Texas

This morning it was windy and thundery with a tornado watch till 1:00. Then the sun came out but it didn't dry up all the rain. Walking on the grass was a squish squish job. I pulled down our TV antenna during the wind and took a nap.

Scoobie is getting a little better about pulling on walks. I carry a cane to swing in front of me and any dog that gets in the way of it gets bonked. He is pretty good at ducking it but stays back better and better. He still thinks he can catch a bird, or a blowing piece of paper, there might be something he didn't notice but it's out there in front. We both come back worn out.

I won a webcam on ebay, a Logitech Quickcam STX, whatever all that means. It had good reviews anyway. Sure hope I can make it work and sure hope the post office doesn't send it back out of spite for my surliness.

Texas

Everybody eating, except me. Excuse the messy bed. I just get it at night when I have to crawl in between dogs. These pictures are in the wrong order but I'm too lazy to fix it. The next one is after Red and Scoobie are done. Scoobie is distracted and Red is checking to see if he left any food for her.

Red gobbling so she can check all the other dishes.
Scoobie eating.
Silly eating daintily.
And last of all, the no name dog in mid gobble. Actually last night I came up with a name that I like the best and I think it will stick. TOTO, as in the Wizard of Oz. Maybe it was the way the wind was blowing that brought it to mind. He doesn't like the wind. He stops in his tracks and looks pitiful if the wind is blowing very hard. He also stops if one of his front feet gets over his leash. We will try Toto for a few days to make sure.

Today I went to the post office and tried to do business with a "postal person" who was on her cell phone having a personal conversation. I filled out a card for General Delivery. I'm afraid I got a little surly with her. My sticker was mailed the 23rd, I stopped at that post office on the 25th and left my name and phone number. They must have sent it back anyway. After 2 visits and a phone call they told me I should fill out a card. Now I will have to stay here another week at least to try to get my sticker.

This isn't a bad place to stay. The WIFI is good and the price is right and there is plenty of room to walk the dogs but there is road noise nearby. It doesn't really bother me much as I have it at home too.

It just started raining, another front coming through. I love to hear it raining on the roof.

Texas, rain, wind, sun

No pictures today. This state has a lot of changes in the weather, fast. They aren't very good at predicting it either. When the wind really blows the RV rocks gently. At least, so far it has been gently. Today was warm and rainy until late afternoon, then the sun came out.

We took our dog walks in between drops but the ground is soggy and puddles are everywhere. Scoobie got left tied to the RV for one walk. It upset Blacky (trying out that name today) so I took the two of them for their own walk.

My Sister and Daughter both have webcams for instant messaging. I may have to get one just to keep up. I suppose I would have to comb my hair for that wouldn't I?

Still no license plate sticker. I think they sent it back to Ohio. Our postal service at its postal best. I called the Ohio BMV and they said to call next week, if they got it back they would try again. The post office said I needed to have filled out a "General Delivery" card. They don't make it easy for travelers who move around.

Sunny Texas

Scoobie after a training session, his eyes are a little glazed. He made the bed for me. He does well when he is the only dog I am walking but with the group he tries all the tricks, pulling until I got a blood blister from trying to hold his head up and walk at the same time. There is some slight improvement but not much.

New guy wondering what's wrong with Scoobie. He is so easy. I was trying to housebreak him and wanted to get him to pee while I saw it so I could praise him. I lined him up with a post and lifted his leg for him a couple of times. It didn't work, of course, but now he occasionally lifts his leg for no reason and expects praise. He has made 2 pees in the RV the first 2 days I had him. Both times I yelled BAD DOG and took him outside. Since then I have praised every dogs performance outside and he got the idea. I am waiting to see his personality before I settle on a name. So far his name should be "good boy".

Today I shopped for groceries, checked the post office (still no license plate sticker), and went to a laundromat.

I had calls from both daughters which is always nice. I got a spoof email from some idiot about paypal. I forwarded it to paypal so they can put a stop to it. If you are trying to fool someone you should try to speak the language well, and put spaces between your words.

