Riggins with little brother Charlie and little sister Sadie.

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Monday, May 31, 2010

Memorial Day

Before the usual blog, I would like to say Thank You to all the Veterans who blog and follow this blog. My family has always celebrated this Holiday with the true meaning of it. I can remember as a young boy, My Grandfather saying how Freedom is never free. Someone in either your family or a family that is close to you has paid in blood for it. His brother my Great Uncle John who I never met was killed on Normandy Beach. My Dad served in the Pacific during WW2, Myself and my brother Bill are Viet Nam Vets, My son Tim is a veteran of Desert Storm. Is it selfish to look at your Grandson and think, Please God spare him the duty his family before him has shouldered. Maybe so, But again THANKS. FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.

Mach1

                           Be there in a second.

We started our day at the campground with coffee and then Donna & I sat with the neighbors next to us, and then I started to dismantle the campsite. Donna & Rigg's left about 10:00AM, of course Adam & I had to get the slide in and stow everything for travel, and then make a quick stop at the dump station. We got back home at about noon, Adam got his bike off the back and raced to find his friends, I parked the trailer and put it on life support on its pad, it's combat ready for a quick exit on our next outing.

I went up and laid on the couch and then next thing I knew Rigg's came over and laid down and crashed. Look's like camping and running after his squeekee was to much for one day, I know he slept good every night  while camping.

I have a lot of catching up to do on the blogs I missed with the limited access I had to the internet last week. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Sunday Camp Notes

Was up at 06:00am, got the coffee going,  Adam & Rigg’s we still out, they joined the upright world about 07:30am, Rigg’s went out to explore and do his thing, Adam had some milk and a donut. Then he saw another kid out the window and grabbed his radio and went out the door. Funny how the play day starts at 07:00AM and last past 10:00PM in a campground, plenty of kids this weekend.I’ll bet when they finally crawl into bed they all sleep like logs, Adam & Rigg’s laid down last night and 5 minutes later they were both out.
Donna should be arriving this morning , she had to work last night at the restaurant and she didn’t want to drive out after midnight, I don’t blame her it’s all narrow two lanes and the drunks are out after that time.
Here’s a few shots from early this morning.
Rigg's5-30-10a
                  Rigg’s checking out the patio
Adam&Rigg's05-30-10
                              The two buddies.
Sam&Rigg's05-30-10a
                                 Sam & Rigg’s
Sam&Rigg's05-30-10c
                         Rigg’s gets a scratch
Here at Lake Sherwood MO. you could not have custom ordered a better holiday weekend weather wise. It was at 70 degrees each morning so you could sleep in comfort, during the day it was sunny and about 85 to 90 degree’s perfect for swimming. Then about 08:00pm it starts back down to 70 degrees again. No rain and it is supposed to continue like this till Tuesday. The water in the pool and lake is warm, they have had hot weather for about a week so the water temps came up. Out in deeper water it is still cool enough that the fish are biting.
Donna arrived at 11:00am, after lunch she was still tired from working late so Adam & I are headed for the Lake to cool off, and her and Rigg’s will be napping for awhile. I will stop at the office to post this and check my mail. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Lake Sherwood Saturday

Another great morning, I was up at 06:00AM, I was greeted by this.Adam05-29-10a

         Adam, still out after a hard night of playing

Rigg's05-29-10a

         Rigg’s wanted some more sack time too.

Adam arrived yesterday afternoon right before supper, happily his Mom brought his bike with him and he was off to make new friends after a quick “hi Grandpa” and he was reminded of the rules. I always have him put an FRS walkie talkie on his belt so Grandpa can get a hold of him and make occasional checks on what he is doing. I can see the playground and the entire loop road from my campsite but this just gives me peace of mind and reinforces to Adam that he is still accountable and being watched for his own safety. Donna thought he was to young to take care of a radio, but my theory is at 8 years you should be learning responsibility. I called him to come in and get some supper and then he went back to the playground.

Just before dark Grandpa started a campfire, Adam had to have his bike back to the trailer by dark,As it got dark, I called him on the radio and he answered. I had to chuckle, I said ” Grandpa to Adam , Time to bring the bike in”, I heard him answer “ten-four Grandpa”. Since I was already retired from the PD when he was born, he must have learned that from television.

Rigg’s is one happy camper, he’s made several doggie friend’s, the family next to us in a popup has a 5 month old Black Lab pup, I was surprised how gentle my bull in a china shop is with the puppy he licks him and is careful not to be to rough.

Later today I will get the compressor out of the truck and inflate Adam’s water riding toy, it is a vinyl small jet ski with a battery powered motor that also sprays a water cannon out of the handle bars. It takes 8 of the big D cells. Poor Rigg’s will have to wait for us on his run at the campsite while were at the beach, since dog’s are no longer welcome there.

Also a run into Washington MO has to be made to the Wally World, as Adam’s Mom forgot sunscreen and socks and he needs a shirt to wear while he is at the beach as he is still peeling and recovering from last weeks sunburn.

