Wednesday - July 24, 2019 - Practice, Practice, Practice; More Paperwork; Found New Galley Lights; and Hoopla Digital--Movies

Wednesday - July 24, 2019 - Practice, Practice, Practice; More Paperwork; Found New Galley Lights; and Hoopla Digital--Movies

Our granddaughter is getting ready to take her drivers test, so Papa offered to show her how to parallel park.  I picked her up and met him at the former assisted living location that recently closed.  He parked our truck, then set cones out behind it, to make an area for her to park my car in.  After a few tries, Papa decided he should try it once.  He figured out the problem was the size of my car and how difficult it was for her - you couldn't see the front of the car at all as you are trying to maneuver into the spot so it was hard for either of them to see how close they were to the truck as they backed in.  So he adjusted a few things he had told her and the next few times were much, much better.  It just takes a lot of practice.

After I took her home I had several other tasks waiting for me at Bentley, then it was time to make lunch.

When Dean left to go to the garage, I logged on to Camping World.  My friend Drena sent me a message yesterday that CW had some globe lighting on their clearance page.  About a year ago, one of our globe lights over the kitchen galley area broke and I've been looking for new globes ever since. Unfortunately, what you find in lighting stores are not the same size as those for RV's.  The hole at the top of the globe is much different and is too big for the fixture to hold them in place.  I ordered 3 of them.  They should be here by the weekend, and if for any reason - I don't like them, or they don't fit, etc. I can return them to a Camping World for a refund.

Where the globes will go.  I took one down so we could compare it to what we found in various stores - but nothing ever worked out.  Hopefully, we'll have new globes up soon.  Thanks Drena!!!

When I was at the grocery store yesterday they had chicken breasts on sale, so I bought a package.  Tonight Dean grilled them.  I made a lettuce salad and threw in everything I could find, along with a small chicken breast (cut up) for each of us.  We have missed our salads.  I froze the remainder that I can use for two or three other meals.

While I was out today, I stopped at our library to see if they had a movie we've been wanting to watch.  They didn't have it but I found we have a great resource through our library that allows us to download 4 movies a month at no cost.  It is through an app called Hoopladigital.com.  You have to input your library card number and a personal pin the library provides for you in order to use it, but once you download the app and include the info, you can select from their many movies, soundtracks, audiobooks, etc.  We have three more movies we can download this month - if we have time to watch them!  Lol!

For this particular movie, we found it was not on hoopladigital - it directed us to HBO Now, where we could try it FREE for seven days - same thing I found when I tried to watch it on Amazon and Netflix, so that's what we ended up doing.  I've made a note to cancel it later if that's what we decide.  I really doubt we would get our money's worth out of it as we don't watch a lot of movies - but once a week free with Hoopla might be nice.

We watched, "An Old Man with A Gun" based on a true story about Forrest Tucker.  Robert Redford played the part of Forrest Tucker.  It wasn't quite what I thought it would be but we enjoyed it and it was something different from our routine "at home" evenings of Dean watching TV and me on the computer.  

Our actuator was delivered this afternoon!!!!!  Yea!!!!  I let Michael know it was here and he will reach out to our RV Dealer with details.  I'm not sure yet when the work will occur but Daryl indicated to us yesterday he could install it before August 3.

What a wonderful day we had!

Thursday, July 25, 2019 - Driving in Pittsburg, Mail Pickup, Freddy's; Moving Items from Storage; We Have a Date!

Thursday, July 25, 2019 - Driving in Pittsburg, Mail Pickup, Freddy's; Moving Items from Storage; We Have a Date for Replacement of the Actuator!

Misti and I traded cars this morning before she left town for her next to last day of clinical's for her physical therapy assistant training.  We are taking our granddaughter to Pittsburg this morning for practice driving with Papa and I prior to taking her drivers test soon.  After we picked Haleigh up we went back to the former assisted living location to have her try parallel parking again using her mom's car this time.  Four times in a row she did a great job.  Papa was a good teacher!!

