11/19/2009 This and That

First things first. Welcome to our new reader in Bedminster, New Jersey. I don't know who this person is but they are reading non-stop practically according to the stat counter statistics. In fact, by the time I get this posted in a few minutes the counter will have turned another thousand to 91,000 hits. I hope you enjoy the ride with us and get a chuckle or two along the way.

I haven’t been writing the last few days because we just haven’t been doing anything of great interest.

More of our friends have been arriving every day and it won’t be long before we can say “the gang’s all here”.

Bob has been busy the last two day’s helping Don (The Peacock) with this rig. Seems he’s sprung a leak somewhere and Bob is giving a hand figuring out where its coming from and hopefully fixing it.

Our line dancing class has grown so much! Every week the lines get a little closer together.

Our friend Kathy, you may remember her as “the lush” from last year is painting the interior of her newly purchased park model. Its really giving me the itch to paint. I told you not too long ago that everything in our place is WHITE and I hate it. Oh yeah, this hand is going to be holding a roller or paintbrush in the very near future!

I have a few websites I want to share with you.

Are you the grocery shopper in your family? Do you cut out coupons to save on your grocery budget? If so, here is an online sources for those money saving coupons.

The Coupon Mom

In addition to just using coupons you can check out who has the best prices in your area by using Grocery Guide. This site lets you put in the two stores you frequent the most so you can compare which one has the best prices on what’s on your grocery list. It will even print out your grocery list and coupons if they are available.

You’ve all heard of Black Friday and by now I’m sure you are familiar with Cyber Monday when the online sales will be listed for your holiday Christmas shopping. Did you know there is a web site called Cyber Monday? There will be hourly specials from your favorite retailers on the Monday after Thanksgiving and sales alerts will be sent by email so be sure to sign up now.

Thanks to Maryann in Atlanta, George for sharing those sites above.

PERSPECTIVE:

One day , the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip , the
father asked his son , "How was the trip?"

"It was great , Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah , " said the son.

"So , tell me , what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered:

“I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us , but they serve others. We buy our food , but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us , they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added , "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

WOW 90,000

It's gonna turn today....90,000! If its you leave us a comment letting us know.

I appreciate everyone of our readers!

11/16/2009 DOMINO DIVAS

The ranks of the Quail Run Domino Divas swelled by one more this week as Kathy has returned to the winter perch. We all met a Peg’s at one and played our favorite game, Mexican Train. I really think I could play this every day. Peg provided some tasty snacks for us and a good time was had by all.

We went to Golden Corral this afternoon for our “free” Veteran’s Day dinner but when we got there at 5 p.m. the line was so incredibly long we just said, “NO WAY!” It would have been hours waiting in line just to get in the door,

Evening brought pool league for me. I lost both games but I sure had fun playing.

This past Friday marked three years since we left home and started living on the road. The time sure did go fast, it seems like yesterday. We covered a lot of miles in these three years, met a lot of great people and saw some spectacular sights.

Have YOU ever given any thought to joining the ranks of RV full- timers and becoming genuine “Trailer Trash”?

Think about this for a minute. No more mortgage payment, utility bills, property taxes, school taxes, lousy neighbors, cutting grass and the list goes on.

Do you want to live more simply? Then pack up the dog and move into a travel-trailer! They make pretty nice ones nowadays, couldn’t you see yourself in this? Would you really mind being called “Trailer Trash” if you lived like this????

Be honest now….wouldn’t you just love to be Trailer Trash?

12/14/2009 Oh No! Am I a SHOPAHOLIC Now???

I was up before the alarm went off today. I didn’t want to be late so I set it just in case even though most days I’m at six anyway. UP but not necessarily out of bed.

I went garage/yard sale shopping today. I’m looking for big outdoor flower pots. That’s all I want. Repeat, that’s all I want.

I met up with Marlene and Bonnie and we went to the bigger homes in Arizona City, situated around the lake. There were a good amount of families participating in this community sale. We felt like we really lucked out when we would hit two next door neighbors that were participating and another neighbor across the street. Triple play!