This afternoon Adam & Rigg’s and I went to the beach & clubhouse area, Adam hit the beach and the pool and Grandpa and Rigg’s stayed in the Air conditioned truck and watch the beach crowd,

Lake Sherwood

               The beach scene,to crowded for me.

So now I am at the office getting this posted, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Friday, May 28, 2010

Rigg’s says TGIF

Slept in till 05:45am, put the coffee on and then Rigg’s and I went outside so Rigg’s could use the facilities. He also decided he would explore around the campsite a little, so i set up about 40 feet of boat rope for a short run so he doesn’t get the idea to wander off, after all this is a brand new thing, this camping, and who would blame him.

Rigg's10-28-10c

Rigg's10-28-10d

            C’mon Dad the sun is out it’s time for play.

After the coffee was done it was playtime, I got a brand new plastic Frisbee out that had been given to me by the RV dealer when I bought this 5th wheel and I had put it in a cupboard and forgot it.

Just so you know the nuclear half life span of a plastic Frisbee with a young lab like Rigg’s is about 20 minutes, he had it in four piece’s he played so hard.

Rigg's10-28-10a

                             All this is mine.

Rigg's10-28-10ab

Rigg's 05-28-10f

         Needed a break after destroying the Frisbee.

Rigg's 05-28-10g

Dad look I found a great place in the shade to relax.

Then it was time for a walk around the loop, we met a lot of other people, the campground is full, no empty spots, lot’s of kids and other dogs. Rigg’s made friends with everyone. Since I used to spend every holiday weekend on sight here , I knew quite a bit of the regulars, and it just amazes me since I hadn’t been here on holidays since 2007 how fast kids grow in just 3 years. I haven’t any cell service unless I use the phone when I go to the Office to post the blog, so I don’t know when my Grandson Adam will be dropped off, surely his Mom will bring him out with his bicycle today some time. The weather is supposed to be sunny and in the middle 80’s all weekend so he will be able to swim and bike ride with the other kids. Poor Rigg’s they have enacted a rule that dog’s are not allowed at the beach or clubhouse area, so his water activities will be cut out. It’s always that way some bonehead must have done something so now everyone pays for it.

Got to pay forward the help on fixing my A/C, a Man & his Wife backed a new travel trailer in just next door to the trailer on my left side. The spot I am in is an end spot for trailers. Anyway my next door neighbor who is in popup walked over and said would you mind helping our new neighbor they are having trouble putting their shade out. I went over and the awning material was hanging half way down the trailer from the roller and one of the arms was loose, they had taken one of the knobs loose and the nut inside had fallen down into the tube. I got some tools and took the arm apart and retrieved the square nut and with the help of tape to hold it in place got the knob back on and the arm back on the trailer. Then it was a simple matter of carefully lowering both arms at once till the roller was holding the material. I then found out they had never put the awning down before. so i said lets put it back up and I will show you how to lower it without it coming apart. That is what we did and now he said he and his wife will be able to do it next time, This is a brand new trailer and the dealer never showed them how to unroll the awning. When I asked him where he bought it,  he said got it from the same dealer I got my new one at. I told him I guess it just depends on the salesman because we had a great walkthrough even though they knew we had traded in a 5th wheel and had camped many years.

Well I guess I will head up to the office, I haven’t been able to answer comments or follow to many others as I didn’t want to wear out my computer privilege at the office. But I will be back after the holiday.Be safe out there. Sam & Donna. Oh yeah Rigg’s says hi to Jodie & Coco, Rylie, Mollie,and Emma.He says now that he’s a camper he is really getting to be a big boy for sure.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Thursday Thoughts

