Tuesday-Wednesday, November 28-29, 2017 - Laundry, Paperwork, Filing, Trip to Joplin

Tuesday, November 28, 2017 - Laundry & Paperwork

Once we had our coffee, we headed to the park for our morning walk.  We walked 2.76 mi at an average pace of 16.32 min/mi.  It was a little cool when we started but we warmed up quickly since we stepped it up a bit today, and then the sun came out and it really warmed up.  We also changed our route around a bit to take in a little more distance to ensure we hit 2.5 miles.  

The sun as it was coming up

Sunrise shots this morning.

And here is a neat plant that has been showing these beautiful purple balls on it for weeks now.

Today is laundry day and I have LOTS of it.  I think 10 days in between is about the best I can do with the jeans and shirts we have available - otherwise we could go a full two weeks - does that mean I must wash sooner or buy more clothes?  Hmmmmm....I'll have to give that some thought!  

So once we had our breakfast I loaded up all I needed to do the laundry - 2 plastic tubs full of clothes, one large "Camping World" bag full of clothes, a small tub that holds all of my soaps, dryer sheets, etc. and then a bag to hold my hangars.  Misti is good enough to let me use her house and washer/dryer to take care of it.  I took my laptop and a few things I wanted to work on while I am there.  Other than running home for lunch I plan to spend the day doing laundry and working on my projects.

I keep a password listing and I was updating it - removing old accounts, adding any new ones, etc., and I am preparing a budget for our new RV life.  We've always had one but things will be a little different so we are adjusting it to fit our new lifestyle.  I also need to go into all of our accounts and change our address, phone numbers and banking information.  The last project is to prepare a list I can refer to each time we pack up to leave a site, and anything I want to make sure we remember to do when arriving at a site.  Some things I have no problem remembering but the last 3 moves I forgot to take a plaque down that is over our door, and I have found it on the floor every time.  I do not want to break it and I've been quite lucky so far.  Since I plan to hang a couple of other things - the note to take pictures/plaques down will be at the top of the list of things to do so I always remember to get those off the walls before pulling out.  

Shortly before 5 I put the next to last load of clothes in the washer before heading back to Bentley to put a meatloaf I had made earlier in the convection oven, and scrubbed a potato to bake before heading back to Misti's.  I folded a load of clothes, put the last one in the washer and towels in the dryer.  Dean and I will come back after dinner and get the towels. I'll put the sheets in the dryer and pick them up in the morning.

After dinner, we drove back to Misti's.  We ended up staying and visiting long enough I had time to fold the sheets as well.  I have to admit I would rather go the a laundromat and get it all done in about 2 hours than spend the entire day working on it.  Having something to do today helped the time pass quickly but I'm not sure I'll have that much to do between loads to keep me busy between now and the end of the year.  We'll see how it works out.

As we left her house, Dean asked if I was going to take him for a ride through the park and I said, "Sure".  This year there have been about 50 trees chosen for individuals or businesses to decorate along with the decorations the city puts up annually.  We were surprised to see how many spots have been decorated already and I believe they have until December 8th to have the decorations in place.

Here are a few pictures:

While this is not in Riverside Park,  it is at Hobart Young Park at the Intersection of Hwy 59 and 160 where our Katy caboose is on display.

Santa fell in the chimney head first - hope he makes it out in time to make his Christmas rounds to all of the good little boys and girls!

I really love this area of the park.

Of course we have to have Santa and his reindeer.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017 - Filing is Finished & Trip to Joplin

It rained last night and into the morning.  I think I tend to sleep better when it is raining, and this morning seemed to prove that as it was almost 6 before I woke up.  I did not know Dean was already up until I heard the coffeepot, as it finishes - it really makes a lot of noise.  Not one to miss out on a good fresh cup of coffee I was up pretty quickly.

I didn't think we would have the opportunity to walk this morning, but it cleared off and turned out to be a damp but very nice morning.  We walked 2.07 mi at an average pace of 17:04/mi - a little slow today.  

The sun was trying to come out but couldn't quite break through.

After showering I went to a Bible Study group I attend when I am in town and as always, I had a nice morning with friends.  I pray that I will find a similar group to meet with in Texas as I do enjoy visiting with and sharing the word of God with others.  

Dean called me shortly after he left that he had forgotten to take his key to get back in Bentley but chances are I will get back before he does, and I did so that worked out well.  While I was waiting for him to return, I finished going through the rest of our files.  I will be glad to get them taken to storage because a large box in the living room floor of Bentley takes up a lot of room.

See what I mean.  The stack of papers at the other end of the couch is what needs to be shredded and then we can take the shredder to the storage unit as well.  It's taking space up under the table/desk area.

After lunch I told Dean I was going to call Cindy and see if she might want to go with me to see my Aunt Lil this afternoon.  I haven't seen her in well over a week.  When I called she was getting ready to go to Joplin with Aunt Lil to Hobby Lobby - I said "I want to go to Hobby Lobby", and she picked me up about 15 minutes later.  My timing was perfect, wouldn't you say?

I want to get a small tabletop Christmas tree to display in Bentley.  We don't have lots of extra room to set much out, but I was hoping I could find something to give a little Christmas cheer for the next month.  We can put it in storage before we leave if we want.