We left Oswego around 9 with our granddaughter driving.  Our first stop was at UPS to check our mail - only one item - not that we were really expecting anything, but a good opportunity while we are here.  Dean was Haleigh's "trainer" for the day.  She actually does a great job, but driving in Pittsburg where she will test, versus driving in Oswego is a big difference.  We thought it might help her to spend some time there getting used to a town with more traffic.  It was almost noon, when we declared it had been a successful day.  We stopped at Freddy's for lunch - a favorite of Haleigh's and Dean's. 

After we dropped Haleigh off at home, we headed to the storage unit to move another load of boxes.  It was HOT!  Once we returned to Oswego, I was surprised!  The garage seemed HUGE before we started hauling things over there - it seems to get smaller every time I visit now.  We (Dean) has LOTS of organizing to do this fall.  It's HIS garage - per his words and that's fine by me as long as I can have just a little space upstairs to store some stuff that I kept. 

Dean talked to Daryl about a time to install the actuator after we returned home.  As of now, the plan is to take it in on Tuesday (July 30) for the installation.  

After dinner, (the last of the leftover pork tenderloin, a side salad, tomato and cucumbers), we headed back to the storage unit to get one more load of boxes.  With the truck, we are limited on how much we can take at once.  We have to put the truck cover over the bed to prevent anything from blowing out - so we can't stack the tubs.  We have approximately two more loads of boxes that we can get in the truck, and then there are the large items.  Dean called son Brett earlier, to see if he would bring his trailer over and help him move the final large items we can't get ourselves.  He called this evening, and he will be here Friday (tomorrow) afternoon.  Sounds like we'll be out of the storage unit in plenty of time before the end of the month.  That will provide a little bit of savings from now on, and we know it's something we don't have to deal with this fall.  Dean has lots of projects already - he has to build shelving for all the stuff we moved, and I'm still hoping for the new desk/table in the RV before we head south this year.  We'll see.

Dean likes to keep busy and he loves to build things - so if we aren't too busy with other things I won't be surprised if he accomplishes both.  On the other hand, I can't complain if he only gets the shelves built and things organized either.  In the spring, I can see new cabinets on the agenda for the garage.  He built such nice ones for his garage at our previous home...specifically making certain drawers, cabinets for certain tools.  I'm sure he will be doing the same here - and probably better than what he had.  You know you always think...I wish I would have done that instead.  Right?

After returning from the last trip, we took Misti's car to the golf course and picked mine up.  She works there after she completes her clinical training for the day.  She'll be able to work there while she is studying for her state test in October, but now it will only be a 40 hour work week with no clinical training through the day.  I know she's ready to have more time with Haleigh and at home.  We are so proud of her for all she has done this past year.   

We were both tired this evening and set in front of the TV like a couple of zombies, just waiting to visit dreamland.  All in all, it was a another Great day with much accomplished!

Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - Trip to Vinita, Catching Up the Blog, Picking up Lumber, Trip to Parsons (Walmart, Visit Marc/Family, and Chinese Food).

Tuesday, July 23, 2019 - Trip to Vinita, Catching Up the Blog, Picking up Lumber, Talking to RV Dealer, Trip to Parsons (Walmart, Visit Marc/Family, and Chinese Food).

We are letting no moss grow under our feet.  Keeping busy is a great way to forget your problems!  

Cindy called me yesterday afternoon to tell me she had a doctor's appointment this morning at 7:20.  I offered to drive along with her, so she picked me up at 6:15.  I enjoyed the drive and visit, as I always do with one of my sisters.  After her visit and having blood drawn (fasting) she said she was hungry so we stopped at Clanton's Cafe for omelets.  They were sure good.  I needed to stop at the restroom before we left, after two cups of coffee! They had the cutest signs on the wall I couldn't help but take some pictures before I left.