A late entry from yesterday, after, I got back from the Lake Sherwood Office. That is where I can get Wi-Fi to publish the blog and check my E-Mail. I had a great time just catching up with former co-workers, one Mary Foley who is the longtime Office Manager and Bookkeeper is retiring Friday, what a stroke of luck to be able catch   her before her last days, I spent 7 years here as the Chief and the staff here has always been like an extended family. Anyway when I got back to the campground, my son Andy & his girlfriend Samantha were waiting for me. he didn’t notice my truck at the office when they came through the gate. I had called Donna from the office to tell her that the trailer A/C was fixed, but she had not talked to Andy, so when Samantha picked him up from work they decided to come out in case I hadn’t got the trailer fixed, he was going to climb up on the roof.
As I said Lake Sherwood is a private lake community, completely self sufficient with their own water and sewer system complete with a new treatment plant. It is located on the St Charles & Warren County border on the far west side of St Charles County.It is surrounded by rural farm land and about equal distance 12 miles, from Wentzville MO., and Washington MO. About 1 1/2 miles from the gate is the crossing of state highways T & D. at this crossing is  located a filling station/convenience store,B & S Auto Repair, a garage straight out of the 50’s or 60’s that is owned by Mary Foley’s husband Bill, you can get repairs for a car or boat here, and he does a thriving boat storage business in the off season, across from him is the world famous T & D Tavern, home of some of the greasiest and best burger’s you will find.
Since Andy & Samantha had come out 18 miles from our place, I was gracious  enough to offer to buy supper so we headed over to the only game in town, The T & D Tavern. The usual after work crowd was in and I knew the barmaids so we got a table and watched the young guys slug it out over the pool table while we waited for our meal. Andy had been there before but this was Samantha’s first time and she said the food was great. What to kids know?
T&D Tavern05-26-10
                           The T & D Tavern
Samantha&Andy05-26-10
            My son Andy & his girlfriend Samantha
Rigg’s is camping, I went home this morning and picked him up  along with his bed and his food and we headed back, to Lake Sherwood. Rigg’s always enjoys a ride in Dad’s truck. When we got back to the campground he explored all the new smells around the campsite, I then had to try and teach him how to go up the  steps into the 5th wheel, he never had to go up and down steps before since our entrance to the back yard is at ground level. He still isn’t so sure footed on the steps but that will come soon enough, Once inside he was all over exploring. He found his water dish and food dish, and of course the couch, then he went in and jumped on the bed to see how it felt, I told him no way is Mom going to allow you on the bed when she gets out here so enjoy it while you can.
Rigg's0527-10a                          Rigg’s trying out the bed
Rigg's0527-10b
              Look’s like it meets with his approval
Rigg's0527-10c
All this new stuff tires a guy out so Rigg’s picked out a nice cool spot on the floor for a snooze.
So now I will cut this short so Rigg’s and I can drive up to the office and use their WI-FI to got it posted. Be Safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Wednesday at Lake Sherwood

Spent the night at home, still bumming over the air conditioner,at 07:00am I left for the campground, finished getting setup, it was a comfortable 65degrees so I opened all the windows and out the Fantastic fan on to circulate air and then put a fan on in the living  room. surprisingly it isn’t bad. I then took the inside cover off the A/C in the ceiling, got a step ladder out of the truck and a flash light and climbed up to see if I could reach the fan or motor, there was nothing in sight but metal smooth walls so it looks like my model has to have the cover on the roof taken off, since I am to heavy for the roof I am waiting to see if I can snag a skinny young guy to climb up there with a cordless drill and see what that looks like.

duct for AC05-26-10

                         The Infamous A/C hole

While I’m waiting I will show you a few views of the campsite and grounds.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10g

                       Entrance to campground.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10f

View of campground showing bathroom and shower house and play field on left.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10e

View from same spot showing campsite up the road from mine, this is a circle drive with campsites around it. Notice the shelters over the picnic tables.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10d

                      Site 15, My home for a week.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10c

                            View of trailer on site.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10a

View from the table under the awning looking left.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10b

                View from Table looking right.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10h

New Bathroom & Shower house, door on right is to a Handicapped access room complete with shower.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10i

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10j

                        Handicap Access Room.

Lake Sherwood site1505-26-10kMen’s restroom and shower, 3 shower stalls two stools and 1 urinal. Women's side is similar with the addition of 1 stool taking the place of the urinal.

Everything was very clean and it is really turning into a nice place to spend a vacation. Again this is a private members only campground but they do allow guests of members to camp.

Update, at about noon hour I went to one of the campground neighbors that I knew from my period as Chief of this community, I knew they had a young skinny son, since my 250lbs is to heavy for the roof, I went to see if her son Casey would be interested in going up on the roof, he is 20 years old and home from college, and weighs a 130lbs. He said sure, so we rode back to the trailer and he went up and took the cover off and said yeah it is a little stiff to turn but after a couple of spins he said it broke loose and started to turn really free. I told him to take his hands out and I went in and turned the thermostat on, the fans starting running and compressor fired up and we were back in the air conditioned game. Total time was about 15 minutes. Of course I paid the young man and when he started to balk I said hey if your Mother or Dad asks tell them you refused to take any money, just don’t tell them that Sam said if you didn’t put it in your pocket he was going to shove it down your throat. That way you won’t be lying. He laughed and said OK Sam you were always a great Chief, when we were teenagers nobody wanted you as an enemy. I told him yeah but we had fun and nobody destroyed anything without getting in big trouble. So now I will rest and then get Rigg’s from home for his first campout. Picked up some firewood this morning from another friends house so I wouldn’t have to truck it from home.The area around Lake Sherwood is rural so I have a lot of friends that have huge pile of wood stockpiled for winter.

Since there is no Wi-Fi here I will have to either go to the City Office or find a place to pirate a wi-fi signal to publish this. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna….

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tuesday Troubles

After Donna left for work and Adam left for school, I went down and hooked up to the trailer and turned it around  and headed for Lake Sherwood Campground, Lake Sherwood is a private community where Donna & I own a lot. and have resident privileges, which include a campground , use of all the facilities, and amenities.

