Another Year Has Flown By!

The years seem to go much faster as we get older!  When we were kids time went so slowly waiting for birthdays, vacations, special events, Christmas, etc.  These days they all seem to run together and before we can catch our breath another year has been marked off the calendar.  

2014 has been a good year for us.  We spent Jan and Feb here in Santee, March traveling to Pensacola, April visiting with Andy and family with a short visit by Cheri and Grant, and then we headed home the first of May using up two weeks on the road.  Almost half the year gone already!  From then til mid-November, when we left again for here, we spent our time, energy, and money having a tree removed, a new driveway poured (thanks to the tree that got cut down), and some landscaping done in the front and back of the house. The last of it was completed just a few days before we left.  We kept busy making Christmas gifts - Roger in his woodshop, me in my chair with the yarn and embroidery thread.  We went to the gym, I had book club and lunches with friends, and I enrolled in some senior learning groups at the university.  We spent two weeks in Las Vegas before coming here and, since we have been here, we haven't really done anything worth writing about but the time has gone quickly.  All of the family who had surgery this month are recovering nicely and Roger, Maggie and I have been in good health.  We still have two loved ones who are having some major health issues   and we hope that the New Year brings healing and recovery to both of them.  Our thoughts are with them every day.  

The big storm that has hit the west and southwest brought lots of hard rain to Santee and very cold temperatures.  It's unusual for it to freeze at night, but it has been doing so and will be for a couple more nights. This hardly-insulated-with-lots-of-single-paned-windows tin can we call an RV is hard to keep heated.  We have a furnace and a space heater but can't run both at the same time.  So when one of us is in the shower with the space heater in the bathroom, the other is curled up in a recliner wrapped in an afghan.  Maggie didn't like the cold much this morning and stayed under her afghan for a very long time!  

I've mentioned dealing with small spaces - here's an example - our bedroom.   In the bedroom, the bed is on a "slider" which extends about 18 inches from the side of the RV.  The headboard area is in that slider, so it is much lower than the ceiling of the RV - by a foot or so.   Now, the RV came with a small RV sized mattress which we immediately got rid of and replaced with a normal mattress.  In addition, we have added a two inch memory foam topper.  The frame that the bed sits on is about knee high as there is storage under the bed.  So, start adding up the height of the bed - if I tiptoe around my side, it comes right to butt level.  So, picture how much room between the mattress and the top of the slider!  We maybe have two feet of space for our heads.  It's a lot  like sleeping in a bunk bed.  Roger says it's like being in a bunk aboard ship and when it rains it's like being under the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.  Anyway, there's not a lot of room and we bump our heads constantly getting in and out, but when it rains......   well, it sounds as if the rain is right there on top of you!  The rain last night was so loud that I thought a couple of times that we were having hail!  

This  is my side of the bed.  Notice the distance between the bed and the mirrored (oh, joy) closet.  I can't walk straight to the head of the bed.  I have to go in sideways on tippy toes - facing the mirror so my backside has room over the edge of the bed to get through.  The good thing about the mirrors being so close - they are always cold and when I wake up with my feet burning up, I just plant them on the mirror to coofl off.  No getting up and finding a cold tile floor like at home!   On Roger's side of the bed there is just enough room to put some plastic stackable drawers for "stuff."  He has a bit more room than I do, but making the bed is still a real challenge.  

With the slider out we have a couple of feet or so at the end of the bed to the dresser and access to a closet with shelves.  When the slider is pulled in for travel the bed touches the dresser.  This closet is configured to have a washer/dryer combo but we opted for shelving for clothing because there is no way the closet would hold our clothes.  When I get up and come around the corner next to Maggie's bed, I again, have to scootch by because there isn't enough space to walk.

Our solution for hats and shoes.  The shoes are hidden behind the door, which is nice.  Again, no room in the closet where we have put shelving on one side for linens and the other side holds outerwear, a vacuum, and a collapsible dolly for hauling the laundry basket to the laundry room.  (The laundry basket resides in the shower when the shower isn't in use.)  

