Christmas Day - 2015

Christmas Full Moon in Bryan, Texas

We have been enjoying a laid-back Christmas Day this year, our first Christmas in Texas since 2009.  When I checked the outside temperature earlier, it was 76F.  Crazy, especially for us being accustomed these past six years to snow or at least temperatures 30-40 degrees colder. 

Had to find a new spot for our wee display this year, as we no longer have a dining table.

We have A Christmas Story on DVD; that’s what is on now, having been preceded by It’s A Wonderful Life.  Both films have been televised over the past week, but Dave’s work schedule has prevented him from catching them.  Besides, it’s sort of a tradition of ours to play them Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.  We watched White Christmas last week, so I had my “fix” already.

I made sausage balls and olive/cheese puffs on Wednesday – 4 batches of the first and 2 of the latter.  That’s another holiday tradition around here.  Today’s dinner was ham and other dishes.  We exchanged cholocate yummies as part of our gifts this morning and, combined with some other goodies acquired during the week, our fridge is packed.  Needless to say, we won’t be hard put to find something to gnosh on for days.

The park has been pretty darn quiet today.  Just about all the long-term folks are gone, although their rigs are still here.  There is a handful of short-term rigs; two of those look like they’re pulling out tomorrow; they hooked their “toads” to their Class A rigs this afternoon.

Dave got out for a bike ride this morning while I was putzing around in the kitchen.  The weather was oblinging, and he enjoyed his holiday ride. 

Winter will be making a comeback Monday after storms roll through here tomorrow and Sunday. 

Hoping your Christmas Day was a pleasant one! 

Thanks for stopping by!

Open Live Writer

Just a wee test post to make sure everything works.

Caught Dave and Maggie chillin’ yesterday evening

One thing I notice with OLW is there is no option for assigning topics to a post.  Bummer.  Hopefully this will be added in the future.  Ah well, at least it’s a post!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Live Writer isn't working for me, either, and I know from past experience that I detest attempting to create a post within Blogger. I have been publishing on WordPress for quite a while, so feel free to travel over there to see what's been happening. You can visit with me on WordPress at Journeys. Sure hope this issue is resolved soon.

Around the Neighborhood

It’s an absolutely sterling day out, so I had a wee stroll around the neighborhood.

On the end of the row, we have no neighbor to the right in the photo.  The folks on the left are rarely there.  In fact, we have only seen someone there just for an overnight on one occasion.  This gives us a bit of privacy, actually, with their rig acting as a “wall” of sorts.

That’s us in almost the center of the photo with the door side facing this way.

See the pink RV?  That’s a wee Winnie with a breast cancer ribbon on the back.  The lady’s best friend died from breast cancer.  They have no problem seeing which RV is theirs! The building on the right is restrooms, and there is a wee pool in front of it.  We are just to the right and on the other side of that building and the pool. This view is from the front of the park looking back.

In almost the same spot as the above photo, now looking forward.  There’s the office, laundry room, and restroom/shower suites.

Having walked past the office and on the other side of the loop, this is looking back at the spot where the previous two photos were taken.  One of the many things I like about this park is the amount of grassy areas, not just from a dog owner POV, but that it’s nice to see green. 

You are also looking out at Highway 6 in the above photo.  The park is on the frontage road, so it’s easy to get out and about.  There is traffic on Hwy 6, of course, but it’s not noisy traffic and the minimal amount we hear inside is really like “white noise” and not at all annoying.  Being on the northern side of Bryan, it’s more like true highway traffic than “city” traffic.

We are in the front section of the park where there are long-term rigs on the perimeter and short-terms inside the “circle.”  We are the exception to that rule, as our spot is inside that perimeter.  Nice!  The other section of the park is pretty much dedicated to long-term stays.  It is a long, wide, straight road with back-in sites on each side.  Parking spaces are lined and in front of each rig.  There is a laundry and restroom building back there.  Even though long-term stays, it is still very well-kept and nice.  The owner/manager has been known to request to see a rig if it is older than 10 years.  You won’t see any beat-up RVs with tarps on them at this place.  At the very back of the park, there is a one-way gate with coded access.  That’s very handy, as it takes you out so you can cross Hwy 6 if you are wanting to go south.

Okay, that’s the neighborhood tour!  Have a groovy weekend!

Thanks for stopping by!