The ride to Joplin was nice and we had a nice visit although Cindy wasn't quite up to par after having a stomach bug last Sunday.  She said she was feeling much better today compared to the past two days though.  We spent an hour or so at Hobby Lobby, and on the way home we stopped at Dairy Queen in Galena, KS.  Yes, I did have some ice cream - a mini salted caramel truffle blizzard - and it was GOOD!  Thank you Aunt Lil for buying!

When Cindy dropped me off I found Dean with his laptop open and folders laying beside him.  He was working on updating some of his accounts with addresses, phone numbers and the like.  We spent a little time looking at it and the information he has received on renewing his Medicare insurance - which we need to look at in depth in the next day or so, to ensure he has the best policy in place for the upcoming year.  

Tonight I made spaghetti and meatballs in the Instapot - 8 minutes and it was done.  I really do love this magical appliance.

We have a little trip coming up that will take us north for a few days this weekend so maybe we'll have a little more to share than boring day to day stuff.  It is good we have some time here though to get these mundane things out of the way so we can enjoy our time in Texas sightseeing and meeting new friends.  

Monday, November 27, 2017 - Dean's Birthday, Golf/Filework & Phone Calls, Parsons & Pittsburg

Monday, November 27, 2017 - Dean's Birthday, Golf/Filework & Phone Calls, Parsons & Pittsburg

I woke up about 4:30 this morning, turned over and promptly went back to sleep for another hour.  Hopefully, I got enough sleep that I won't be so tired tonight.  Dean turned the coffee pot on and in no time we were enjoying our first cup.  While Dean was in the bathroom, I quickly sent him a text message to wish him a "HAPPY 66th BIRTHDAY" so it would be waiting for him when he returned.  We decided last year we would not buy each other cards anymore - no where to store them and I hate to throw them away after paying so much for them - so I snapped a picture of one the other day while at the store and shared it with him in that text this morning.  

With Dean back home, we walked 2.5 miles at an average of 17:04 min/mi.  It was a little breezy but once the sun came up it warmed up very nicely.  This is the sunrise we enjoyed as we were leaving the RV Park to head to Riverside Park where we walk.

As we finished our walk and was getting back in the car, Dean's phone buzzed, indicating a message.  I checked it for him and it said "9:30".  I asked him if he was going to play golf this morning and he said he thought he would.  That works out well for me since I have several things I want to get done before noon today.

Once we returned we had our breakfast, and Dean left a short time later.  Since today is Dean's birthday and we have things to do this afternoon, I am moving washing day until tomorrow.  I changed the sheets and towels out, made the bed and gathered up some other clothes to go in the hamper and did the dishes from this morning.  After my shower I had several things to do:  called my doctor about getting a copy of the billing for my well-woman exam so I could submit it to Aflac for my annual refund; called Garnett, KS City Hall to ensure their RV Park would be open this weekend, as we plan to visit there for a few days to see Dean's family and some friends we have in the area; and called to schedule a bone density test for me later this week while we are in Joplin.  I had a couple of letters that needed to go in the mail today and I needed to make a deposit at the bank, so I drove uptown to take care of them. 

When I returned I decided to get busy on those files again, and managed to get almost 1/2 of the way through them, so I expect to finish them Wed or Thurs.  

Dean returned from his golf game around 12:30 or 1:00.  We had a bite to eat and then we drove to Parsons where we filled out the necessary forms to have our medical records from our former primary care physician transferred to our new doctor in Webb City, Mo.  

From Parsons, we drove to Pittsburg to pick up our mail only to find out we had none; even though it's been over a week now.  I mentioned this to Lynn, the UPS Store operator, and she told me it can sometimes take up to 14 days before mail starts getting forwarded.  Ugh!  I'll have to check at Oswego tomorrow and see if I can just pick it up there until the end of December when we leave for Texas.

Our next stop was at Home Depot but we were unable to find what we needed.  Since it is Dean's birthday we decided to splurge a little and have dinner at Jim's Steak House - a Pittsburg icon.  We haven't had dinner here in a number of years but we always enjoy it when we do, and tonight was no different.  I had Jim's Super Salad and Dean had the sirloin tips.  

On the drive home I snapped this picture  - what beautiful lights they have decorated this home with!

A little blurry since we were moving - but still pretty!

We made it home in time to watch Reba host CMA's Country Christmas.  As usual, it has been very enjoyable.  I LOVE Christmas music and Country artists just make it all the better.  What a great way to end the evening and celebrating another wonderful year with my dear, sweet husband.  Goodnight all!

Sunday, November 26, 2017 - Church, Sisterfest, Deming Family Seminar, Filework, Dean Returns

Sunday, November 26, 2017 - Church, Sisterfest, Deming Family Seminar,  Filework, Dean Returns

I didn't sleep well last night without my dear husband here with me.  I was cold all night long, and slept with a jacket on and finally had to lay pillows over my feet in order to get to sleep.  I did have the heat on, although not real high, but I never feel that cold when he's here with me.  It was another night of being awake until midnight or later. I really didn't want to get up this morning and finally was warm enough that I slept in until 5:30 or so.