She dropped me off at Bentley and I immediately went back to catching up the blog.  I've thought about our friends Corbin and Flora a few times but every time I think of calling it ends up being too late or too early, lunch time, etc.  It was about 10:30.  I decided this might be as good as any.  I had to leave a message but Flora returned my call a short time later.  I really enjoy visiting with her.  While I was on the phone a helicopter was flying over, and then it turned and flew over again, and again.  I realized they could be looking for someone, so I went to the door and locked it.  I never worry about that, but you can't be too careful.  It finally left heading south, but pretty soon it was back again.  I'm not sure what was going on but I never saw any action around here.   

out the window

out the door

heading south

Dean showed up just before I hung up with Flora and couldn't get in the door.  Lol!  He saw the helicopter as well and also wondered about it.  We had our lunch and at 12:30 we left to pick up the wood Marc needs.  I can't wait to see what he's going to make out of it.

Beautiful cedar planks.  He's going to make a cross for a family.

From there we drove to Chetopa to talk to our RV Dealer about changing out the actuator once it arrives.  He is willing to do the work, so now we just wait for the delivery.  As I said yesterday we are okay with whatever happens at this point - as long as it gets fixed.  Lol!! 
I worked on the blog until it was time to take the wood to Marc.  When we arrived he wasn't home for work yet, but the kids were there.  Kamron was getting ready to go to a basketball workshop at the Rec Center and Jaxson was in the living room playing.  I wish I had thought to take a picture of his masterpiece.  He has a little electric train (small scale) on a circular track.  He had built a mountain that resembled a cave.  The train was just running in circles though this cave.  It consisted of blankets and pillows, but it was pretty cool.  

Since they had to rush off soon after we arrived, we headed to Chinese Chef for dinner.  It was good.  We haven't had Chinese in quite awhile so it was a welcome treat.  After dinner we made a quick run to Walmart for a few things I can't get here in town and headed home.  

It was another great day!  We are ticking things off our list.

Monday, July 22, 2019 - I Had a List, Moving More From Storage, Restful Evening.

Monday, July 22, 2019 - I Had a List, Moving more from Storage, Restful Evening.

Between doing laundry, phone calls and a few other chores, it was noon before I knew it.  We had some lunch, Dean headed back to the garage and I left too.  Cindy had more tomatoes for me, so I told her I would be by later.   

We love fresh tomatoes!

Cindy's granddaughter Kennedy is staying with her until Thursday.  They are having a rummy contest while she is there - they will be playing many games over the next few days.  They also had a jigsaw puzzle laid out to work on - but best yet, Kennedy was making chocolate chip cookies.  Yummm, the kitchen sure smelled good!

When I left there, I headed to the grocery store.  As I started to get out of the car I realized I had left my phone at Cindy's....with my bank card.  So back in the car I went toward her house, when I happened to look down and realized I needed gas.  I had enough cash to do that, so I took care of it while I was right there.  As I was paying, here comes Cindy and Kennedy with my phone and two cookies.  How sweet of Kennedy to share them with us!  So now it was back to the grocery store, and Bentley.  Wow, the day has flown by.  

Marc contacted me this morning wanting to know if we would be going to Parsons this week.  I was already planning to go to Walmart later today or tomorrow.  He wanted to know if we could bring a load of wood up to him from a supplier he uses near here.  Of course we said yes.  Later, he called back to see if we could do it tomorrow instead which works out just fine with us.  We like opportunities to see our kids and their families!!!  Since we didn't need to do it this evening, Dean and I went to the storage shed to gather another load of "stuff".  I was shocked at how much Dean had already moved on his own.  After unloading it back in Oswego, we headed home to eat dinner.  

We received a message today that the actuator was being shipped from Dexter but at this time there is no tracking information, so we hope to hear about a delivery date soon.  They have indicated a time to have it installed might take awhile unless a mobile tech in our area could do it.   When I asked if our RV dealer could do the work, they said sure, if they were willing.  So, we'll check on that tomorrow.  We've set a final date of August 3rd to leave for Yellowstone.  If it works great, if not, it's okay!   

