their supplies including food (canned and dry sealed in a waterproof container), water, Towels and blankets to dry them and keep them warm, leashes and poo bags, a tie out for each one, dog shampoo, medicines, a copy of their vet records and their ID Chip records and numbers and a pet First Aid Kit.

Seal the documents in a plastic bag.

This leads me to the people meds.  You know, you can get those containers that allow you to sort your pills into the different times that you take them.  This is great and handy to have in the kit.  However, be sure to keep the bottles from your meds as well so that in a crisis you can get it refilled and the pharmacist knows exactly what you take. 

My hubby simply CANNOT go without his meds for his heart for even one day!  This is crucial!  We have two of these containers.  The fresh one is in the kit and the old kit one is used when he refills the new week ensuring that the meds are always fresh and not outdated.  This, as you might expect, is in the ready kit--not our long term storage.  If that confuses you, just read Mary's article about the backpack kits and all.

Having mentioned sealing things in plastic, I might add at this point my favorite gadget--the FoodSaver Sealer!!!!  Oh boy do I LOVE this thing!  I use it all the time to seal my flour, sugar and other staples to keep them dry and bug free.  And fresh corn on the cob with a pat of butter sealed in the bag and then put in boiling water to cook in the middle of winter is a TREAT!!!

When I got my first one, my dad was totally intrigued by it.  He wanted to know if you could seal a pair of socks.  We gave it a try and you sure can!  You can also seal things like wedding dresses (according to Food Saver--I didn't try that one!), towels, blankets, important papers and other items you want to keep dry! 

I am actually on my second sealer, having worn the first one out over the years.  Think about the uses in the emergency sense--dry socks, dry pants and shirts and shoes and blankets and towels and pet papers and insurance papers and money and food and medicines--TOILET PAPER!!! and on and on...you get the picture.

The XXL Ziploc Bags and the SpaceSaver bags work great for keeping things dry as well.

Seal the stuff, throw it in your kit and you are ready to go even if the kit gets wet.

One thing that I have not sealed in those bags is batteries.  I don't have a great deal of knowlege on the effects that vacuum sealing might have on batteries, so I just put them in a plastic box.   I have a selection from D to AAA that I keep on hand for flashlights, etc.  I like this one because you can make the compartments bigger and smaller with the plastic dividers provided.  I found it in the fishing section of Wal-Mart.  It's made for lures and cost about $4.

Last but not least is the Red Cross site.  This has a very good list to get you going.  It has the basics list, a list for work and school and a bigger list.  As you pack, you will come up with your own items that are specific to your family. 

This is good to add to your written material--it is from the Red Cross site and I always forget the recipe for potable water, so here it is:  Emergency disinfection of drinking water If water supplies are compromised and you are unable to boil water for one minute (three minutes at high elevation), you can create potable water by using disinfecting bleach.   Here’s how: Filter all suspended particles or let them sink to the bottom, then pour upper portion into clean container. Add 8 drops (1/8 tsp.) of bleach per gallon of water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Properly treated water should have a slight chlorine odor.  If not, repeat dosage and let sit another 15 minutes.  It can then be made palatable by pouring it between clean containers several times. For cloudy water, use 16 drops (1/4 tsp.) per gallon of water and let sit for 30 minutes.

Oh, and don't forget to go over everything with the family along with a plan on where to meet (along with multiple sites for meeting in case one is not available) and people to contact that do not live in the area so that you can communicate and find each other--even if it is through someone across the country.

I can personally say that my emergency supplies have made our lives easier many times whether it was water, helping someone else out who was impacted or just because payday came a little later than the food lasted.

Grab your backpack and get started today--ANYTHING is better than NOTHING!!!!

So, what do you have in YOUR kit????

If It's March...It Must Be The Living Room...

Just by chance in January my friend Kathy received two Better Homes magazines.  She shared one with me and I really enjoyed it.  Of course, as always in January, much of it was devoted to resolutions.  They included a month by month organization calendar as a part of the resolutions.

http://www.bhg.com/home-improvement/home-improvement-slide-shows/storage/month-by-month-storage-plan/?ordersrc=rdbhg100591

This is my home:

As you might guess, organization is important here.

January was organize the office.  I carved out an office using my dining table and one of the dining chairs even using the space on top of the cornice boards for storage of office supplies. My hubby is working from home this week and is making good use of the new space.