I enjoyed my coffee and reading some emails before having breakfast and doing a few things here in Bentley before I getting ready for church.  Since Dean was gone, I chose not to walk this morning.  About 10:00 I headed to Sherman, KS where we enjoyed some great music and a wonderful sermon by our Pastor, Roger.  Haleigh (my granddaughter) rode back to Oswego with me.  She is babysitting this afternoon/evening and Misti was staying to help decorate the church for Christmas.  I dropped Haleigh off at her house and headed to Bentley.  I ate a little snack for lunch and then drove to my sister Jody's for our weekly sisterfest.  Cindy wasn't feeling well today so it was just Jody, Crystal and I.  We had a nice visit, as usual.  Jody served us a choice of no-bake cookies or some kind of pumpkin dessert.  I chose the pumpkin (it was delicious) and Crystal took the no-bake (she's not a pumpkin fan).  

I left Jody's early in order to attend an event at "The Church" - formerly the Oswego Presbyterian Church where Dr. Frank S. Deming, Jr. was giving a seminar on the Deming family, owners of the Deming Investment Company in Oswego from 1882 to 1955; and the Elliott family that served as minister of the Oswego Presbyterian Church.  Oswego is celebrating their 150th birthday this year and this is one of the activities that was scheduled in remembrance of the city's history.  Dr. Deming was very, very interesting.  While he never lived in Oswego he visited often and had many, many fond memories of those visits that he shared.  For additional information on Dr. Deming's great-great-grandfather, Robert Orin Deming, President of the Deming Investment Company, click here.  

I mentioned in a previous post that I brought all of our personal files from our file cabinet to Bentley, so I could sort through them.  I knew there was quite a bit of outdated information in the files so I wanted to get the files cleaned up before we leave Oswego for the winter.  I worked on them for awhile and then stopped to fix something to eat - a warmed up pork chop from a few nights ago. It tasted even better tonight.

I could not get back into sorting through those files, so I turned on Hallmark and watched a couple of Christmas movies.  The first one, which I had seen before, was pretty good, but I saw very little of the second one as I drifted in and out of sleep.  Dean called me around 7:00 to let me know he was leaving Wichita.  It sure seemed like a really long, long time before he called me at 10:00 to say he was just coming into Oswego.  

He arrived a short time later and I sure was glad to see him.  We talked for a short while, but we were both pretty tired and headed to bed soon afterwards.  Funny, how warm it felt tonight with my sweetheart at home!

Saturday, November 25, 2017 - Busy Saturday

Saturday, November 25, 2017 - Dean Headed to Wichita, Christmas Decorating, Shopping Apps, and Christmas Lights

Last night as I tried to work on the blog I kept falling asleep and would wake up with xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or some other letter or symbol showing up across the page.  I finally managed to get most of it written and then finished up this morning and tonight before posting it.

I was back to my normal waking time this morning and hope I remain in that routine for awhile.  After coffee, we walked 2.34 mi at 16:58 min/mi.  I surprised Dean and made breakfast burritos again this morning after we returned from our walk.  He was busy packing to head to Wichita while I cooked.  He will pick Heath's boys up at their Grandpa and Grandma Addis' at 10.  Then later this afternoon his oldest son Heath, Heath's oldest son Abram and Dean will head to Kansas City to spend the night so they can tailgate prior to the Chiefs' game tomorrow.  Abram is really excited about tailgating.  Papa took our grill, and Heath is taking a couple of games they can play while they are there.  The weather is supposed to be nice so I'm sure they will have a great time.

This will be my first night to stay alone in Bentley but Dean has made sure everything is in good order.  I have a little water in the tanks in case the water would need to be shut off for any reason, he emptied all of the tanks yesterday afternoon, he made sure we were on a new tank of propane and I'm sure he checked everything twice.  He takes very good care of me.  

After he left I did some much needed cleaning in Bentley.  About 11:00 Misti called me to see if I could help get her Christmas tree in the house from her shed.  It's pretty heavy to try and do by yourself.  I had a few things to finish up and then drove over to her house.  We got the tree inside pretty easy between the two of us and I stayed to help her decorate it.  I left the house around 2:30.  She and Haleigh are going to get ready and we will visit a couple of light displays near Grand Lake in Oklahoma.  I picked them up about 3:45 and after stopping at Sonic to get our last happy hour drink here in Oswego - our Sonic is closing for good at 7pm tonight - we headed south.  We are so sad to lose our Sonic and hope somehow, someone will step in and take it over.

We headed south with our first stop at Miami, OK at Walmart.  Between Misti and my friend Drena I am learning all about downloading apps on my phone to save money.  Misti told me about 3 tonight - Ibotta; Shopkick and Checkout 51.  So while we were in Walmart, because I needed a few things, we walked around scanning items to earn "kicks" using the Shopkick app.  You can earn cash gift cards with this app.  For instance tonight I earned 525 kicks, and once you earn 1,250 kicks you receive a gift card for $2 or $5.  This was just for scanning items - if I had purchased any of them I would have earned more points, but I really didn't need anything on the list that was available.  I also used Ibotta and earned $1.50 buying 5 items at Walmart that I did need and I was still able to use the Walmart Savings Catcher app - that might save me more money yet.  I haven't had a chance to do much with Checkout 51 yet; however when we left Walmart, we stopped at McDonald's to get something to eat.  I used my McDonald's app (thanks again Drena) and we saved $3.00 on our order due to a special deal you could only get by using their app.  I am now up to $21 in savings since I learned about the food apps in Carthage.  We would have ate somewhere no matter what, so the apps definitely left more money in our pocket.