The cost to camp for a lot owner is $5.00 a night with a cap of 30 days in a 60 day period, If you want a guest to camp it will cost the guest $10 a night. All the sites have 30amp electric and water and they have pull through and back in sites.

Trailer05-25-10a

                 Ready to leave the house

Trailer05-25-10b

                     Grocery Stop at Shop&Save

Trailer05-25-10d

                        Backed into spot

The spot I chose was a back in in one of the corners, it will give me a lot of room for Rigg's to play.

After I unhitched, I put all the jacks down and put the tripod under the king pin. and the went inside and slid the slide out out. I then went over and turned the A/C on.It sounded like the compressor was running but no fan, I went to the bedroom and sure enough, No air was coming out of the ducts, Not Good, I shut the air down, and went and checked all the breakers, All good. Checked the thermostat and put new batteries in. all connections tight, I put the meter on the power outlet 120 volts volts to the primary side. Hmmm, now what. About the time I was running out of options, the school called be and said I would have to come and get Adam as he had a blister break from his sunburn and they wanted to make sure it did not get infected. So I had to leave the campground and drive 20 miles to pick him up, both his Mom and Dad and Grandma were all at work so I was the only one left. The nurse said to put an antiseptic on it and apply a loose gauze pad over it along with some Vaseline for a few days and he should be fine. He is going to miss his last day of school  but I was given his report card and he did very well and was promoted to the third grade.

On the way home I stopped to talk to my friend who is a parts man at the RV dealer. I told him what happened and he said what kind of A/C does you trailer have. I told him a Dometic. He said that's why, it is common for the fan motors to seize up after setting all winter and just take the cover off the inside of the trailer and reach up and turn it by hand until it feels free and then try it and it should run just fine, maybe not stop for a couple of years. So in the morning I will finish taking some more stuff and Rigg's out and then we will be camped until after the holidays on Tuesday of next week.

I had a Coleman A/C on my 93 trailer and it was just as cold when I traded it for this one in 2006. Never had to hand start it.

Anyway I hope that is the fix, if not I will have to have a tech fix it and they are not cheap. I can't cry or at least alone because several other blogger friends have had A/C and other troubles, so I can on;y hope that I will be lucky. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

 

Monday, May 24, 2010

Monday Musings

The start of another week we were up early and had coffee, then Donna headed out to the truck company. Adam was up about 07:15am and hit the shower and then was off to school,

I then read blogs and about 10:30am my son brought my truck back so we headed to the RV Dealer. I wanted to see if they had a screen door guard, and a better slider for the screen door where you slide the little door open to unlatch it from the inside. The one our trailer came with is real thin and keeps popping out of the track, I have seen them in a clear or smoked plastic that looked like it was heavier constructed on several motor homes.

Anyway they had a nice aluminum mesh guard that looked like it was heavy enough to withstand a push by a paw and not damage the plastic screen material. We had a previous dog go completely through a screen on our first 5th wheel, when Donna picked up the fly swatter to swat a fly and the poor dog thought it was her turn to get it. The price $30 dollars. but after thinking about the last incident and how tough it was to find replacement screen while your out in the middle of nowhere and then having to custom cut and fit a commercial screen guard to fit on the old one. I said Okay. This way four hole were drilled and four sheet metal screws in the door frame later. I was finished with a nice looking job and I still can have air flow if I want. I originally thought of putting Plexiglas over the screen but that would have cut off the air flow. Total installation time about 10 minutes.

screengaurd05-23-10a

screengaurd05-23-10d

    Here are the after pictures, no before's ,sorry.

Now all I have to do is wait to hear Adam come blasting into the house to announce. One more day of school. He will then want to bike ride until Grandma gets home and supper is ready.

Tomorrow I will probably take the trailer up to Lake Sherwood Campground for the rest of the week. That's about the only way to get a campsite on the Memorial Day weekend.

Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

 

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Sunday Snips

It was up at 04:30AM for Sam make the coffee so it would be ready when Donna got up, she came home early from the restaurant last night feeling sick, for her she must have been really sick, as she rarely lets something like illness keep her from her appointed rounds, where did I hear that before? So this morning she slept in a little while,

I kept away from her while she was recuperating, and found some things , like cleaning the K&N air filter in her Ford Escape and after it dried in the sun re-oiling it. I then went out to the trailer and fixed the one bedroom window that was stiff to open and close, somehow it was hitting the edge of the frame on one side and some gentle taps on the outside frame, not the window with glass frame, evidently adjusted it as it now opens and closes like a new one, if it can be fixed with a hammer , it can't be fixed. After that more piddling checking this and that. I may take it up to the Lake and get a spot at the campground before the weekend rush and then I will have a place to shake it down this weekend. It will also be nice to see the crowd I used to spend every holiday weekend with and Donna said she might be able to spend Sat and Sunday night so it looks better for us to get a camping weekend in.

Oh when I went shopping I saw a red, white & blue bandanna that just happened to be in Rigg's size, since he is a USA born Labrador Retriever I thought it would be nice to have him show his colors on a holiday weekend.