Sunny Texas

OK here's your laugh for today.
Picture this, I'm standing in my shower naked waiting for the hot water to start, I really need a shower having just worked up a sweat vacuuming. I begin to reflect on the last few days and remember some facts:
1)I turned off the propane at the instructions of the ferry people 2 days ago,
2) I haven't used the stove or washed dishes or used the furnace since then so nothing has reminded me to turn the propane back on, thus
3) there is no hot water.

My dirty clothes are already in the hamper, the clean ones laid out. This all adds up to a very cold quick shower. I'll laugh about it tomorrow when I get a HOT shower.

Maybe I'll just take a nap now.

I'm considering Bear as a name for the dog, middle name Cub.

Texas - puzzle time.

I have been working on an online puzzle and going nuts. Now I plan to share it with you so you can go nuts also. It's at http://shygypsy.com/farm/p.cgi? It's a word puzzle. Join me in my demented state. Be careful to save your puzzle when you take a break. There are other websites that talk about this puzzle, just search on Funny Farm puzzle.

Auggie has been suggested as a name for the new guy. He got fiesty this morning and decided he would take over the bed. It only lasted a moment and I put a stop to it. He snarled at the other dogs walking by. It's good to see some spirit - but not too much. He pretty well has the dog dynamics figured out. Red is the boss, Silly is a follower and Scoobie is the bad boy wild child. He's just not quite sure yet where he fits in. Housebreaking continues to be a success.

Texas

No pictures today, no traveling, no work. Just dog walks and eating and playing on the computer. A true day of rest and I may do the same thing tomorrow. Then again I may get energetic and vacuum the place. Little bits of grass get inside no matter what I do.
It was warmer today and no rain but there are still puddles all over and even the grass is marshy.
The new unnamed dog went pottie outside which is great. That breed is supposed to be hard to housebreak. He is still very shy around the other dogs but tries to follow my every step which isn't easy in the RV. I think he is just hoping I will drop some food. I finally checked on the dogfood bag and found I wasn't feeding him enough. Now he sacks out with the rest after eating.
I still need more votes and suggestions on names. We have Spot, Ruff, Duffy, Blacky, Ugly, Bonzo, and another one I can't remember now.

Texas

Red gets as close to the heater as she can.
The rest of the gang is happy on the bed.
Silly likes the driver's seat but sometimes falls asleep there. She doesn't look very comfortable but it is the bosses seat and that's important.

We moved today but we are still in Texas, going incognito due to a coming birthday. It rained most of the way and involved a ferry ride.

We have added some possibilities to names for the new dog. He is doing fine except for a little car sickness. Scoobie spent a lot of time covering up the mess with a throw that lies on the floor for a dog bed but I found it anyway. The new dog is supposed to have an underbite and he is supposed to look like a monkey in the face. How about Bonzo? Does anyone remember that movie - Bedtime for Bonzo?

The rain is supposed to go away for a few days and that will be nice. Walking dogs in the rain isn't fun and they don't avoid puddles very well.

The sticker for my license plate should arrive tomorrow or Monday so we will be legal for another year.

Texas - near Houston - Thursday

I've had some problems since I last posted on here. My replacement computer quit working and my 1st one got fixed. So I am back to the original one and am very glad I bought a warrenty on the used one I bought. We will see how good the warrenty is on a used computer.

Tuesday morning I went to meet the Affen rescue lady to return her kennel to her (it doesn't fit into my RV very well) and noticed a vet office along the way. I stopped and asked to buy heart worm protection for my new dog. They said they would need to do a heart worm test first until I mentioned the name of the person I got him from. I had accidently stopped at her vet's office. I got the pills and went on to our meeting. I felt that was a "meant to happen" thing.

The campground where I had planned to stay Tuesday night was supposed to be a Passport campground at $11.00/night but they had stopped that and said my book was too old. I got the book in October but apparently Passport sent me an old book and there is a 17th edition out there. I stayed anyway hoping to use their WIFI - then my computer came up with a very long error message and wouldn't come on at all. Part of the message was to check how much space I had on the memory but I couldn't get on to check the memory. The last time I checked it was only 1/2 full and nothing was added after that. So I spent the evening walking dogs, picking burrs off dogs and reading books.