The first light display we visited was at Twin Bridges State Park.  It was such a nice drive through display and we all enjoyed it very much.  As you entered the gate, a volunteer worker gave you a listing of the 35 displays if you wanted to vote for your favorite.  We all three loved the Tattered Flair.  It was set up with items from a flea market setting, such as used furniture and just very unique.  Unfortunately, since I was driving I didn't even think about taking any pictures until we were almost through the display before I realized there was not enough traffic to keep me from stopping long enough to snap a picture.  The Tattered Flair display was on my side of the car and I don't think Misti was able to get a picture of it.  If you are close by Twin Bridges State Park it is worth driving to see.

Displays at Twin Bridges State Park "Park of Lights 2017".

Our next stop was "Winter Wonderland Christmas Tour at Pine Lodge Resort" on Grand Lake.  While it was nice, we enjoyed the one at Twin Bridges much more.  If you are in the Grand Lake area, I would still encourage you to drive through this one as well.

Displays at "Winter Wonderland - Pine Lodge Resort"

We drove back through Ketchum, OK, to Vinita, OK and then north on Hwy 59 to Oswego.  Misti wanted to drive through our own Riverside Park where a number of decorations have already been put up this year.  By December 8th there are to be over 50 decorated trees or items in the park and they have a great start already.  Once they are all in place we'll take a drive and include a few pictures in a future post.

Since we didn't have enough of light displays yet we drove around town and looked at the various home displays.  We always love driving by our friends Linda and Joe Schreppel's to view Linda's beautifully decorated trees - I think we counted 7 or 8 different trees.  Gorgeous!  We were disappointed there were not more homes decorated - probably the fewest we have seen in quite awhile - especially since the weather has been perfect for putting decorations up.  Maybe we'll still see some more in the next week - as the nice weather looks like it is going to hold out for a little while longer.

I dropped Haleigh and Misti off at their house at 10:00 and I headed back to Bentley.  It's been a good day.  I loved spending the day with my daughter and granddaughter.  It's not something we get to do too often and I enjoyed every minute of it and was thankful for the opportunity to be with them.  It was a GREAT evening!

Friday, November 24, 2017 - Thanksgiving Recovery, More Stuff to Storage, Paperwork, Sunsets

Friday, November 24, 2017 - Thanksgiving Recovery, More Stuff to Storage, Paperwork, Sunsets

I'm not sure if I had too much sugar from all the pie I ate yesterday or what but I could not go to sleep last night.  It was after midnight before I finally made myself go to bed.  I must have laid there close to an hour before I finally dropped off.  Did I sleep in - well, maybe an hour?  At 5:15 or so I was wide awake.  Dean actually was up before me, and the best thing about that is the coffee was already made when I came down the stairs.  

Speaking of eating pie, I filled my plate pretty good yesterday, having a helping of everything we had, and 3 pieces of pie - they were not all full-size pieces but I tried the pecan, pumpkin and coconut cream and they were all delicious.  Misti tried to send some of the food home with us but I told her no.  Logan was wanting lots of leftovers so he can take advantage of all of the goodies.  I told myself before we ate, I was going to fill my plate with whatever I wanted, but only one helping and not one more bite after that.  Today we went right back to our diet.

Cindy called me (we often talk early in the morning when she is not working) and we visited for awhile.  After we hung up, I asked Dean if he wanted to walk and he thought we should.  The Weather Channel indicated it was about 47 degrees so we expected it to be pretty decent - it wasn't too bad, but it was windy, so a little cooler than we expected.  However, by the time we were finished walking we had warmed up considerably.  We walked 2.18 mi at 17.24 min/mile.  

I made some breakfast burritoes once we returned and then I set to work putting things away and getting some order back to Bentley.  We literally got around yesterday morning and ran out the door to Misti's.  We returned about 5 or so and we were both beat.  My left neck and shoulder has really been bothering me and I just did not feel like doing anything when we got back.  By the time I went to bed last night it was hurting worse and while it was still painful when I got up this morning it was much better.  It has gradually gotten worse over the day.  I checked to see if our chiropractor was open and he wasn't, so it will be Monday before I can get in to see him.  I'm sure I've moved one too many heavy boxes or tubs in the last few days and an adjustment will get me back on track.  

It didn't take too long to get everything put away, the bed made, dishes done and for both of us to get around.  We both have more stuff to take to the storage unit this morning.  We headed that way around 10:30 or so.  Dean is going to Wichita Saturday.  He will be taking Heath's boys back.  They stayed over after Thanksgiving with their other grandparents here in Oswego. He had to pick up some things at the storage unit to take with him for our youngest son Jarred.  It didn't take too long to unload and store the things we brought; or to load the items for Jarred.  We were back in Oswego a little after 11:30.  

We had a little lunch and then I started going through mail that needed attention.  I made a couple of phone calls to Centurylink and DIsh Network to discuss emails Dean had received from them.  Centurylink sent a note telling us that unless we remove and return all internet devices from the house it may result in an additional charge to our bill.  Interesting, they did not mention this at all when I called in on November 16 to schedule having the utilities disconnected.  It only took me more than 25 minutes and being passed to 4 different people before I was able to get the phone disconnected.  Dean did remove the equipment right before we left (he used to work for them and knew they would want it) and they will send us a box to return it in.  