OK, here's what I was talking about - the headroom is almost non existent.  We like to read for a while in bed before turning out the lights.  It is impossible to sit up - we are at a 45 degree angle.  Note the beige strip across the edge of the molding over the bed. That is a rubber bumper  made to put on the edge of tables when kids are learning to walk.  We weren't in this RV but a few nights when Rog sat up without thinking and took a deep chunk of skin about the size of a half dollar out of the top of his head from the sharp edge that is on it.  The bumpers help soften the blow when he bonks his melon now.  

You have to be adaptable and things need to always be put away or the place is cluttered, but, hey, it's works and it's home for the winter.  Rog loves San Diego and if we didn't have the RV we couldn't spend the winter here - home/condo prices in this area are sky high so that wouldn't be an option.  The RV works and inspite of the "smallness" of the living space, we really enjoy the life style.

We wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2015!     

Happy Christmas!

Whatever is beautiful.  Whatever is meaningful. 

Whatever brings you happiness.  

May it be yours this holiday season! 

Christmas Eve we connected with the Colorado and Reno families via video chat.  Unfortunately the Florida family has no computer but this morning we got photos via email of the gang when they finished opening their presents.  Late today we chatted by phone with my sister in northern California and did a video chat with Roger's sister in Michigan.  It was nice touching bases with our loved ones and made the holiday very nice - it makes it almost like being there!  Thank goodness for technology!

We spent this afternoon at a movie  - a kind of tradition for us.  We started doing it when the kids were teenagers and we would go see the latest James Bond release or some other similar movie.  As the kids have moved out Roger and I not always spent Christmas afternoon at a matinee- mostly because there just aren't that many movies out there that are of interest - but we do go when we can find something of interest.  We were lucky today that a film we did want to see was playing fairly close by.   We saw "The Imitation Game."    We both think it is an excellent film with an outstanding performance by Benedict Cumberpatch as Alan Turing.  

There really hasn't been much happening of late.  Maggie is our entertainment most days.  

We gave her a bowl with some remnants of tuna salad yesterday at lunch time.   The bowl doesn't have a rubber bottom like her regular dish so she ended up chasing it all over the floor as each lick pushed it further away from her -  until she figured out that she could hold it down with one foot while she cleaned up the leftovers!

  The Dog's Life is never an easy one!

When we sit outside and she gets bored,  she decides she needs to go inside and retrieve her ball.  She climbs the stairs and then stand there until someone notices and opens it.  We then wait while she retrievs her ball and comes running back out.  We are her servants!  

Then, she rolls the ball to us and if we don't immediately pick it up and throw it she stares at it as if it's going to move on its own.  She will stare a ball down for about two minutes - never taking her eyes off it.  She then starts looking up at us and then back down at the ball (not moving her head or changing her stance) until we humans slowly figure out what she wants and then we tap our hand on our chair.  Then she runs and grabs the ball and brings it to us, depositing it in our chair for us to throw.  She will play this game ad nauseum.  She definitely has a one track mind when it comes to chasing the ball.  

She is often quite willful and when she decides she is done with her walk and ready to turn around and go home she plops her little butt down and goes no further.  

After a little coaxing, which didn't work yesterday afternoon, she turned around facing the way she wanted to go and looked back at me with those big brown eyes defying me to go further.  The only thing that then got her moving again was "OK, Maggie, let's go home."  She hopped up and with all of her energy pranced home with an "I won, again" expression on her face.  

Cookie Day!

We took off early (for us) yesterday and braved the freeways to Long Beach to spend the day with Stephanie and Pierce.  It was a little over two hours of freeway driving and we did encounter some traffic slowdowns in spots.  The stressful part is just that there is so much traffic!  Six lanes each way with a steady stream of cars and trucks. This is on a Saturday, mind you.   It is just mind boggling!  What would "traffic time" look like?  