Now remember, I was only looking for big outdoor flower pots. Here’s what I got:

2 – outdoor flower pots $2.00

12 – novels, hardback and paperback $5.75

1 – fish/veggie grilling basket still in original wrapping $ .50

3 strings of red, white and blue lights shaped like stars, two still in original wrapping $ .75

1 – very nice, hard sided, document keeper/filing container, brand new $2.00

1 – golf club – putter for mini golf, just the right size $4.00

3 – Taste of Home Yearbook Cookbooks,,,,TWENTY FIVE CENTS EACH! $.75

3 – Taste of Home Yearbook Cookbooks ,,, 3 for 2 $2.00

1 – Fondue Pot with 10 forks $2.00

1 – brand new springform pan for cheese cakes $.50

1 – Chinese fan hat DON’T ASK! $.50

1 – Quilting bag Don’t ask about this either, I don’t quilt $2.00

4 – tote bags for the grocery store $1.00

2 – paperback books for great nephews $.25

4 pcs of art supplies for neighbor $3.00

1 – Brand new, still sealed puzzle I’m sending to MOM $.50

TOTAL: $27.50 minus $3.00 that was given back by neighbor for art supplies.

Good buys = $24.50

GREAT time with FRIENDS PRICELESS!

It was cloudy while we were out this morning for the most part and once we got home around noon or so and got the truck unloaded….

and we were all settled once again, the skies just opened up and it POURED! Now normally, that would be no big deal anywhere else but there hasn’t been rain in this area for a long, long time and the ground is as hard as rock. The water had nowhere to go since the ground couldn’t absorb it fast enough. The roads flooded in no time at all. One good thing came out of it. The air smelled so good since all the dust in the air settled. It smelled so clean.

I got a load of towels done later in the day and Bonnie, above, right, came lookin’ for me to go with her to try to find a yard sale house we were at because she decided she did in fact want the two Bose speakers for $25.00 after all. We couldn’t find the house, darn it. We had been on so many roads and after a few turns we just couldn’t remember how we got to the house in question. Oh well, I guess she wasn’t meant to have them.

Our friend Richard, a fellow we met here while working in Activities two years ago, came to visit and spent some time with us. We’ll see lots of him this winter we hope.

Bob is still knee deep in electrical wires but of a different sort now. He’s trying to get all the wires going to the TV, the satellite box, the park cable wires, the wires for the DVD player and the CD player all sorted and wrapped together so it doesn’t look like a complete mess and we at least have an idea of what wire goes to what component. I’m glad its him doing it and not me!

All in all,,,,a pretty good day in the desert.

11/13/2009 They Shopped Til They Dropped!

My good friend LaVon and I met at the local Walmart and shared the afternoon driving from shopping center to shopping center, running from store to store in search of seven items that I wanted to purchase. I got two. Just two. I am not a good shopper. I don’t like it, I wish I never had to do it. Except grocery shopping, I could do that everyday if the truth be told.

So I will be thankful that we at least have new towels, our centerpiece thing-y for the table is now filled with fake gourds for the fall season and I am the proud owner of an electric scent diffuser that wasn’t on my list to begin with but I had a 20% off coupon that was burning a whole in my pocket and I had to buy SOMETHING!

I was going to buy some silk flowers for an arrangement in this really nice copper container I have. The lady in the floral department of Michael’s Craft Store helped me gather all I would need to finish the project since I’ve never done flower arranging before. So she helps me pick out the flowers according to the colors I mentioned and I’m just thrilled can't wait to get started on the perfect arrangement that I will surely create. Now I really never gave the price of each fake flower a thought until I got to the check out line and the lady started ringing them up. I had to hang onto the counter so I wouldn’t fall down! Whoa! Stop! Are these marked wrong(?),,,,I was hoping! Could this fake flower really be $6.99? And I have how many of them???? NINE???? Sixty three dollars just for the flowers and I need Styrofoam blocks ($6.00) and some kind of tape stuff ($4.00) to hold it to the bottom of the container….oh no, I don’t need to spend $73.00 for materials for a flower arrangement that could end up looking like a blind monkey did it in the end. I’ll have to go back when I have eleven 50% off coupons from next week’s Sunday paper. Quail Run readers, please have them already cut out because I will surely be knocking on your door asking for it.

LaVon and I enjoyed a delicious lunch at Mimi’s Cafe and some good conversation. I just love spending time with this special lady.

Bob had a day to himself and I don’t have a clue what he did. I think he did spend some of his time roaming the aisles of Lowe’s and Home Depot looking at material for future projects.