The second call was to Dish Network after we received an email thanking us for signing up for their Protect Silver Program - I did not sign up for it - in fact I even wrote down what charges were being removed and this was one of them.  The representative today removed it from the bill.  Our Dish bill was a little over $80 and now will be $43.  Now, if we could get all of the channels to come in, well we'd be happy.  We purchased a Tailgator 4 years ago, shortly after we acquired Bentley.  We've had struggles with it off and on with several channels break up when we are watching them - unfortunately most of them are ones I like to watch - HGTV and Food Network.  Since I do not watch a lot of TV, it hasn't been too much of a nuisance because I was recording the shows at home while we were gone, but now I can't do that.  So at some point we may have to upgrade to something different. 

I needed to print some things and realized we haven't coordinated our hot spot to the printer in order to print wirelessly, so Dean got that set up and it now works.

By this time, my shoulder and back are really hurting.  I cannot take Ibuprofen right now and tylenol is not doing the trick.  Biofreeze gives me some relief for awhile but it's back in an hour or so.  FIrst thing Monday, Dr. Frisbee will be getting a call from me.  Why do these things always happen over long weekends?  

We decided to take a ride around town, and drove out through the country.  It was relaxing and I felt much better after we returned.  As we came back into Oswego from the north I took this picture.

North of Oswego Golf Course

While I was fixing dinner. I looked out the window and this is our view tonight - this should make anyone feel better no matter what!  God paints some beautiful pictures for us!

I didn't realize the lights inside of Bentley were reflecting on this picture so I took one with the lights out.  However, I had to share the brilliant colors in this picture as compared to the next one.

With the lights out in Bentlely.  We did not have this clear of a view of sunsets from our house.  I love the view here!

I used my Instapot this evening to make pork chops with gravy (low carb version), we shared a small baked potato, and our veggie was broccoli and cauliflower with a little parmesean cheese sprinkled over it.  Very good.  

Several of our friends have seen the inside of Bentley but many of you have not, so I thought I'd share a few pictures.  

Our pantry - Lots of storage for groceries.

My coffee bar - storage above and below.

Taken from stairs going to the bedroom and bathroom looking down on kitchen/living area.  We love the big window at the back.  When we are parked in a spot where we back up to a water or mountain view - you can't beat it!

Our fireplace and TV - across from our love seat.

Kitchen area.

Kitchen area

Kitchen area.

Desk/Table area.

Love seat - across from TV/Fireplace.

Bedroom - lots of storage in closet, and two cabinets with drawer storage, as well as under the bed.

Bedroom 

Shower - nice size.  Looks smaller but is close to a tub size shower.

Toilet w/ nice storage cabinet above

Bathroom Sink w/ nice size medicine cabinet above.

One of the things that we love most are the large windows that have provided some really wonderful views.

It's like a tiny house and really quite comfortable!

Thursday, November 23, 2017 - Thanksgiving Day

Thursday, November 23, 2017 - Thanksgiving Day

With much to do this morning we needed to get around early so I could go to Misti's to help finish up everything for our Thanksgiving lunch.  After getting our morning chores out of the way, I gathered up the food I had here and a few other things I said I would bring.  Haleigh and I drove the van to Misti's and Dean will come over later.  It's just as well because after we got there I realized I had forgotten a few things - and guess who now had the privilege of bringing them over?  Yes, my dear, sweet husband who always is there for me.

I got to the task of making the dressing and macaroni and cheese.  We put together a little timeline of when each food item needed to go into the oven to ensure everything was ready by 1pm. We set up the serving area, allowing for a nice flow for everyone to fill their plates when the meal was ready.

Grandson Logan was hunting with his friend and college roommate.  He returned around 9am and promptly fell asleep on the couch.  Wish I had taken a picture of that!

About 10:30 Heath, Casey and their 3 boys - Abram, Gideon and Roman arrived.  Shortly afterwards Jarred, Andrea and Emmy showed up and the excitement began.  It was fun having everyone together again and hearing the kids visiting with each other and their aunts and uncles.  

Left corner:  Misti, Dean, Jarred, Heath (Emerson walking) Roman, and Casey

Abram

Cousins Emerson, Abram and Roman

Telling wild tales!
Tucker, Brett, Dean, Misti and Logan

Emerson showing us how to whistle in her Snow White dress!

Brett and Renae are having their first Thanksgiving lunch at Renae's Aunt's house, and will join us closer to 1.  Brett texted to let us know they were running late and not to wait on them.  Knowing they had already had some lunch we followed his instruction and didn't wait Everything was ready to eat shortly after 1pm.  Oh my, everything was wonderful.  We were still eating when Brett and Renae arrived, so they hopped right in.  Renae also brought deviled eggs, one of her specialties.  I passed the plate around so know one missed out and I think Dean managed to get a few extras - one of his favorites.  

After we had finished eating, I asked Roman, Heath's youngest son if he would go in the kitchen and get the card on the cabinet with the pies and take it to Dacy.  I told her today was her 16th birthday and once he handed it to her, we all needed to sing Happy Birthday to her.  He did go get the card, but he wouldn't hand it to her.  He gave it to Papa (Dean) and he had to hand it to her, but everyone joined in on the singing.