We got to the kids' place about 11:30am and visited for a few minutes before we walked to downtown and found a place for lunch.  We couldn't believe the number and variety of restaurants in the downtown area.  We went to Pierce's favorite place and had a nice table outside.  That was critical because we had Maggie with us.  We knew it would be a long day and couldn't leave her at the RV.  It worked out well - Roger and I had a bench to sit on and we put Maggs between us.   She sat there and was very well behaved so was rewarded with some fish from Roger's fish and chips lunch.  Then it was back to the apartment for cookie baking and decorating!  Steph and Pierce have a kitten named Olive who, unfortunately, had to be banished to protect her from Maggie whose DNA would tell her to attack the cat - NOT something we wanted to have happen. Olive was put in a large closet that had glass paned doors.  If you look carefully at the picture below, you can see Olive staring down Maggie.

Roger and Pierce playing in the dough!

Maggie and Steph cutting out cookies

More and more cookies coming!

Oven Duty.

Maggie and Olive having a staring contest
through the closet door.  We were there
about an hour or so before Maggs spotted
Olive who had been banished to the closet/
dressing area of the studio apartment.
Once she discovered Olive she went a
bit crazy and started barking at her.
Poor little thing didn't know what to
think.  After we calmed Maggie down
the two of them spent quite a bit of time
just checking each other out -
 though the glass.

The finished product.

 We had a great time!  We figured out we have been making cookies with Steph for about 20 years now!  She and Pierce will be taking some to Reno to share with Tony, Mike and Erica.  They are both very excited that they have a week off from school and jobs and will visit family in Reno and Tehachapi over the holidays.  

They had gifts for us - perfect ones!  A book of fine woodworking patterns for Roger and a book of 500 crochet stitches for me.  They said they weren't hinting at anything, though!  

         

When Roger Took Maggie Out During the Rain Recess Last Night!

It started raining again right after dark and rained all night - sometimes pretty heavily.  Today was fluffy clouds and some blue skies.  We caught a break because we expected it to rain all day today again.  It was nice!   No other news.

It's Raining, It's Pouring!

I put up the Christmas Tree and my Snowman yesterday.  I'm working on the LAST present, and we are looking forward to Cookie Day on Saturday with Steph and Pierce.  

After a few days of mostly sunshine and temps in the 60s during the afternoon, this afternoon it started raining again.  Supposed to do it for the rest of today, tonight, and tomorrow.  We are set, though - we went to the library and picked up some movies to entertain us, we have our books and our audio books, as well.  I've always got a game of "Words With Friends" going. (BTW, I can beat the computer most times, but rarely win when I  play my "friends.") This morning we were able to get out for our exercise before the rain started, which is good because we probably won't be able to tomorrow.   

This is what Roger and Maggie do all day to entertain each other when they are stuck inside.  Roger gets tired of the game quickly but the Maggs could go on forever.  

Roger has not been able to walk with Maggie and me most days - he's having pain in his hips.  Not sure whether it's sciatica, but probably is.  He's been "down" because he can't get out and go with us and because he's having to cut back on his food due to lack of exercise.  (That's the real bummer!)  If we were at home he would be on the stationary bike and not the treadmill when we go to the gym.  Yesterday we went to the local thrift shops looking for a bicycle for him.  We figured if we found one cheap enough he can use it for four months and then when we leave we can just donate it back to them!  No hauling it around with us and he doesn't ride a bike at home, so a win-win!  He found one - good price and in working order!  It's well worn, but just needed a little clean up, some duct tape on the seat, and some WD-40 on the chain.  He got  to take his first ride on it  this morning and said it felt good.  No hip pain today.  

Of course, since I last wrote we've had to make another grocery run.  It seems as if we are always going out for food.  Small fridge and small pantry - can only pack so much stuff in.  It does cut down on the Costco runs, that's for sure.  One of these days I'm going to do an essay for you on living in a small space.  It can be  pretty funny sometimes when it isn't frustrating.   

