A Good Day to Bake

Someone was ready for snuggles when bedtime rolled around at 3 AM this morning

The weather folks pegged this day except for the blustery conditions; we have had a bit of rain and it is definitely chilly out.  Yep, it has been a good day to be in the kitchen, or “galley,” as some RV folks call it.

Years ago I was introduced to sausage balls and olive/cheese puffs by my then mother-in-law.  Yummy delights, those.  Having the recipes from her, these two items have become holiday staples in my home since then.  Today was the day.

First batch of sausage balls

 

The olive/cheese puffs come out looking like wee sombreros most of the time, but they are still yummy.

Both the sausage balls and olive/cheese puffs have passed the taste test.  We’re good to go.  Speaking of going, these babies don’t last long around our house, and I imagine I’ll be doing another round between Christmas and New Year’s.

The movie of choice during all this cooking was The Longest Day, an epic D-Day film with just about anyone you can remember being in it.  I followed that up with The House Across the Bay, an oldie I had never seen before today.

My heart and thoughts this evening are with the families of the two NYPD officers assassinated today.

Everybody be safe out there, okay?

Thanks for stopping by!

Propane Fill Day at Florence RV Park

 

One of the pros of being in SC vs. NJ is that we are going through propane a lot slower down here this Winter.  We have a total of four 30-lb. tanks, two on board and two spares.  In NJ, there were two additional tanks we could use, making a total of six tanks in rotation.  During Winter, Dave would often go as frequently as weekly to have four tanks filled.  Thank goodness our propane is paid by the company which we are contracted to; if it had not been, we simply would not have been able to afford to work in NJ.  Even here, that reimbursed expense helps immensely. 

We do run the furnace, keeping the thermostat at 60 overnight and then bumping it up to no higher than 65 when needed.  We are fairly conservative with the use of the furnace, running it enough to keep the rig happy.  Our fireplace and two ceramic tower heaters provide supplemental heat, and our home stays nice and cozy.  Some folks set their furnace at higher temperatures, but neither of us likes to be too warm.

We go to Florence RV Park to have our tanks filled, and it is a short drive over to I-95 and the park.  I was going to put in the link to their Web site, but apparently the site is no longer active.  That’s too bad, because the park is really okay.  We stayed there for a night or two in 2010 prior to arriving at this work site (we did a 2-month relief gig here while the permanent team went on vacation), and it seems even neater and “cuter” than back then.  It’s not full, but is nicely populated by what appear long-term folks, perhaps some snowbirds and then the overnighters passing through the area. 

I would definitely stay here again

I can’t vouch for the Internet or cable TV services, but the staff is friendly and the laundry/rec/office areas are neat and clean.  It is next to I-95 with easy access; one hears a bit of highway noise, but not at an annoying level by any means.

The resident ducks are quite friendly and came over expecting a handout.  I’ll try to remember to take something for them next time.

I’m getting a load of laundry done today because it’s supposed to start raining tonight and continue through tomorrow.  Yes, tomorrow is forecast to be colder, windy and rainy.  Sounds like a good day to make sausage balls and olive balls cozied up in our RV home.

Jerry over at WagginTailsRV commented on my last post that my life seems to have simplified with the move to SC.  I dunno . . . in some ways, yes, but in others . . . no.  While our professional life has certainly simplified, it seems like I stay much busier here.  I think that is in part due to it being the time of year when there are fewer daylight hours.  Seems like we’re always “chasin’ daylight” around here, with so many things to do before it gets dark out.  I’m hoping this will ease up a bit with prolonged daylight when Summer rolls around. 

Speaking of which, we’re off to the store for a few things before we go on duty tonight.  The closer it gets to Christmas, the less I want to be in a grocery store or even out running errands of any type. 

Didn’t get this posted before we ran to the store, so a few hours have passed.  We had a pleasant evening of another epic chess match, and I’m getting back into the groove after finding my opening move, the Sicilian, again.

Victory is mine with a rare win by Black this evening!