Wed. I picked up my fixed computer in San Antonio and drove all day in the fog and mist to get near Houston. I may not tell exactly where I am for a while as I have people who track me down and send things to remind me that I am getting old. I already know I am getting old.

I checked the settings on my GPS and found I could set it to not go on a "highway". I had not noticed that setting before but thought I would see if it would keep me off the busy thruways. I wasn't in the mood to drive on the thruway and found this setting kept me on the side roads. It was great except the GPS voice kept telling me "a better route is available".

Now I am in a Passport campground that said it had WIFI. They gave me a password for 4 free hours but when that runs out it costs $5/day or $15/week. I will be moving tomorrow.

We have had one success with housebreaking with the new dog. His name is still undecided. I am considering Ruff, Duff, and Spot. The Spot is in honor of a book my friend Eve gave me to read. (The Honk and Holler Opening Soon, by Billie Letts) There is a little black dog in that book named Spot. If anyone has a suggestion, or wants to vote, for a name please let me know.

Kerrville, TX

This is Ralph. His name may get changed to Ruff since I'm not overly fond of the name Ralph.

He is an Affenpinscher but is big for that breed. He weighs 20 lbs. He and Scoobie are getting acquainted.
Guess they decided to ignore one another. The Affen rescue lady spent a couple of hours with me and I have time to change my mind about keeping him. She gave me lots of pointers on how to handle Scoobie also. She knows The Dog Whisperer and uses his methods. I really appreciated her pointers.
Of course Ruff got carsick on the way to meet us and again on the way back to the campground. He ate his supper and took a walk with us. He is no problem to walk, that is Scoobie who wants to get out in front and eat pecans and sticks.
This campground is in a working pecan orchard. Since I already have a dishpan full of pecans to crack and pick out I don't need anymore. I did a couple loads of laundry this morning and dumped and took on water.
I stay at Passport campgrounds that offer a day or 2 at half the regular price so I won't be staying any one place very long. Tomorrow I move on.

Kerrville, TX

The picture is me warming up in the RV with Scoobie this week-end at Fredericksburg Trade Days. Since I refused to pay $45.00 for electricity I was depending on my furnace and propane and the battery. The battery chose to go flat in the middle of the 2nd night which caused a carbon monoxide detector to start beeping very loudly at 2:00 a.m. The generator depends on that battery to start. The solution, start the engine, then the generator, then shut off the engine, then try to get back to sleep. The next day I took the carbon monoxide detector off the wall and cut the wires. I woke at 3:00 a.m. and found the inside of the RV was 36 degrees and the outside was 26 degrees. Once again the routine of getting the generator started. My battery must be pretty weak. As you can see I have a new hat.

It rained off and on all day Friday so I didn't open at all, Sat morning I dumped the ice off the tops of the totes. It looks like broken glass. Needless to say this week-end was a bust. Linda came out to help me both Sat and Sun which gave us a good chance to visit and we both did some window shopping.

Now I am in a very nice campground just a little south of Fredericksburg. I've had a nice hot shower and a nice hot supper and I'm ready for a good peaceful night. (plugged into electricity)

Tomorrow I go to see about a possible 4th dog. I know everyone already thinks I'm nuts to have 3 so I might as well prove it beyond any doubt.

Stay tuned for the rest of that story.

Fbg., TX

Yesterday we ate lunch at Cranky Frank's. It is only open from 11:00 too 3:00 week-days. On Saturday they are open until 4:00. The line extended outside, past the sign ready to be put up that said they were sold out. It is a very popular place and rightly so. Plenty of food and very good.

You can see that they sell out by the looks of last weeks special.

I won't be posting for a few days as I am going to set up at Fredericksburg's Trade Days tomorrow. There is no connection there and I plan to go without electricity as it costs $45.00 for the week-end. I'll be using my generator if I need the microwave or TV.

Then next week I will be going to Circuit City to see about my sick computer. I tried to call them today. Their name should be circuitous phone city. I got shifted from one place to another pressing 1 for this and 2 for that and never could get a person on the phone.

Fbg., TX Monday

This is a picture of the railroad tunnel built in 1913 from San Antonio to Fredericksburg.