The two patients who had surgery last week are doing well, so that is a relief.  Our granddaughter had her ear "de-beaded" (as her mother called it).  Seems they took Miss Kinsey in for a routine health check and inquired about her hearing because she seemed not to always hear them.  The doc discovered a small red bead of some sort imbedded in wax in one of her ears.  It's out as of yesterday and Andy says the kid has no excuses now when they tell her she needs to do something!!  Our next patient will have her surgery on Thursday so we are still in "concerned" mode for a few more days.  

The rain just stopped for who knows how long, so it's time to get Maggs outside while we can without getting drenched.  

We Are Wet But Not Soggy!

The Pineapple Express has devastated much of California in the last two days, but we have been very lucky.  It's been raining since 5am but there has been no wind to speak of.  We are at the high end of the RV park and, although we haven't wandered far from home, it looks as if there's not been much flooding or damage.  There are low spots with some standing water but nothing horrible.  We are grateful that here in Santee it is nothing like that storm we were in while in Pensacola last April.  

Our biggest issue has been Maggie - she hates the rain.  She sees us put on our raincoats and reach for her harness and she runs away and tries to hide!  The first trip out this morning she dove under the RV when we stepped outside.  Had to yank her little butt out into the rain and down the street to some grass.  She peed quickly and then turned and hightailed it towards the RV.  Later trips out weren't quite so dramatic as the rain had slowed down.  She is such a weird dog.  All she wanted to do today was play ball.  Geez, she never gives up.  Rog will play for a while, then tell her "one more time," throw the ball and she then climbs on him wagging her tail and begging him not to stop.  Of course she is so cute doing it, Rog throws it for a while more.  

Last October the vet said she was four pounds overweight so we have been feeding her less and low-cal food.  She was losing a little bit before we got here but with the long walks she has suddenly dropped a full pound!  We are having to give her a little more - she shouldn't lose it so fast.  You can really tell looking at her - she looks longer.  We see more of the doxie in her!  

She's helping me write this tonight because Roger told her "no ball."  She and the ball are in my lap.  

We've had good news yesterday and today.  Two family members had some pretty major surgery in the last two days but they both did well.  It's been a nervous few days.  Another surgery for a person very special to us is scheduled next week.  December seems to be the month for it this year.  In addition to the above,  our granddaughter in Florida was found to have a red bead in her ear.   No one knows how it got there and it was found on her 3 yr checkup.   Her mother reports that , "Kinsey will be de-beaded on Tuesday."  

I know it's been four days since we've posted anything, but there hasn't been anything newsworthy.  We did go out for lunch and a little shopping yesterday knowing we would be homebound today.  We stopped at the library and got a movie for tonight.  The rain is supposed to end tomorrow morning so hopefully we will be back outside tomorrow afternoon.  

We've Got the Sweetest Neighbor!

Sierra is a 14 year old Golden Retriever.  She is about the sweetest thing you ever met.  What's really weird is that yesterday Maggie met her - on neutral ground - and did not go into her usual behavior around large dogs.  There were no curled up lips, no snapping, no aggressiveness at all.  She didn't want to play with Sierra, but she tolerated the butt sniffing and was on high alert.  So strange!  Then Tom, Sierra's owner, wanted to see the inside of our rig to compare to his Montana, so he came in and Sierra followed right behind him.  Maggie just watched.  No protecting our house or us.  Sierra wandered around, slopped water all over the kitchen as she emptied Maggie's bowl, and just acted as if she belonged here.  Maggie had no issues with her.  Weird. 