Dave has gone to bed until I get him up around 2 AM, I’ve polished off the wee snack plate I brought over to the office, Maggie is curled up in her “spot” and Pandora is singing some tunes.  I’ll make a cup of coffee and put in some time on my virtual assistant job.

That’s a wrap for tonight.  Ciao!

Thanks for stopping by!

10 PM Coffee

 

A bit late for a cup of java, you say?  Well, not when you work night shift, husband is sleeping and your solo shift ends at 2 AM. 

Prior to 2012, I had not been a coffee drinker for 20+ years.  What changed in 2012?  Hurricane Irene visited us in New Jersey.  The morning after the storm, we went to a local café for a hot meal.  Dave ordered a cup of coffee and the waitress brought two.  I wasn’t going to drink it, but Dave encouraged me, saying something like “It’s hot and the caffeine will do you some good.”  This was after spending the night in the cab of our truck with RV hitched up, parked behind a school for shelter while Irene blew and rained around us.  I learned one can indeed sleep, for brief periods of time, slumped over the center console in a Ford F-350 with a Hurricane raging outside.  Who knew?

I drank that cup of steaming java and, man, was it good.  On the heels of Irene came Tropical Storm Lee and then a powerful Nor’easter and, yes, I would have a cup of coffee now and then during those times.  We would be without power and thoughtful visitors to the site would occasionally bring coffee from a nearby store.

So then I began to drink coffee only during natural disasters.  During our time in New Jersey, this meant I had a cup ‘o Joe every couple of months.  Then Winter came and, dang, it was cold.  Then our boss up there brought in a Keurig for the office.

The capability to make one single cup of coffee at a time cinched the deal for me.  I have always totally disliked coffeemakers and never even had one when I lived alone.  A Keurig?  One cup at a time?  What a concept!

You guessed it.  I am now a coffee drinker once again, but definitely in moderation.  Some days, like today, I will have two cups – one in the afternoon and then one around 10 PM.  Other days, it’s just the 10 PM cup and some days it’s none at all.

I really enjoy this one at 10 PM, shortly after Dave has gone to bed, my solo shift is just getting started and my thoughts are my own . . . quiet, solitary time.

We’ve started playing chess weekend evenings again.

 

Maggie chills out Sunday evening after a clip and bath that day.

 

My world at about 2:30 this morning.  It is often foggy here.

I’m now out of java and words, so I’ll toddle off to my virtual assistant job while I’m on duty.  That helps pass the time and, really, the four hours I’m up alone breeze by quite swiftly.

Thanks for stopping by!

My Husband Rocks

 

We ventured over to Magnolia Mall for the first time Friday, where we made our annual purchases at Hickory Farms, I completed my shopping for Dave’s Christmas and we just prowled a bit.  We’ll be going back again before Christmas.   We’re not “mall types,” and this  time of year is really about the only time we hit a mall.  Magnolia Mall beats the heck out of the one we had in NJ, where many of the stores had moved out; there really was not much left.  This mall, however, is definitely thriving.

Today has been windy (and chilly!) and the dead fronds on this tree were rubbing on our rig a bit, not to mention making a heck of a racket.  swish ~~ crackle  Dave got on the roof this afternoon and took care of this.  He’s awesome!  Yes, he rocks!

17 fronds went bye-bye in the back of the company truck

Decorations went up in our home today.  This is taken near the door looking back to the kitchen with the living room slide on the right.

It’s all about the lights, making things cheery.  This is taken from the kitchen looking forward.  Stockings are hung from the slide on the left.

Our wee tree on the dining table.  Found that tree our first year out in 2010.

Dave got me this awesome hat for Christmas and I really used it in the New Jersey winters.  It is a high quality piece and quite warm.

Well, last Winter, it disappeared.  I looked high and low for this baby, wondering where the heck it had gone.  Darnedest thing, its disappearance.  I kept the faith, refusing to believe it was absolutely gone.  So . . . .

When I opened our box of Christmas decorations this afternoon, there under the garland was . . . Hat!  How in the world did it get packed with the decorations?  I have no clue, but I felt like Christmas morning had arrived early when I saw it!

Well played, Hat, to appear again today you are truly needed in the wind and cold!