11/12/2009 My Name is Fluffy Chucklelips

Life in the desert is good. We are out of the extreme temperatures now and had a sunny day in the mid-80’s with a light breeze.

At one o’clock I met with four other winter residents, Ginny, Donna, Earl and Marilyn, for a game of Michigan Kitty. You may know it by Michigan Rummy or even Tripoli. Maybe you’ll recognize the playing board.

We played for two hours and I think its safe to say that I ended up the winner. Those are my pennies in front and that isn’t as many as I had when we finished. Take note of the paper money in the pot.

This is something we’ll get together for a on a weekly basis this winter.

Our friends Lyell and Kathy arrived today and Wilf and Marilyn will be in tomorrow and Don and Billee will be here this weekend. Every day more friends are arriving and that makes me smile.

Bob played poker this evening and came home with a few extra dollars than what he left with. We both had winning days today.

Now I’ll explain the title of this post. I received an email today and I’ve gotten this one twice so far so I thought I’d share it with you. After all, we can all use a smile.

We all need a little stress-reliever! This only takes a minute.
Sometimes when you have a stressful day or week, you need some silliness to break up the day. If we are honest, we have a lot more stressful days than not.

Here is your dose of humor...

A. Follow the instructions to find your new name.
B. Once you have your new name, put it in a comment and send it to me. And don't go all adult on us- a senior manager is now known far and wide as Dorky Gizzardsniffer!

The following is excerpted from a children's book, Captain Underpants And the Perilous Plot Professor Poopypants, by Dave Pilkey, in which the evil Professor forces everyone to assume new names So……

1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine your New first name:
a = snickle
b = doombah
c = goober
d = cheesey
e = crusty
f = greasy
g = dumbo
h = farcus
i = dorky
j = doofus
k = funky
l = boobie
m = sleezy
n = sloopy
o = fluffy
p = stinky
q = slimy
r = dorfus
s = snooty
t = tootsie
u = dipsy
v = sneezy
w = liver
x = skippy
y = dinky
z = zippy

2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:
a = dippin
b = feather
c = batty
d = burger
e = chicken
f = barffy
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = farkle
j = monkey
k = flippin
l = fricken
m = bubble
n =rhino
o = potty
p = hamster
q = buckle
r = gizzard
s = lickin
t = snickle
u = chuckle
v = pickle
w = hubble
x = dingle
y = gorilla
z = girdle

3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:
a = butt
b = boob
c = face
d = nose
e = hump
f = breath
g = pants
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = head
l = tush
m = chunks
n = dunkin

o = brains
p = biscuits
q = toes

r = doodle
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = frack
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = hiney
z = juice

Now when you figure out your new name and send it in on a comment...remember that children laugh an average of 146 times a day; adults laugh an average of 4 times a day.

Put more laughter in your day!!!

In laughter,,,,

Fluffy Chucklelips

11/11/2009 Veteran’s Day

Today our park had a Veteran’s Day service for all those Veteran’s in the park. We have quite a few. The program was well put together, interesting and moving.

Volunteers from the park explained symbols of Veteran's Day, read poems and honored the Canadian Veteran's. Roll call was taken of each Veteran and the years they served. We sang the songs of each branch of the service and we prayed.

The decorations were tasteful and just what the occasion called for.

I think what really hit home for most of us was this……The Missing Man Table

This table is a way of acknowledging that members of our proud profession of arms are missing from our midst, unable to be here on this day because they answered the call to duty and never returned. They are our comrades, prisoners of war, missing in action or killed in action.

Each segment of this table has a special meaning.

• The table is round – to show our everlasting concern for our missing men
• The small flags represent our service members from each of the five services – Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard
• The tablecloth is white, symbolizing the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms
• The single rose displayed in the vase reminds us of the families and loved ones, who keep the faith and await their return
• The vase is tied with a red ribbon, symbol of our continued determination to account for our missing
• A slice of lemon on the plate to remind us of their bitter fate and salt to represent the families tears as they wait
• The glass is inverted – to symbolize their inability to share with us today
• The chair is empty; they are not here

Today we need to say a heartfelt THANK YOU to those veteran’s who are still with us and to remember those who gave their all.

God bless our troops.