Yesterday we stuck around the park.  The weekdays are bad enough with crazy traffic in downtown Santee so we didn't even want to attempt to do any shopping on a weekend.   Then, on our walk down to the day use area we discovered it was Santee Lakes' Christmas Extravaganza with pony rides, carnival rides, games, etc. for the kids.  The traffic in and out was insane so we just hung out at home.  I finished one more gift, worked for a little while on genealogy stuff and Roger and I made some candy.  (Oh, it is good!  Dark chocolate covered dried berries and pistachios.)   Recipe to follow at end of posting if you are interested in trying it yourself.   

Since it is a 3 mile round trip to the office to pick up mail, we've decided to only go on Mon, Wed, and Fri.  It's not like we get that much and what we do get is not critical enough that one day matters.  We have been told that Maggie can't go in the day use area so she and Roger have been waiting for me at the last campsite.  I asked today about the dog as we keep seeing other dogs between the campground and the office.  I was advised that we could bring her all the way to the office if we stayed on one side of the lake that was open to the public for dogs to be walked to the pet walk.  So that's going to make it nicer - we can all go down there together.  

We did go into town today and the traffic and the parking lots were a bit crazy, but when we got into a store, there really didn't seem to be that many people.  We were even second in line at a Costco checkout counter - amazing.  We got the Pensacola gifts and the Christmas cards sent out, so we are doing OK.  I've two more gifts to finish and then I'm done for the year!  

We had a gorgeous day and an even better sunset this evening!  

Looking for Healthy Dessert Recipes? Why Not Try These Delicious Chocolate, Fruit, & Nut Clusters?

Posted By Kate Sherwood On December 2, 2014 @ 5:00 am In Healthy Recipes 


Chocolate, Fruit, & Nut Clusters
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooling time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
9 oz. dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa), chopped 2 cups roasted pistachios, unsalted
1 cup dried cherries, unsweetened
1 cup diced dried apricots
1 cup golden raisins
Directions:
• In a small pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from the heat. Put the chocolate in a large, heat-resistant bowl. Put the bowl on top of the pot, and stir until the chocolate has melted.
• Mix the pistachios, cherries, apricots, and raisins into the chocolate, then spread into a 10′′ x 3′′ rectangle on a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet.
• Allow to set at room temperature (about 30 minutes), then cut into 1′′ squares.
Yields 30 pieces.
Nutrition Information:
Per piece—
Calories: 140
Total fat: 8 g Saturated fat: 3 g Sodium: 0 mg Carbohydrates: 16 g Fiber: 3 g
Protein: 3 g
Added sugar: 1⁄2 tsp. 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like........

Happy Campers

We put up our little canopy this morning so we have some shade over the picnic table.  We enjoy eating lunches outside when it's nice and our little patio room makes it so we can.  


I got the Pensacola Family presents wrapped today - now to find a box to put them in and then brave the post office lines.  I sent Colorado kids theirs before we left home as they promised to not peek if I did.  I left some at home for Mike and gang and the few things I didn't finish before we left I'll send with Steph and Pierce when they go to Reno.  The pressure is still on, though, to finish up.

Our friend David has put out more decorations!  Eileen is ready to kill him but he just keeps at it.  He's on an end site  with even more room than we have  (Our row has three sites.  We have one and they have one with one in between.)  He has covered most all of it with those blow up decorations.  Our in-between neighbor, Tom, told him today that he was "running out of real estate."   I told David that I wanted to add a wreath to the ladder on back of the RV but Roger wanted to know where I was going to store it when the holidays were over, so I gave up on the idea.  

The extent of our outside decorations 

prior to the wreath addition on the 

back of the RV.

David came through - gave me one of four that he had lined up to put up on his RV and said he'd take it back when we were finished!  So, now we have a wreath on the back as well as the one by the door.  That's it for us!!  Nothing very exciting.

As I seem to do most trips, I managed not to pack the correct weight outerwear.  I have  heavy sweatshirts and a raincoat, but no lightweight jacket/windbreaker/whatever.  I sure needed one the last few days, so yesterday I bought one that will stay in the RV with the above mentioned items so next year I don't have to buy another one.  I have a ton at home.   Today it was 76 degrees.  Oh, well.  I'll be ready for the cool , rainy days projected next week.  