 

Rigg's05-23-10a

             What do you think is he a USA Lab

Rigg's05-22-10a

                Being Patriotic wears a guy out

Mom&Rigg's05-23-10

        Rigg's making sure he still fits on Mom's lap

Don't worry all you guys that live up north of us, if we travel up to the Canadian side of the border he will wear his proper Labrador Maple leaf and red, I might have to have one of you guys pick up a Canadian bandanna for me though as they are not selling well here in Dardenne Prairie Mo.

This is late going out,  we missed out on meeting up with Paul & Helen Tempusta  Paul & Helens Travels to Alaska in 2010, they are also Jodie& Coco's Blog parents. They were in St Louis for 3 days and we sent them an e-mail inviting them and the dogs out. But they were staying at the Casino Rv lot downtown and they didn't have wi-fi. Got a nice response when they arrived in Iowa explaining they didn't get the message till to late. Naturally all of us were bummed out, probably including the dogs, but they might come back this way or we mat head over to where they live in Fla. if we winter in Mississippi,

Anyway that's it for today, Be safe out there, Sam & Donna...

 

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Saturday Morning

Sam was up at 05:00am Donna was already up and the coffee was ready, Later she finished decorating the cake that her and Adam started earlier. Adam left last night to spend the weekend with his Mom. As I told you in the earlier blog the cake was for a friend of Donna's that works at the restaurant with her, she put herself through college and just graduated. Tomorrow they are having a party to celebrate.

Leah'sCake05-22-10a

Leah'sCake05-22-10c

The Cake is shaped like an open book that say's Chapter One Graduation 2010, Chapter Two Her Journey Begins.

Congratulations Leah and Good Luck in the future.

Not to much planned for today it is sunny and supposed to reach 83 degrees today so later after lunch I will fire the tractor up and do battle with the grass, just have to wait for it to dry. I see a trip to the grocery store happening before I do that  though.

Donna is scheduled for a night at the restaurant tonight so she will be out of here after 04:00 pm, I hope she takes a nap before she leaves and gets a little rest.

I wonder how the oven in the trailer will work if Donna wants to bake a cake or two on the road, time will tell, I put a pizza stone on the bottom of it to absorb and regulate the heat so there won't be any hot spots. I was told that will help, Maybe someone out there knows for sure.

I know it does a frozen pizza to perfection when Adam is out with us.

Who would have thought 30 years ago that you would eat a pizza while camping, a hot dog on a stick was it for those days.

Anyway to all our friends out there traveling or stopped at some camping site. Be safe out there, and have fun. Sam & Donna..

Friday, May 21, 2010

TGIF

It's Friday morning, Donna and I were up at 04:30am, had a coffee, she got ready for work, and at 05:30am Donna left for the Salt Mine (truck company). Adam must have really been played out from bike riding yesterday, as soon as he got home after telling grandpa only three more days of school he asked if he could go bike riding with his buddy next door, actually a couple hundred yards away. I told him okay, well he rode until 06:30 PM when I called in for supper, Grandpa made spaghetti for him & I he then watched TV until about 08:00pm when he said Grandpa lets watch TV on your Bed, I don't think he lasted ten minutes and was out. Donna got him into his bed when she got home.

This morning it got to be 07:30am and he was still asleep so I said , Rigg's go wake up Adam. Off Rigg's went to Adam's room.

Adam&Rigg's05-21-10a

                   First Rigg's tried the Handlick Maneuver.

P1020194

When that didn't work he went for the old standby, the Face Lick.

That was it Adam was ready to start his day, of course when I told him to hit the rain locker (shower) he said Grandpa Rigg's already gave me shower.

Since Tuesday is his last day of school and his Mom has a house in Warrenton MO now after the school year is over he will be moving back with his Mom, he had lived with us for over a year while she was getting started over after losing her job at the GM assembly plant and having to give up her house, Adam needed a good school and the school right down the rode from us is brand new. Since his Dad lives with us it was the perfect choice and he got to see his Mom on weekends.

Don't know who will miss him the most Rigg's or Grandpa. But there will still be camping and we told him that when Grandma & I hit the road when he is on vacation he can come with us for a month and we will make visits so he will see us.

Hope it dries out so I can start on the grass, I have three weeks of rain induced grass to cut, it will take at least two passes to make it look tolerable. John ( Deere) will get a workout this weekend, supposed to be sunny all weekend.

I mentioned Judy & Emma  Travels with Emma  in yesterdays blog and said that Emma , who is a real cute.  Was a Lab Female, Judy wrote me and corrected me and said "Emma is absolutely not a lab. She is a pure bred Heinz 57 variety mutt! The vet thought she might have some boxer in her. I think also terrier of some sort and maybe some pit. Whatever her pedigree, she is one bundle of energy, and the strongest 35 lb. dog I've ever run into." Sorry Judy, I just thought Emma looked like a small Lab and whenever you assume anything you know what happens, No matter Rigg's loves anything with two, four or more lags and it wouldn't have mattered to him. I am sure he is looking forward to meeting you guys and all the dogs we come in contact with in our travels.