It was a full day!  Busy, fun, and rewarding to see that shed being emptied!  We are getting much done!!

Saturday-Sunday - July 20 & 21 - Keeping Busy and Enjoying Family

Saturday-Sunday - July 20 & 21 - Keeping Busy and Enjoying Family

Saturday - July 20, 2019
I had several things I wanted to get done today and Dean went to the garage.  My main job was a deep clean of the bathroom.  I sweep the floor and wipe down all of the "appliances" regularly, but today I wanted to take it a step further.  The floor in the bathroom is about the size of a postage stamp!  I can vacuum it pretty well with my little sweeper, but I haven't found a mop that is small enough for the tight spaces, so that's when I pull out my bucket and my magic eraser and go to work on the floors by hand.  I always wipe the walls down and I'm amazed at the amount of dust/lint.  I assume much of that comes from the toilet paper?  I cleaned the troughs where the shower door slides and the trim on the outside.  

See what I mean - postage stamp size floor - but it works just fine.

Everything else was just routine stuff.  Dean came home for lunch.  After we ate, we ran an errand and then we headed to Columbus.  Our grandkids, Dacy and Tucker's 4H Horse Show is today.  We didn't go this morning because we enjoy the timed events more.  Typically they take a break at noon and don't start back up until about 2.  Well, you would know today that did not happen.  According to Tucker, the Judge had to be somewhere else this afternoon, so they sped things up and did not take a lunch break, so we only got to see Dacy in one event and Tucker in two.  

Dacy

Goat roping

Getting off his horse to go after the little lamb - hiding behind the beam - see his little head.

As he finishes tying his feet, his horse leaves him and heads for home.  Lol!

Now is that a good looking cowboy - or what?

We should have called to check on the events this morning!!  We really enjoy watching them participate so we felt bad that we just assumed it would go like previous years - and you know what happens when you assume.  Lol!!

Even though we were there only an hour or so, it was HOT!  It made we realize we are pretty spoiled with our air conditioned cars, houses, workplaces, etc.  I was thinking about all of the people who work in the heat all day long and have for years; and how it used to be before we had air conditioners in our homes and cars.  Dean doesn't mind the heat as he's worked in it a lot over the years..  Since we've been here he's worked many hours at the lot and in the garage.  He's been replacing the electric panel at the garage, spraying weeds and vines and then once they are dead, tearing them away from the garage and trees.  It looks better all the time.  I think he's enjoyed getting outside and having something to do and I'm thankful he has the garage to keep him busy when he's not playing golf, or working around here.  He can only watch so much TV!

Sunday - July 21, 2019
I went to church this morning, came home and made us sandwiches, before going to to Cindy's for our Sunday Sisterfest.  While it's Crystal's turn she asked Cindy if we could come to her house today and she'd bring the snack - yellow cake with chocolate icing.  Jody joined us about an hour later, as her kids were at her house for awhile.  We had a good visit, as usual.  

Dean went to the storage shed while I was gone.  He decided to start bringing things from storage to the garage.  He just can't sit still.  He wanted to know if he should start bringing some of my stuff over.  I told him to wait for now, and get all of his things because mine is all in boxes or tubs.  It will be easy to load mine at the end.  He'll need to get one of the boys to help him move a few bigger items with a trailer.  At the rate we are going, we might be able to get it emptied before the end of July - and save us the monthly fee starting in August.

I bought a pork loin at our local grocery store a few days ago.  We decided to grill it this evening.  It was really good.  There was enough it will give us at least two more meals with the leftovers.  I've been keeping our meals simple.  While Cindy and Elmer have tomatoes and cucumbers ripening every day, it sure is easy to do.  Meat, vegetable and what they give us - it's great.  I'll miss them after the produce is gone for the season.  