Yesterday we took a long walk around the park with the Maggie and then went in search of those small memory cards for my camera.  No one carries them. Who in their right mind wants such a small one?  I got some really strange looks and shakes of the head from clerks in the stores.   Had to order one on-line.  We encountered massive traffic in the parking lots of all the stores - and it was only Friday.  We opted not to leave the RV park today or tomorrow.  Just too many people and it's only going to get worse as the month progresses.  

Washing machines and dryers now take ATM cards!!  The plus side:  Convenient.  No more saving up or buying quarters to do our laundry.  The down side:  you find out how much it really costs when you check your bank on-line.   When you are just plugging quarters in the machines you tend to lose track of how much you are spending and that the cost has gone up since last year, but when the numbers show up in black and white, it is a shock to the system.  $15 for four loads of laundry.  Yikes!!!!  

Another quiet day planned for tomorrow.  Will check back in probably on Monday unless tomorrow turns into an adventure of some sort.  

Yay! We Got Outside Today!!!

Our "front yard" after last night's rain.
A bit soggy and half the bark is down the street.

If you watched the weather on the news the last couple of days, you will have noted that Southern California has had some much needed rain!   Two nights and two days worth!  The heavy rains came during the night so we were able to get Maggie out during the day between the raindrops but not for long periods of time!  After four days of no walks we were all so very happy to be able to get outside today!  Of course, I took the camera because there are always interesting things to see around the RV Park.  

My cold is diminishing and I'm starting to feel better.  Probably the enforced rest the last two days helped a lot. 

We put up a couple Christmas decorations on the outside - nowhere near the amount of some of our neighbors, but enough to feel festive.  Maybe next week I'll put up our little tree inside.  We have made plans with Stephanie for a Cookie Day and tomorrow I hope to put Pensacola presents in the mail.  It's beginning to feel like Christmas.

Here are some photos taken on our walk today:

Quack, Quack, Quack!!!

Watching for his fish.

Fishing was good for this Osprey this morning.
Note the size of the one he's holding onto.

Nice wreath on the back of their deck!

They also have a side deck with glass
sliding doors leading out to it.

Complete with Christmas Tree and
Santa's boot!

Rog  thinks he should have a rig like this to haul our RV!

The Final Leg of the Trip

Well, here we are after our first full day in Santee.  We are rested after a good night's sleep and a day of doing not much.  Neither of us could believe just how exhausted we were last night.  The cold meds are helping me and just being here knowing he doesn't have to pack up and leave any time soon is helping Roger.

The hotel idea was a good idea for a couple of reasons:  1) long hot showers not having to worry about saving hot water for someone else, 2) warmth and no wind howling, and 3) separate beds so we wouldn't disturb each other.  I got a lot of reading done and Roger watched a lot of football.  

The hotel wasn't a good idea for a couple of reasons: 1) it was a bit shabby and the carpet was dirty, 2) noisy neighbors at times, 3) not our own bed.   Neither of us slept well and we woke up almost as tired as when we went to bed.  Roger's hips hurt from the mattress being too firm and I had spilled a glass of water on my PJs and bed and had to sleep on a small dry spot after putting my clothes on.  

We were up and on the road by 0730.  We had showered the night before, so just got up, had a cup of tea/coffee, got dressed (I was halfway there already) and hauled our stuff and Maggie out to the RV.  Traffic was still heavy with California plates, but cars were traveling at the speed limit or higher - no more 10 mph stuff.  