Emerson giving Dacy a big hug.  This was shortly after we sang "Happy Birthday" to Dacy!

My sister Cindy called to see if my son Marc was here yet.  She had something for him.  I told her he wouldn't be here until after lunch so she asked if she could just bring it by since she was going to be out anyway.  I told her that was fine and actually it worked out well as I had her take this picture.  What a bunch!  If Marc and Matt and families would have been here there would be 25 of us - and there is one more on the way!  Hopefully we can get a full family picture again in 2018!

4 of our 6 kids and their families, and Dean and I
On the Floor in front - Haleigh, Gideon and Roman
On Couch and across - Jarred, Brett, Logan, Misti, Dean and Cheri
Standing - Emerson, Andrea, Renae, Tucker, Dacy, Abram, Casey and Heath

Logan and Emerson entertained us on the piano for awhile.  Emerson played like she was a pro.  

Logan and Emerson's Duet on the Piano

We discussed when we should have Christmas this year and decided on the Saturday before New Year's here in Oswego at Misti's.  In the past the adult kids and the grandkids have drawn names for each other for our gift exchange.  They decided this year only the grandkids would draw names.

Heath and Casey had to leave soon afterwards to go to their next Thanksgiving dinner with Casey's family here in Oswego.  

Marc arrived a short time later and it wasn't too long after that Brett and Jarred's families left to make their way home.  I helped Misti finish cleaning things up and Dean and I left shortly after Marc did.  It was a wonderful day.  We really missed not having Marc's family, and Matt and his family here though.  

Once we returned home, I picked up the laptop and finished the post from the past 3 days and prepared this one.  It's easy to get behind and forget details when you let it go too long, so I wanted to get these posts finished.

I hope each of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and had the opportunity to enjoy time with your families and/or friends.  God has been very good to Dean and I and we are thankful for all that he does for us, and thankful for all of our family and friends.  Thank you for following our blog.  Each of you are very special to us.

Monday-Wednesday, November 20-22, 2017

Monday-Wednesday, November 20-22, 2017


Monday - Dr. Visit, House Closing, Picking Mail Up at New Address

Today is my son and daughter-in-law's 13th anniversary - Marc & Jen Blair!  Happy anniversary you two.  I love you both so much and wish you many, many more wonderful years together.

This morning was a beautiful day and we walked 1.96 mi, at 17:11 min/mile.  

Today was a very busy day -  I started off by calling the drug store at 9 to renew my prednisone so we could pick it up when we returned from Joplin, MO.  I have a 10 am appointment with my lung doctor for a follow up from the CT scan and Pulmonary Function Test I had on October 13 in Tahlequah, OK.  My PFT test results were great, however all he received on the CT scan results was a written report.  He would like to have a disc of the CT scan so he can compare the most recent scan to the previous one.  Hopefully, I'll be able to get this information to him soon and I will see him again in a month.  

You might remember I talked about the apps we were downloading last week while at Carthage - how to save money at various restaurants utilizing these apps.  We decided today we would try Steak and Shake.  When we paid, we used our credit card on their mobile app and received an automatic deduction of $2.99 from our order.  So far in less than a week we have saved $18.  Thanks Drena!

We have not received any mail at our house since we picked it up last Thursday after we returned from Carthage.  Dean wondered if they forgot to reinstate delivery or had already started forwarding it to our mail forwarding service.  As we were leaving Joplin I called The UPS Store in Pittsburg to see if they had received any mail for us.  The only thing they had was the new checks we had ordered with our new address (we recently run out of our old ones).  Since we were going to need these we made the trip to Pittsburg to pick them up before heading home.  

When we returned to Oswego we stopped at the drug store to pick up my prescription which turned into quite an ordeal.  To put it all in detail here would take up a couple of paragraphs, but suffice to say it all was due to a lack of communication on my doctor's office staff, the drug store and me; starting with the doctor's office who failed to call and let me know they had issued a refill of a prescription for me on November 02 - and the drug store who told me the doctor had called in a prescription for me today (not explaining it was on November 02 he called it in rather than today, November 20 - and me not questioning them more before leaving with a prescription I discovered I did not need, and now I cannot return.  How frustrating!  

After that we stopped to see if the post office here in Oswego might still be holding our mail.  Sure enough when I picked it up last Thursday after we returned from our camping trip to Carthage they forgot to reinstate delivery and we had quite a bit of mail waiting for us.  I stressed that all mail from this point should be sent to our new address - our mail forwarding address in Pittsburg.  

We returned to Bentley until our closing which is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.  Dean had been waiting for an order to obtain a routine blood test from our doctor and there were two letters from her office in the mail we picked up, so we expected that one of them was the order he was looking for.  You can only imagine our surprise when we opened one of them to discover our doctor is closing her practice effective December 22.  We are both saddened by this information, as we like her so much and I have especially been extremely happy with the way she handled my illness this past spring when we returned from Tucson.  I'm supposed to have a follow up blood test the end of November and I'm hoping I will be able to see her before she closes her practice.  Unfortunately the other letter was a billing for my last visit.