My hubby and I find that we don't really use the table preferring instead to eat on the sectional while parked in front of the TV or outside on the picnic table when weather permits--or as with last evening--at our friend's house chowing down on steaks, garlic mashed potatoes and corn on the cob finished off with brownies and a hilarious Wii tournament for the guys!!!!

February brought up the Kitchen.  I began with an update of the kitchen.  The old look:

The new look:

This was in the camper when we purchased it.  They used it to hold coasters and a little jar that looked like it was perhaps used to hold honey.

I don't particularly go for the Colonial look.  As you could see from the new wallpaper border, I like something more distressed.  So, I grabbed my outdoor acrylic paints and a brush and started with red...

I have seen many shows that start with red when painting something black.  This is supposed to make the black deeper.  I added a little black to my engine red so that the red matched the border behind it.  Then, I grabbed the black and painted over the red:

If you look closely, you can see that I didn't paint the cutouts at the top, leaving them red.  I was going to sand the sides for the distressing, but it was so wet outside that I decided to try my scrubby sponge.

And it worked!  I added an old freezer jar with a zinc lid filled with my dishwasher packs (they had red ones at Christmas!!!) and voila!

I also went through the cabinets and got some stacking storage containers for organization...

And labeled everything with the labeler that I can now find thanks to January's work!  I even carved out some more storage space in the closet above the washer/dryer...

Now to March on to the Living Room...I look forward to seeing how it turns out!  Do you think it is time to put the stack of Christmas decorations away?

I think I will go and open my cabinets to gaze at my neat storage!  Small things excite me!  ;-D

Here's Your Sign...

I saw this comedian back in the 1980's. I thought he was just absolutely HILLARIOUS! He was new on the scene, but so funny!

He brought a new phrase into my life--"Here's Your Sign". I think it is the predecessor to "Duh", but Duh doesn't quite cover it.

Bill Engvall is the comedian and if you have never heard him, there is actually a music video on youtube with him in it. Of course, there are tons of videos of him. This is just so funny!

I can't embed it because it isn't allowed on this one, so here is the URL for you to paste into your browser to watch it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5ZkdHImCuQ&feature=related

We all have those here's your sign moments. We have all come upon someone with a gas can walking away from a car and say "out of gas?" Or how about the person along the side of the road with the lug wrench in their hands and a tire leaning against the car--don't we go up and say "got a flat?"

I just love to look at the warning labels on items that I purchase...

Blow dryer "Do not use while in the shower"

Lawn mower "Do not use as a hedge trimmer"

Sun Shade for the windshield of your car "Do not drive with shade in place"

Seriously???? It just gives me a chuckle.

So, the other day, we had a break between snow storms. No snow and reasonably dry out. I headed to the car wash because I could no longer see out of the windows of my Durango.

I get to the car wash and find that the automatic is down so I have to use the manual sprayer and just burst out laughing out loud! I admit it has been a while, but I don't remember seeing this the last time I went...

Well...

Play That Funky Music...Happy Songs...

I tend towards the Big Band Era and Swing for my main musical taste sprinkled with a bit of cross over country, hip hop (okay just one song!) and contemporary Christian music. One day I may go through some of my favorite songs in those categories. However, today is all about the Funky Music! You know, the music that just makes you get up and shake your tail feathers, or open the roof, roll down the windows, hike the bass and head down the road just for the fun of it! You hum/sing/shout, tap your feet and in general just can't help but enjoy! One just popped up recently and I LOVE it! So, for your reading (and listening pleasure), here are some of the fun and funky tunes that make me go YIPPEEEEE! Given the name of the blog, I will begin with "Play that Funky Music" by Wild Cherry. Don't know if they did anything else and it actuall was on a 45--can you believe it??? And after all this time, I still LOVE this song! Pretty much anything by Weird Al Yankovich is good for at least a laugh! I think the first song by Weird Al of which I was aware was "I'm Fat"...no comment...

Jive Bunny and the MasterMixers is certainly a good one for parodies of music and a lot of fun!

For those of us who love to dance to a good beat and fun song, who can forget "Disco Duck" by Rick Dees. Did he do anything else? I have NO IDEA~

Phil Driscoll--Love almost anything he does, but "Forever Land" is one of those songs that makes my toes tap!