I have been doing little things to the trailer as you have seen on the blog and hopefully as soon as I can get my bride to take a Saturday night off from the restaurant, maybe even a Friday too, Either way I can take the trailer and setup on Friday night and she can meet me Saturday morning at a campground and we will still have Saturday night to enjoy a night out. Rigg's will enjoy snuggling with Dad on Friday till Mom gets there. I would like some shakedown trips before our final departure just to see what will work and where this or that will fit or have to be moved. believe it or not with Donna working two jobs aside from one summer vacation for a week last year she has not spent any time in our Coachman.

That's about it for now, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Thursday Thoughts.

Woke up to another rainy day, two days of sun and now it is supposed to be a grey day all day.Had our coffee, Then Donna left for the truck company, since it was raining I took Adam down to the end of the driveway in the truck to wait for the school bus, After he was off, I decided a good rainy day project was to figure out how I was going to mount the DVD player in the bedroom of the trailer, I looked all over the house for a small wooden shelf I thought I saw at one time, but as usual it was no where to be found, I went down to the garage and on one of the shelves I found a pair of brass shelf supports like you use to make a wood board shelf, I got the DVD player and the arms were the same length as the player, so I mounted it to the brackets with 4 small screws , then I took the shelf/player assembly out to the trailer and mounted it just above the TV and below the ceiling, where I can reach it to put a disk in but it was otherwise out of head banging range. Again I used four of the screws that used to hold the old TV stand, a little overkill as the DVD player probably weighs less than a pound , But it is firmly mounted and won’t vibrate loose.

With that task completed I turned the new TV on and put a train movie in and spread out on the bed to enjoy my handy work. Yep two hours later I woke up to the blue screen and had napped through the entire DVD.

Al from THE BAYFIELD BUNCH  commented on yesterdays blog entry on the Flat screen TV installation, That I would  like the HD clarity on the flat screen compared to the old technology. He is right, The LED screen has by far the sharpest and clearest picture I have ever seen   I am amazed that with just the rooftop digital antenna or a digital DVD disk that the picture is so good. I know when Donna sees it another HD flat screen will be in our future for the main TV in the living room entertainment center of the trailer. Not right away but once the house is gone and we are on the road, I can see that as a home improvement project for our house on wheels.

For those of you that like dogs, you have to go to Judy and Emma’s blog, She has a female lab and her header photo show’s Emma the lab giving her horse friend a smooch. It is great, a must see. She also wrote and said that she thinks Emma is in love with Rigg’s our black lab male. They look like they would make a pretty couple.

Rigg’s by the way has two other lab friends that live in Fla. and also correspond with him. They have their own blog. Jodie&Coco it is also a fun blog for pet lovers.

Well that’s about it for now, Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Wednesday Doings

Up as usual, got Donna off to the truck company, then Adam was up and after a shower and sprucing up he was off to school. So first I want to show off my bride on her night out last night. Thanks for all the well wishes on our Anniversary, we really appreciated them.
Sam & DonnaHappyAnniversary05-18-10
Look’s to me like she is aging like Fine Wine, I on the other hand resemble that glass of beer with no head.
Remember Monday I said I ordered a new flat screen TV for the bedroom in the trailer, That was at 9:00AM and by the time I got home I already had an E-mail stating it would ship that day and I could expect delivery between Fri 5-21 and wed 5-26, I was happy after all they were giving me free shipping.
Anyway while I was getting ready for my date yesterday afternoon, the Fed-Ex truck came and unbelievable delivered the TV less than 24 hours since I ordered it, the tag said it was shipped from Bentonville Ar. to Dardenne Prairie (O’Fallon) MO.
Vizio05-18-10
I was pleasantly surprised with one day shipping, it takes longer than eight hours just to drive from Bentonville Ar. Plus it was free shipping.
After inspecting it i found it did not have the wall mount, which I thought was included, so I went to see the lady at Wally World, as usual I had misread the sign and it said Don’t forget a wall mount, not wall mount included, But my luck held out as they had a tilt able mount for $29.99 versus the $49.99 regular price. So I was home free.
After getting home I carried the boxes and the implements of destruction that I thought it would take to mount it on the wall into the trailer. I called the RV dealer to see if they knew what kind of centers the studs would be on, his reassuring answer was depends on who put it together, your going to find different spacing in the same wall a lot of times, just depends on the guys putting that wall up.
Not having a clue I figured if I looked right above where the factory had mounted the old TV shelf I would find a solid stud. Wrong the factory had just put six screws into hollow wall space I noticed when I was removing the shelf that it had started to pull away from the wall.  So much for quality control. Next I took the covers off the antenna and power receptacles, and about a half inch to the right of the antenna was a stud, plus it was only an inch or two to the right of where I really would have centered the TV on the wall. So I took the drill and Walla hit the stud with both screws which looked like they were long enough to support the weight of the trailer. After mounting and tightening it down it is rock solid and surprisingly the whole thing mount and all doesn’t weigh as much as the little old one it replaced.
Theoldsetup
                           The old setup
Thenewsetupb
                          The new setup
The shelf is gone now and I will put a small wooden shelf near the ceiling for the DVD player.
The best was when I fired it up and it got about 14 channels with HD clarity off the new roof antenna. Oh and that train in the picture is a DVD which comes in now in digital if it’s a digital disk. All in all I can’t wait till Donna spends the night in the trailer as she is a night TV a-holic and has to have it on to fall asleep.
I still can’t believe how easy it was as I am not a carpenter by the nearest stretch of the imagination, I can do motor’s and compressors and weld but if it wood look out I end up burning more scraps than what I use when I try to actually build something, I will go looking for a premade small wooden shelf rather than make it.
Well that’s about it for today, waiting for Adam to come roaring through the door to tell Grandpa how many days he has left till summer vacation starts. Then he will be off on his bike because it’s a sunny warm day and we haven’t had many for awhile, but now rain is predicted for tonight and tomorrow. Rigg’s is doing fine he has a bunch of people around to pester with his toys.Be safe out there. Sam & Donna