Shortly before 4:00 we headed to Realty, Inc. (local abstract office) for the closing on our house.  The closing went quick and just like that we are truly full-timers!  Everyone asks us how does it feel not to have a house - and I just shake my head - we still have a house - a moving house!  What we do not have is STUFF, the worry of what is happening with our house when we are gone for long periods of time and the additional expenses of insurance, taxes and utilities every month when we spend less and less time at it each year.  What  we do have with Bentley is freedom from all of that, plus a new view and adventures every time we pull up our jacks and move, and the many wonderful people we have met in our travels. 

Once we returned from our trip to Kentucky and Ohio in July/August to visit our son and his family we never moved back in the house.  With all of the work we were still doing to the house it was easier to just stay in Bentley.  Once we listed the house, it was so much nicer to be sure it was always ready to show by staying in Bentley.  I did not miss the house.  At that point it was becoming a weight to us because it was tying us down!  Dean does miss his garage when he has much down time, but we've had very little of that for awhile.  Hopefully we'll find lots to do in South Texas and as fast as our calendar is filling up for our remaining time in Kansas this year I'm not sure he'll have much chance to miss it too much.

We returned to Bentley for our first night with out a sticks and bricks home. I still had two plastic tubs and a box with all of our files sitting on the couch and I really wanted to get these sorted and back to the storage unit, so I spent the rest of the afternoon, early evening going through them.  Finally the chore with sorting of the two plastic tubs are done and we only have one tub going to storage and an empty one will be placed in the storage area under our bed that will be used for overflow of clothes that need to be washed.  I plan to tackle the files next week while doing laundry at Misti's.  So after a little dinner we settled in to watch the first of a two night grand finale of Dancing with the Stars.  To us it was a perfect evening!



Tuesday - Taking Care of Business, Celebrating a Friend's Birthday, Full-time Insurance

We walked again this morning, 2.63 mi, at 16.44 min/mile.  Another beautiful day and a little warmer than yesterday.  

After breakfast, and taking care of a few things here at Bentley I had a busy day ahead of me.  My first stop was at our bank to deposit the check from our closing yesterday.  With that taken care of I stopped to visit with my sister, who is also our insurance agent, to make the necessary changes to our insurance policies - cancel our home coverage and upgrade our RV insurance to full-time.  We went over a number of things and Jody will check a few things for us and get back to me with details later today.

I had just enough time to call my doctor (the one who is closing her practice) to see about making an appointment before she closes her practice.  The receptionist told me they were booked through December and it was doubtful I could get in but she would check with the doctor.  I'm disappointed because I definitely want to do a follow up before we leave to go to Texas and I'm wondering if we can find a new doctor before then.  All I can do is give it to God and believe it will all work out.  (Update:  There schedule is already full and I am not going to be able to get in so we will pursue finding a new primary care physician as quickly as possible.)

My next stop was in Chetopa to pick up my good friend Betsy.  Today is her birthday.  I wanted to take her to lunch and spend some time with her.  Betsy fell a few days ago while trying to hang a picture and broke her arm.  We got her situated in the car and off we went.  We had such a nice visit on the way to Vinita where we stopped for lunch at a Route 66 icon - Clanton's Cafe.  Check it out and if you are ever in Northeast Oklahoma driving Route 66 stop in and enjoy some of their well-known specials. A few testimonals of Clanton's include Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn and Guy Fieri from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, along with others.  Dean and I used to eat here more often when we had a place at Grand Lake, but we still enjoy stopping once in awhile.

After lunch I made a quick stop at the Cherokee Health Center to sign a medical release that will provide a copy of the CT scan to my lung doctor, and in no time had the necessary paperwork signed.  They assured me they would make sure my doctor had the information he needed prior to my December appointment.  

Again, Betsy and I enjoyed the time to visit traveling back to Chetopa where I dropped her off, and I made the drive back to Oswego.  Dean played golf this morning and he was home when I returned.  Jody called a short time later to give me additional information on our full-time coverage.  We needed to discuss the personal content value that we carry in Bentley.  We decided we should list the items we are carrying and I'm sure glad we did.  We were surprised at the value of the contents we have.  It was quite a bit more than we had planned to insure, however the cost to increase it was really not that much if you compare it to the cost of buying everything new without it, due to some catastrophe.  I had a couple of other questions that Jody will check on and get back with me tomorrow.

Wow, what a week it has been already and I think it will remain busy until we head south!

We were just thinking of what we would have for dinner when there was a knock at our door.  I looked out to find my cousin Todd, owner of the RV Park standing there.  I had him come in.  He had never been in Bentley before and really loved our layout.  The temperatures tonight are supposed to dip pretty low - about 25, so he wanted to let us know he was going to shut the water off in our loop due to a bad hydrant and wanted to make sure we had enough water to last for the night.  He will turn it back on in the morning.  We had already filled our tank before we moved out here and had enough to last until then so it was not a problem for us.  We visited with him for awhile and after he left I made dinner and we watched the final night for this season of Dancing with the Stars.  We knew Jordan would probably win - he really was very good.  



Wednesday - Dr. Visit, Thanksgiving Cooking, Dinner with Emerson

Since it was so cold this morning we did not walk, and Dean has a doctor's appointment in Joplin this morning with his cardiologist, so chances are we would not have walked anyway.  I am going to my daughter Misti's to help get the Thanksgiving dinner prep underway to give us more time to visit tomorrow morning as family comes in rather than spend the whole morning cooking.