Lunch in the high country.

This is a momento of Texas . A cow poop on a wooden cutout of the state. You can find anything at a flea market.

This morning I woke up to a very low propane tank and very full waste tanks so I filled and emptied and even bought some groceries. Necessities like dog food and potato chips.

This afternoon Linda and I plan to do our laundry here at the park, then I am invited to their place for supper. It doesn't get much better than that.

Fbg., TX

Today we went to church and then went sight seeing. We checked out a flea market south of here and were surprised to find one of the two buildings had burned in August. We browsed what was in the other building and I found some post cards to buy. Also found a unique Texas souvinier. I decided it wasn't a possibility for me to set up.

Then we stopped for a picnic lunch at an old railroad tunnel. It has become a haven for bats in the summer. It was still interesting to see even without the 3 million bats. I don't know where they go in the winter, probably Mexico.

The connnection is bad tonight so I will try to load more pictures tomorrow.

Fbg., TX Saturday

The bad luck theory about a black cat crossing your path has been disproved. This cat walked in front of the RV yesterday afternoon but nothing bad happened.

The dinner out proved to be a big success. From left to right: Mark, Sue, Pat, Richard, Bob, Linda, and me. Everyone else ordered German food. I had catfish. It was very good.



Bob took a lot of teasing about his blog (http://www.because-we-can.net/) and all the food he talks about on it. There also seems to be a toilet papering of an RV incident in the past between Richard and Bob. After dinner we went to see Richard and Pat's new RV and also visited Mark and Sue's 5th wheel. They are on their way too Quartzite, Arizona. There is a big gathering of RV's there in the desert this time of year.



I got ambitious today and washed the RV, all but the driver's side. It was very windy and I just took off the first layer with plain water. I could tell where I had waxed it last year. I have not waxed the part that had to be replaced.

It's supposed to be in the 30's tonight, sounds like a 2 dog night.

Fbg, TX Friday

A large butterfly flew all the way from Ohio and landed on the curtains in my RV. It's kind of gorgeous there. He is a Christmas butterfly.
I haven't figured out a way to edit pictures on this computer so what you see is what I take. Today I took the public tour of the Combat Zone conducted by my brother-in-law, B0b.

The entrance to the Combat Zone.

Linda does the first part of the tour, she lets the crowd in and takes their tickets, explains the film and starts the film. Bob arrives just in time to start the rest of the tour.

He puts a lot of action into his explanations of the equipment.

That little dark slit is the opening to a Japanese pill box. These were taken out with flame throwers and hand grenades.

A Japanese tank.

This is a WWII hospital operating room equipped with items found in a bank bomb shelter and donated to the museum.

Even down to the radio.

This post is being done in the afternoon as the internet connection is better in the afternoon and I am going out to dinner tonight with Linda, Bob, and some of their RVing friends. Sounds like fun.

Fbg RV park

This RV park is having a problem with their internet connection. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. They are trying to fix it. They say they "widened the band" today, whatever that means. I don't see much improvement.
Today was cooler and more windy than yesterday so I didn't get inspired to wash the RV, even part of it. I did pick up more pecans and made some more pecan pancakes. Had one with supper like it was a slice of bread.

Fbg., TX

Linda & I went window shopping today. They have a big variety of shops in downtown Fredericksburg. We saw a purse priced at $999.00, we actually touched it. Then we found an old fashioned 5 and 10 cent store. I found a couple of items in there that I needed. I forgot my vegetable steamer thingy that holds the veggies up out of the water when you are cooking them. I found one there. We didn't find much for 5 or 10 cents though.

Scooby has tried several times to pick up a pecan and crunch it up. I usually find this out when I hear the crunch. Now I try to hold his head up when we are passing a pecan tree. He seems to find them everywhere. I have been gathering them up and picking out the nuts. I don't have an oven so I had to think of a way to use them. The solution is pecan pancakes. Very tasty solution.

The weather was beautiful today, warm and not very windy. I am getting inspired to wash part of the RV tomorrow. We will see what the weather is like.