I’ve been a bit blah this week, but then realized it would have been Karen’s birthday a few days ago.  I sure miss that gal.  When we were kids, our families spent just about every Thanksgiving together, but she and I shared only one Christmas.  She was with me at my Brenham home the first time Dave called from Scotland on Christmas Eve 2004.  She and I watched a James Bond movie  marathon that night, ooh’ing and aaah’ing over Sean Connery and waiting for it to snow.  Earlier in the day, we had prowled a old-fashioned toy store in town and spotted kazoos.  I had never played one, so she bought two and taught me.  Yep, you guessed it.  Two middle-aged women playing Christmas carols on kazoos into the wee hours of the morning, waiting for it to snow.  It snowed just about everywhere else in Texas that night, including at the beach in Galveston, but not in Brenham.  Good memories, that, time shared just be-ing.  Ten years ago. Wow.

Yes, it’s cold out right now at almost 11:30 PM with the wind, but I really don’t mind.  This past week has seen temps reaching almost 70 F, which seems bizarre to me this close to Christmas after our time in NJ.  This change in weather and getting our decorations up has put me in a bit more of a holiday mood.

Hope you’re feeling some holiday cheer!

Thanks for stopping by!

Well, Well . . . It’s December

Crazy to think 2014 is almost history.  Thanksgiving is behind us and I suppose we are well into the holiday season, eh? 

Silly door hanging for inside of our office suite door.  There is a more traditional wreath on the exterior; I’ll try to get a photo of that tomorrow.  Saw this whimsical one and just could not resist.  In honor and remembrance of the past few winters we have spent in NJ.  Doubtful we will see snow here, or at least not of the volume we had up North.

I really have not felt very much in the holiday spirit but did a bit today.  Put up some tinsel and lights here in our office suite, as we spend much of our waking hours in here and the majority of those are at night.  I figured we could use a bit of cheer in here.  I’ll get out our few decorations for our RV home this weekend and cheer things up in there, too.

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Yes, Phyllis, I did roast the turkey Sunday, and it turned out quite nicely.  It ended up in a casserole yesterday, and that was a good move.  Dave had some leftovers for his “breakfast” today and I just about finished it off this afternoon with a salad.

Maggie was snuggling with her blanket last week during the cold spell.  The spare chair in my office is one of her spots.  She’ll be there some nights and others, like tonight, on her big, cushy bed on the floor.

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Did I tell you about my encounter with Spider?  Last week when we had those three straight days of rain, I was taking my shower back over in our RV.  Was drying off one night/morning (what we call “night” is 2-3 AM) and plop! into the shower floor dropped Spider!  I think we were both surprised!  I hopped out of the shower stall rather quickly, saying a few words in doing so.  Well, Spider was soon an ex-Spider, but I left it in the shower.  Why?  Well, I figured chances were darn good that I had been bitten and, if I became ill, we would have the culprit available for identification purposes.  Really, though, this was no evil-looking Spider, just a . . . well, Spider.  Brownish, gray run-of-the-mill Spider.

Sure enough, the next day (well, later that same day), I noticed what appeared to be a bite.  It is essentially healed now and was never severe, although I felt kinda of punky for about 48 hours.  Again, nothing serious . . . almost a bit like I was coming down with the flu. 

That is the first time in 4.5 years of full-timing that we have had an issue with a critter of that sort in the rig.  You can bet I check towels, PJs, etc. now! 

Full-timing in the South.  Bugs.  Spiders.  Ugh.

Speaking of which, a couple of weeks ago there were ladybugs everyfreakinwhere.  Now it seems to be garden millipedes.  Ick.  Neither of those have been in our rig, thank goodness!

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Well, Dave has gone to bed until around 2 AM.  He has not been sleeping well at all since our crazy five days over the Thanksgiving holiday, when our sleep patterns were disrupted due to work obligations here.  We’re back on our regular schedule and I have pretty much bounced back, but he is struggling to get prolonged sleep again.  I’ll change gears now and put in some time on my virtual assistant gig. 

Thanks for stopping by!