Dean helped me load all of the grocery items in the truck, as he is taking the van to Joplin.  This morning Misti made chicken and noodles, prepped her green bean casserole which she will finish out tomorrow, and did some cleaning.  I cut up potatoes that we will use to make "The Pioneer Woman's" recipe.  The potatoes go into pans that we will reheat in the oven tomorrow just before lunch.  I made strawberry pretzel salad, 5 cup salad, and prepped a few things to go in the dressing that I will make tomorrow, along with macaroni and cheese.  As I am writing this it all sounds so simple but we spent all morning getting these things done.... My daughter-in-law Renae is bringing homemade pies - pecan and coconut cream.  She makes wonderful pies!

I left Misti's around 11:30.  I stopped at the insurance office to pick up the information Jody left for me to go over with Dean before making our final decision on coverage.  As I left I met Dean at the four way stop.  He was just returning from his doctor's appointment, and he followed me home.  He helped me carry things in and then I got the update on his appointment.  I was as surprised as he was when he told me his doctor said he needed to have some follow up tests because the test he did in the office today showed he had some atrial fibrillation.  This occurred once before - years ago and he's never had another problem with it.  He feels great.  He has to go back for a couple of tests on November 30 and then wear a Holter monitor for 24 hours that we will need to return on December 1.  One fortunate thing about his visit today was a discussion with his doctor on finding a new primary care physician.  He gave Dean names of doctors within the Freeman system to contact that were accepting new patients.  Again, the news he received today from the doctor is one of those things you just have to give it to God and believe he will take care of it for us.  Fortunately, Dean feels great and had no idea there was any issue.  His doctor was pleased with the fact we are walking regularly and encouraged him to keep that up, as well as following the South Beach Diet.  While we've been following a low carb diet for me (similar to South Beach and Mediterranean Diet plans) he has not followed it quite as closely as I have, so we will work on that. 

We ate some lunch, and shortly after that my sister Cindy stopped by to pick up my floor steamer.  This appliance has really made the rounds lately.  It is something I wanted to keep but did not want to put it in storage, so Cindy will house it (I didn't even have to twist her arm, because she loves it).  Her daughter Nikki was telling her that her floors needed something different to clean them and Cindy suggested she try using my steamer a few days ago.  Misti called me and wanted to know if she could use it today so I had picked it up from Cindy yesterday and now Cindy wants to use it before her Thanksgiving dinner on Friday.  It has now been renamed "The Traveling Steamer!"

After Cindy left I did a little research on the doctors we received from Dean's cardiologist and my cousin (I had contacted her the day we received the letter from our doctor who is closing her practice, to see if she had any recommendations, as she works for Freeman, and she gave me two names to consider).  We decided we would try a woman doctor that both Dean's doctor and my cousin suggested - but she did not have any openings for new patients until mid-January.  However, her office staff suggested another doctor which happened to be the other one my cousin recommended, and the one she said she would chose if it was her.  Fortunately, we were able to schedule an appointment for both of us with her on December 19.  God does work miracles. One more thing off our list of things to do before we leave for Texas.  We feel it's really important to get a new primary care physician established before we leave rather than try to deal with it in April when we return home.  

Misti loves apple pie and we never seem to have one for holidays so I decided to make one for her this afternoon.  I cheated with the pie crusts because I do not have a rolling pin anymore - just not enough storage for something I will probably never use anyway, but I did get apples and added the spices and such rather than using pie filling.  In fact I had enough apples I was able to make two pies and I froze one for another day and time.  After I had the dishes cleaned up and put away I did a quick pick up around Bentley because our son Jarred and his family will be here around 4 or 4:30.  I had one more thing I wanted to make.  I found a low carb recipe for cream cheese fudge.  It didn't take long at all to make but I was disappointed because there was really no sweet taste to it at all even though I used a sugar substitute.  A small bite at a time is okay for a chocolate fix with pecans, but I won't be able to eat much at a time - but, maybe that's the idea?  

I just want to say that I really appreciate Misti stepping up and offering to open her home to our family for our get together's.  It is such a blessing to both Dean and I.  

I just finished pouring the fudge mixture into a pan to go into the refrigerator when Jarred, Andrea and daughter Emerson pulled up.  Emmy was so darn cute in her Snow White dress she was wearing.  She will be two in March but you would think she was older by her vocabulary and she's a little taller than most kids her age.  We enjoyed visiting with all of them before we went to dinner at our Mexican restaurant here in Oswego, Mi Pueblo.  We had a wonderful dinner, having another opportunity to visit, before they headed to Chetopa where they are spending the night with one of Jarred's high school friends and his family.  

Tomorrow we will all meet at Misti's anytime after 10am, with Thanksgiving lunch scheduled for 1pm.  Four of our six children and their families will be there for dinner, and my son Marc will join us after lunch.  Unfortunately, Matt and family in New York will not make it this year.

After dinner, Dean and I drove to nearby Altamont, KS to pick up our granddaughter Haleigh who is spending the night with us.  We watched a Hallmark Christmas movie - well, when we weren't sleeping!  A little before 10, we all headed to bed.  It has been a long, but productive day!