Fbg., TX

Today we visited Gish's Old west Museum which displays a 40 year collection of authentic relics of the Old West. Dedicated to old time cowboys, trail drivers, silent movie cowboys, and lawmen from 1870-1920. As you can see Mr. Gish got trapped by a listener, Bob.

Linda got held up.

Not to be outdone, so did I. This was an amazing place with so many items you couldn't take it all in. There was no charge to get in and Mr. Gish was happy to explain any item you asked about. He also repairs saddles. He has branding irons, chaps, saddles, brands used to mark leather goods with their maker, old silent movie posters, pistols, rifles, holsters, etc. etc. etc.

This is Linda making sure that peace pipe gets passed safely from the white man to the Indian -- or maybe from the Indian to the white man -- or maybe she is just going to take it away from both of them.

We also visited a museum about the history of Fredericksburg. The first settlers came from Germany. A Frenchman on the coast of Texas sold them a bunch of land around this area - but he didn't own it. They settled on it anyway and their descendents are still here.

To finish the day off Linda and I got our hair cut. I wasn't on the ball enough to get a picture of Linda in the chair but she got me.

I have figured out that my camera has the wrong date in it. It changed the date at noon instead of midnight. I'll try to get it fixed.

Fbg, TX

No pictures today. We, Linda, Bob, & I ventured to the thrift shops today. We found a case for my new computer. It is a nicely padded carry case once used for transporting hot pizza I think. Bob found some books stating he would now read 3, or was it 4, at a time.
Scooby has been blooming by acting aggressive toward other dogs lately. Today he pulled this behavior while Linda and I were with the dogs in the dog run. A couple of other dogs came by and he kind of went nuts, clawing the fence and snarling. I got hold of him and forced him to lie down and submit. This took lots of effort and had to be done 3 or 4 times as he would twist away and yelp as though I were killing him. After it was over he seemed to come out of that mental state and was very good and relaxed the rest of the day. Hope I don't have to do that very often.
Tomorrow we plan to visit a museum or 2 so maybe I'll get some pictures.

Linda's Birthday

To celebrate Linda's birthday we went to the Sauer-Beckmann Farm which is run as though it was 1915-1918.

They have 2 milk cows and several pigs, sheep, chickens, turkeys, and guineas. They garden and can and make cheese and butter, all in the old fashioned way. Next week they plan to butcher a hog.

A couple of corn-husk dolls decorate the top of the cupboard.

They cook on this beautiful wood stove. It has to be unbearable in the summer.

Hanging on the wall is this wreath of flowers, all made from hair.

We had a picnic lunch. A good time was had by all.

New Year's pictures

As you can see I found a way to get pictures from the camera to this computer. It took a trip to Walmart and $25.00 later I have what I need to hook up the memory card out of my camera to the computer.

Today was grocery day so I drove to a H.E.B. store and shopped. It was warm enough that I ran the generator and kept the overhead fan going for the dogs. After a week or so of cold weather a day in the 80's can be a shock to everyone.

A large part of last night and today was spent loading things onto the computer, like yahoo messenger. It was worth it when I saw someone on their web cam. Don't know if I could handle a web cam for me. I might do things that weren't photogenic, like the Walmart greeter who was picking his nose just as we came in the door tonight.

You hang around long enough you can see about anything.

New-Used Computer arrrives.

Got the new computer today. I haven't figured out how to get pictures from my camera to this computer yet so this will be without photos. I have almost finished a 1342 page book about Sacajawea while waiting for it. It's a very good book.

Problems I've been having with my RV have been getting solved with the help of my sister and her husband. A barrier to prevent dirt from the back wheels from clogging up the slides on my battery is now in place and the fresh water system has been analysed and seems to be working better.

We decided to celebrate the New Year at Eastern time instead of Central time so we could go to bed at 11:00 instead of midnight. I know - we are wimps.

The weather here has been cold but is improving fast. I felt better when I saw that it was 20 degrees in Tampa, FL.

I need to download Java but may have to wait until the wee hours. The WIFI connection is intermitant. I think a lot of these "Winter Texans" are using computers. They have a class here on using a computer. I think they all want to play games all day - like me.