Steven Curtis Chapman comes into the list with "Dive!" Fun!

Chris Rice brings us the playful Cartoon Song...Do you just love the Smurfs and Scooby Do singing Halleluhia!???

One that I just really enjoy is the Newsboys "Wherever We Go--That's Where the Party's At". This is kind of a motto for me! :)

A single Hip Hop song gets into the first list. Vanilla Ice brings us "Ice Ice Baby" the '05 version.

And the song that made me think of this blog...

Drum Roll please......

Michael Buble' singing "Hollywood!" Oh my gosh! This one comes on the radio and I just have a smile for the rest of the day! Having a bad morning? Listen to Hollywood and the world rights itself!

So, get out the LP, 45, CD or MP3 and enjoy some toe tapping, shake your tail feathers mamma, just can't stop smiling fun!!!!!

Captain Morgan and the Chicken...

I confess...I am a booze hound!

Oh calm down!! I didn't say lush!

I love to COOK with alcohol!

Back in 1996 Jim and I decided to lose weight. We went on a low fat diet. This was a good thing! We ate 5-6 meals per day--each having protein and veggies and some carbs if you still wanted something. Believe me when I say, with that many meals per day, it is virtually impossible to overeat--but you also had to have very low fat!!! We did lose quite a bit of weight!

Well, fat is a main flavoring in most American diets. Whether it is butter, animal fat, vegetable fat or fat laden gravies, desserts, toppings or even salad dressings!

Needless to say, it was a HUGE change for us during which time I had to learn once again how to cook.

Many of my friends helped out with recipes and one in particular taught me how to take any recipe and make it tasty by switching say oil in a cake or brownie to applesauce. It comes out yummy and lowfat at the same time. We actually liked it better that way!

Oh and I was also introduced to things like beer for pizza crust to add flavor. So, at that point I was certainly a fledgling, but did dabble.

Fast forward to January, 2002. Jim has a heart attack which should have killed him outright. Half of his heart is dead to this day. He amazes the doctors no end! Of course, we know it is a miracle and God has plans for him.

However, not only do you have to watch the dreaded fat, but also sodium! I mean--REALLY!!!!! Take the fat and sodium out of the American diet and you really DON'T have flavor!

So, I tweaked my cooking once again. I began to search out ways to add flavor while not adding fat OR sodium and I enlarged my knowledge of alcohol in cooking. It is GREAT!!!!

I marinate my chicken in vermouth or dry white wine with lemon and pepper while marinating my beef in hearty red wine or add beer along with garlic, onion, fresh ground pepper melange (there truly IS a difference between fresh ground and the stuff in the shaker!), etc.

So one day while watching my new favorite low budget show, RVTV on the recreation channel, they had a Captain Morgan Shrimp recipe. This is compared to Sweet & Sour Shrimp from the restaurant. Now, I change shrimp recipes to chicken because I am quite allergic to shrimp and it isn't a pretty sight if I eat that!

I made my Captain Morgan Chicken tonight and put it over rice that I cooked with carrots and broccoli and it was GOOD! NO! You may NOT use rum extract! Thought I would just get that in for my mom! ;-D

Here is the breakdown (restaurant version/Capt Morgan Version):

Calories 330/110

Fat Grams 23/4

Cholesterol 160/160

Sodium 1,928/300

One assumes that the cholesterol is from the shrimp since it is the same for both recipes. I know you are just chomping at the bit for the recipe so here goes:

This makes about 2 servings:

In a small pan over medium high heat, put 1/4 c brown sugar and 4 oz spiced rum and mix until sugar is melted.

Next, add hot sauce to taste. I used Great Value Louisiana Hot Sauce. Put a lot if you like it more spicy and less if you like less spice. However, it will not be hot because of the sugar, so I went pretty heavy. Just taste as you add it.

Now, add the chicken, shrimp or other meat. I used two small boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into about 1/2 inch squares. Cook until the meat is done--won't take long!

I then added about 1/8 tsp of cornstarch to a little more spiced rum and mixed it in a small cup until smooth and then added it to the pan which thickened the sauce.

Pour it over your choice of cooked rice or add to a salad or as in the RVTV episode, some grilled corn on the cob. You will be surprised!

So, I now have a new man in my life!!!! Welcome Captain...