Two Weeks and a Day

Wow.  We have been here at Aggieland RV Park 2 weeks and a day as of today.  It sure seems like a lot longer to both of us.  That’s not a bad thing, really, it’s just that we have been busy.  The days seem to fly by and run together.  Dave has Tuesdays and Wednesdays off, so our days get a bit blurred; our “weekend” starts Monday night. 

Let’s see.  He survived Black Friday, although it sure was crazy, especially Thanksgiving evening and Friday, and he did work some overtime.  Crazy.  He’s getting a firsthand glimpse of the retail world during the holiday season.  Yes, he worked Thanksgiving, and so did I.  This was the first time in decades that I did not prepare a typical Thanksgiving dinner.  Oh well.  I did cook bridies while he was off that week, so we had a nice meal.  He is settling in quite nicely with his job, even enjoying it now, and we hope – but not expect by any means – that he will be kept on after the holiday season. 

Although I’m still in training on my MT job, I am making good strides.  It’s not the medical terminology/knowledge part, it’s becoming familiar with and implementing the specs, the software requirements, etc.  Things have changed re: formatting, punctuation, etc., since I was an MT 8 years ago, and the specs of the company/accounts are quite different from the “old school” way I was taught and used back when I worked before.  I am still not enamored with voice recognition and being a medical editor; I really still prefer straight transcription.  Well, I’m giving it a whirl, and it is getting better.

My virtual assistant job is percolating along nicely, and I am picking up some additional responsibilities.  I really am enjoying it!  Honestly, if I had a couple of long-term VA clients with ample work, I would seriously consider ditching medical transcription/editing.

I believe I mentioned my work laptop crashed and burned.  Yep, turns out it needed a new hard drive.  It had been in the shop but is home now, and this evening I have it set up to be put back into service.  I’m composing this post on it.  There is still some additional tweaking to be done – getting things back on it – but at least it’s usable again.  I sure missed my larger screen!

Our gray tank is being ordered, being delayed by some issues pinpointing with Keystone exactly what type of tank is needed.  Hopefully we will be having the replacement work done in the next couple of weeks.  They might be able to do it on-site . . . that sure would be nice, although they are only about 10 miles down the road.  We are thankful the facilities are nice here, so it’s a short stroll down to the showers near the front of the park each evening.  Each is a suite unto itself, so one has privacy when showering.  Nice.

Our allergies are finally getting under control.  Yay!  I was able to actually sleep prone in bed last night for the first time in a couple of weeks.  My recliner is comfy, I slept well in it, and I can watch TV from there if I want, but Maggie sure appreciated me being back in bed.  Me, too, I tell ya.  Dave was suffering equally, with the added frustration of plugged ears.  We both are much better with regards to our noses, and his hearing is much improved.

We are even having evening meals together twice a week, the 2 days Dave is off.  I had taken some Mexican lasagna out of the freezer the other day, so that was last night’s dinner accompanied by a green salad.  Tonight was baked fish, wild rice, and sweet corn. The rest of the week, we’re on our own, obviously because of work schedules.

Mr. Sun finally made an appearance today after being AWOL for 4-5 days.  We have had definitely chilly weather – highs in the 40s and 50s – with miserable, drizzly, nonstop rain.  Ugh.  Sure was nice to see sunshine today.  I made a run to a self-serve car wash and washed off a lot of mud from the truck.  It could stand detailing, but at least it looks presentable again now.

Last week I went over to Suddenlink (the park’s ISP) and purchased a modem and then to Walmart for a wireless router.  We now have a direct “pipeline” into the Internet service here at the park, and it is a secure connection via our own router.  Pretty darn speedy, too.  Yay!  We’re wireless and secure in the rig!  Woot!  This is wonderful, as my iPhone is getting a well-deserved rest after serving as a hot spot for a couple of months.   (Note:  The park WiFi is actually quite good, but not secure.  Getting one’s own modem and router is suggested by the park owner/manager if one wants a direct connection and secure network within one’s rig.  If I wasn’t working online from home or we were just here short-term, we would not have done this.  It is groovy, though, eh?)

We have had issues . . . gray tank, computer crashing, Internet and cable going out for 24 hours, miserable rain, allergies, yada, yada, yada, (yes, all in 2 weeks and 1 day) but we truly are liking it here and thankful that we are both working and have landed in a nice environment for our home.

Have I mentioned I really, really appreciate stepping out onto concrete and not mud?

Thanks for stopping by!