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Tuesday Musings

Today dawned a sunny day, supposed to reach into the middle 70’s today, Donna is off to the truck company and Adam is off to school. Guess what Donna spent the evening doing, yep, cake making and decorating, That makes three days in a row,one of the girls she works with at the restaurant is having a birthday and just graduated from college, See those hard waitress jobs pay off. Her name is Leah so Donna decided a cake was in order, it isn’t finished but it will be shaped like an open book, Adam asked if he could help and so Grandma is letting him help put the first layer of icing and filling in, It has a strawberry filling.

Adam,Grandma&Riggs05-17-10

             Adam under close supervision of Grandma & Rigg’s

  Adam&Riggs05-17-10

                          Future Baker learning his trade

After the sun warms it up a little bit I am going to put a new fuel filter on the truck to see if that fixes the problem I had starting it yesterday.

Wednesday is Donna & My Wedding Anniversary, since she works on Wednesday nights we will are going to meet at the Texas Longhorn Restaurant after she gets off work tonight and celebrate. All I’ll admit to is it’s 30plus years.

As I’ve said before I was truly Blessed to have found and married her, we are so looking forward to traveling together after so many years of work. She is really a keeper. Love you Dear..

I will close on that thought. Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Monday, Monday

Another slow news day here in Dardenne Prairie, more clouds and rain, got Donna off to work, then Adam off to school, then later I went down to head off to Wally world, to look at a TV for the trailer. I climbed in and turned the key and when the glow plug light went out, I cranked, and instead of a second later hearing that soul stirring rumble and smell of good ole diesel fumes in the morning, it would not fire, it cranked plenty fast, the batteries are brand new, but no fire. What now, I just knew it was fuel related, but I checked for anything loose or a disconnected wire. Nothing. So I thought maybe the fuel filter lost it’s prime, So i got a screwdriver and backed off the bleeder valve and gave it a couple of pumps on the primer and fuel squirted out of the bleeder right away. Tried it again, more of the same, fast cranking but no start. So I called the Chevy dealer and asked for idea’s luckily,  Fred the guy I know who called me when they had a recall on the tailgate straps answered and I told him what the problem was and what I had done so far. He said if it isn’t fuel starvation it could be an engine control module, or the fuel could be contaminated. I told him I filled it where I always do and made a 130 mile highway trip with that fuel and then put it in the garage for the weekend , so I didn’t think the fuel was bad.  Well  He said, before you call the tow truck, try pumping the primer about 12 or 15 times before you open the bleeder and then just open it for a second and close it quick. So out I go and do that and my son who by now came to see what was going on turned the key to start and whammo it fired up just like normal. Boy, Our Lady of compression ignition must have been looking down on me  on this one. All I could see was big bucks headed to the tow company and the dealer and no TV for the 5th wheel.
I know you are thinking boy for a slow news day he sure got a lot of mileage out of the the truck not starting,but there’s more.
I still had my quest so off I was to Wally World, remember, Donna has the other car at work, and my son’s car is dead with a bad starter. so no backup available. Pretty risky. I get to  Wally World and head right for the Electronics area. the smallest flat screens they had are 26 in diagonal which will be plenty large for our bedroom wall, they had three a Vizio LCD,for $308, an RCA with a built in DVD for $338 and a Vizio LED for $348. I had already been told that if the difference in price wasn’t much the LED was the way to go because of better contrast and picture, I talked to the gal in the department and she said not to even consider the RCA, that they just put there name on some Gold brand and it was not anywhere near the quality of the Vizio. I looked at the picture on the two Vizio’s and the LED was head and shoulders over the LCD in color quality and sharpness, I then looked at the specs, and the contrast ratio for the LED was 10,000:1 compared to 4000:1 for the LCD. So I decided on the LED even though it was 40 dollars more. When I told the lady I would take one she looked and there were none, I asked if I could by the display model and she said wait a minute, then she came back and said that’s why they aren’t here that’s a brand new display and some of the stuff is due in this week. She said come on over to the computer, then she looked up the shipping date and it was supposed to be in the store, I said can I pay for one and pick it up when the come in, she said I can do better than that, how about I have one delivered to you house,There is free shipping on TV’s this month. I said great, so now between Friday of this week and Wednesday of next week it will be delivered to the Weeb Ranch. Also it was thinner than the other two which is always a plus in the bedroom of a 5th wheel. And the truck started right upwhen I left the store.
Adam just came roaring in the house yelling, “Grandpa, Grandpa, we don’t have anymore home work till the end of school”,  which is a week away. Now that is a happy kid.
I guess I got all I can squeeze out of a slow day. Be safe out there.
Be safe out there. Sam & Donna..