The route from Las Vegas area south to San Bernadino takes you through some of the ugliest parts of the Mojave Desert.  We aren't big fans of the Mojave - especially this time of year when it's so dull and brown.  Green creosote bushes helped break the monotony of the scenery, but mostly it looked as if we had landed on the moon.  The small towns along the way look so derelict and there was lots of trash along the roadside.  Ugly and Boring!  We did discover one of the reasons for the previous day's back up of traffic.  It seems there are three full lanes on I-15 out of Las Vegas to the California border.  Then it drops to two.  So, major merge point that slowed things down.  Some areas were under construction but it wasn't awful.  Lots of up and down mountains that probably had things slowed down because of slow moving trucks, probably contributed to the problem as well. 

Knowing that once we hit San Bernadino it would be non-stop into Santee - there's just no reasonable place to pull over for fuel or food when you are pulling a rig, so when we got to Victorville where I-15 meets US395 South, we stopped for a break.  It was a little stressful.  First Roger pulled into a service station after some major maneuvering and we heard an awful scraping noise.  We thought we had hit the overhang with the air conditioner.  The guy came out and waved us on - they didn't have diesel.  Across the street were diesel pumps, but the canopy over them had only an 11 foot clearance.  No go there, either.  Still trying to turn the whole rig around and get back on the street, we heard some other weird noises with the truck and/or RV.  Geez, what the heck was that?  We finally found a place to pull off where Roger could do a walk around and see exactly what was happening - fortunately he found nothing.  When we got back on the highway all seemed well.  We finally found a Pilot truck stop where we could get in and out fairly easily and fuel up.  We then pulled across the street in a truck pull out area to destress and have some lunch.  By that time we were both pretty wired.  

We dropped from about 4000 feet in elevation into San Bernadino - a 12 mile, 6% grade.  That's always a fun part of the drive but we knew what to expect so it wasn't awful.  Traffic was starting to pick up, but there wasn't the issues we've had before going through that area into Riverside and then on to Santee.  

We pulled into the park about 2:30, giving us two hours to get set up before dark.  We knew we had to do it all and not leave anything until today because the weather forecast was for heavy rain today.  By the time we got finished we were so exhausted.  Scrambled eggs and toast for dinner was the easiest thing to make.  We then sat in our chairs staring glazed eyed at the TV until 9 when we went to bed.  Both of us slept well for the first time in several nights.  

We were greeted warmly by acquaintances from previous years as we were setting up, which made us feel good.  We met a new guy who is next to us and seems very nice.  Already we are seeing familiar faces around the park.  Right behind us is "Razor Man."  We've seen him every year for the five years we have been here, but never lived so close to him.  He has a habit of going for his walks dressed only in shorts while shaving with his electric razor as he makes his laps.  We named him the first year we were here.  Dan, the guy from Denmark, is across the street again.  His wife Lisa isn't here yet, but will be soon - he hopes.  David and Eileen, the Christmas decorators from last year, are here and two sites over - and all decorated already.  He's the guy who is in the wheelchair from major wounds received in Vietnam.  

The weather followed the forecast and we've had rain off and on all day.  Fortunately there are little holidays between rain cells and we were able get Maggie out to do her business.  We don't know if she is remembering being here or just excited by all the smells, but she went a little crazy on our first walk about.  The coyotes' wailing last night had her on full alert and we weren't sure we were going to get her to calm down enough to go to bed, but she finally gave up trying to climb on the bed and curled up in hers.  She and the other Maggie have already renewed their friendship and were chasing each other around the RV yesterday like two little kids.  

So, we are "home" now for four months and I'm sure we will have stories to tell and photos to share.  We did go to the office today and make our reservations for next year so we could secure our spot.  After we made a trip to town for lunch, cold meds for me, and a visit to the ATM, Roger sat outside under the awning watching the rain this afternoon and looked quite happy and content. I spent this afternoon catching up on month end/ beginning checkbook stuff.  By tomorrow it'll be like we never left here last March.  

We are set up in our winter home

We made it in this afternoon around 2:30 and got settled in by dark. We are both exhausted so no story of today's adventures this evening.  Will write tomorrow. Just wanted to let you know we are safe and sound in Santee.