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Sunday Snips

We always look forward to Sundays in the Weibel  household, it is the only day Donna is completely off, so maybe she will get some relaxation time, Sam was up at 05:30am, since Donna closed the restaurant last night, at midnight, she slept until 06:30am, Guess what the lady of the house has planned for this morning, Yep another baking day, One of the employees in her companies Des Moines Office, had his family involved in a tragic auto crash, he lost two of his three children who were killed, and his wife and remaining child were seriously hurt. Donna has decided that in addition to sending a donation, she is baking a bunch of Cookies and going to have a fund raiser by selling the cookies for  four a dollar at work Monday. She hopes to raise a few more bucks and inspire others to donate to this fellow employee in time of need. When ever you think things are going badly, you always hear of another family who have it a whole lot worse, We are praying for the complete recovery of his wife and child, but again, I would hate to ever lose a child.

Not much going on here in Dardenne Prairie, it is still raining, that makes 5 days straight, I may have a hay field instead of grass by the time this is finished.

We also want to welcome several new followers to our blog, I missed them until I happened to notice the number had increased. Welcome to Kevin & Ruth, ALI, & also CarolK. I have provided links for Kevin & Ruth, and Ali’s blog, but I couldn’t locate one for CarolK. Thank you so much for following our blog and someday soon we should be hitting the road, until then it will be small town life as usual.

Sam may make a trip to Wally world later today, But he wants to know if an LCD or an LED flat screen is best in an RV. He said he will check some out to see what it will cost to put a small one on the wall in the bedroom. That will let him take out the TV shelf and give us more walk around room in the bedroom. Anyone have idea’s on this?

Be safe out there. Sam & Donna

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Saturday Morning

We got to sleep in until 05:30am, neither Donna or I have to work today, Adam is at his Mom’s for the weekend, so it was a lazy start for the day, after coffee, Sam was assigned to the Dept of Laundry Services, and Donna worked all morning finishing a cake she is going to give to her girlfriend Renee. Renee's daughter Lydia is having her Rite of Confirmation in the Catholic Church today and they are having a big party for her.

Donna05-15-10

                                  Donna the cake decorator.

Confirmation Cake05-15-10a

Confirmation Cake05-15-10c

                                       The finished cake.

The white color makes it hard to see the cross on the second level, Looks quite tasty to my diabetic eyes. But I won’t get the chance to sample it.

The sunny weather that was being sent to me from Kansas City, never arrived, it has rained all morning, Since last Monday when we had our last sunny day, I’ll bet the grass has grown 5 inches, all this rain water makes it so you can watch it grow before your eyes.

Looks like it will take one full sunny and warm day just to dry the ground enough for me & John (Deere) to get out here and start mowing.

Sam ran to the Eye Care place to pick up his new glasses this morning, Then he was back on the laundry detail.

Rigg’s is in trouble again, he just stole Andy’s sandwich that he left unattended in his room.

He sent his Mom a note explaining some of his antic’s from yesterday, here I’ll share it with you.

“Mom, you should have seen the look on your face this morning when I came into living room and ran by you with that piece of notebook paper, into the kitchen as fast as I could then came back around  with a thick wad in my mouth......I could tell you thought I had gotten Adams homework notebook....HAHAHHA, fooled you, it was a big wad of newspapers I stole......bet  you remembered when I stole Adams school project that he and his dad had worked on all night , hey they were able to put most of it back together...didn’t the teacher believe him when he told her the dog ate my homework. Well, Mom, have a good day, I was just having a little fun with you this morning, after all its been raining so much I haven’t been able to get outside too much.”

Love Riggen….

Never a dull moment around here with Rigg’s to entertain you.

That’s about it for now, I have a load to get out of the dryer and fold and then carry upstairs and put away, Donna has a shift tonight at the restaurant. Sam will be home alone. Be safe out there, Sam & Donna.