We had a little snack tonight.  I still had two each of peach and blackberry cobblers in the freezer (in small custard cups), so I got out one of each kind.  Dean is not overly fond of blackberry.  I heated them up in the microwave - and lo and behold, that blackberry sure looked like peach when I took it out of the freezer!  OOPS!  Dean, like the wonderful husband he is, ate it with no complaints!  Maybe I'll surprise him with the next one - not only peach cobbler but some vanilla ice cream to go with it.  Lol!!!

Friday - July 19, 2019 - Enjoying a Beautiful Day, Reminiscing of Days Gone By and A Fun Evening.

Friday - July 19, 2019 - Enjoying a Beautiful Day, Reminiscing of Days Gone By and A Fun Evening.


Friday, July 19 - Dean played golf this morning and I filled my time with things that needed to be done in Bentley.   I bought a little steam iron (and I mean little).  I try not to buy anything that needs to be ironed but occasionally you just want to do a quick touch up.  I bought a shirt recently that needed just that, so I brought the iron out and it worked perfectly.   

After lunch, we hopped in the car and headed south to Grove, OK.  We were just chatting away as we drove along.  I asked Dean if he was going to drive through Vinita or take the cut off.  He was so engrossed in our conversation he missed the turn at Welch, and would have bypassed Bluejacket if I hadn't said something.  It's not like Dean to do that, so it was a little entertaining.  

Road to Bluejacket, OK

Dean wants to visit a golf store in Grove for a new set of golf clubs.  When we arrived there was a note on the door the owner was next door at a convenience store.  In just a few minutes he arrived.  Unfortunately, we left there a little disappointed because he doesn't sell new clubs.  While he had quite an inventory of nice used clubs, it's not really what Dean was looking for.  He was a very nice guy though and he answered several questions Dean had, so it was not a wasted trip.

Since we were here we decided to visit a few of our favorite haunts.  I believe I've mentioned before that almost from the time we were married we've had an RV or mobile home of some sort on Grand Lake near Grove.  We originally planned to visit Bernice Point - home to the first two travel trailers we owned, but Dean wanted to drive to ShangriLa, a beautiful "community" with many homes, condos, a beautiful new hotel, a premier golf course (beautifully manicured), and a large boat slip. There are also several locations to choose for dining - from casual to fine dining.  It's a beautiful area to just drive through for the landscaping alone.  The last time we were there they were building the hotel and today we got to see the finished project. 

ShangriLa is located on Monkey Island.  If you click on this link you will also find a map of the location as well as the story of how it come to be called Monkey Island.

Beautiful rolling hills on our way to ShangriLa

Some of the facilities at ShangriLa, From Top Left, clockwise - The Golf Shop and Restaurants, Boat Slip, Condo, Hotel, Hotel Swimming Pool

Pictures of the golf course

Sorry for the reflection in this picture - I've always loved this house - including the metal sculpture of the Eagle on top.  What a view of the lake it has!

Crossing the bridge, looking out over Grand Lake, as we leave Monkey Island.

We took a quick drive through Horse Creek Resort, the last place we used as a retreat to get away from the day to day work life.  I grew up going to the Bernice area and it's still our favorite area of the lake.

The water is still high at Grand Lake from rains earlier this spring/summer.  In the bottom picture to the right you can see what we've always called the Unfinished Bridge - at normal levels it's not uncommon to see boats tied up here to fish, or swim.  We drove by the lot we rented.  Someone has replaced our older RV with a new one and looks like it happened recently as there was no skirting around the unit yet.  They are still using the deck we had though.

These pictures are of Eagle's Landing, where we will be staying soon with our local Escapees group in September.

As we began our drive back through Grove, I was so happy to see the Cherokee Queen running again.  I've been going to Grand Lake since I was 10 years old - and I've never rode it.  I told Dean when we are here for the campout I would really love to change that!  I don't know what they offer now, but in the past they offered dinner cruises on the lake.  I hope they still do.  It would be beautiful if it was a clear night.

A great place to find bargains - Cheapo Depo.  This place has been here for a long time!

Continuing on our reminiscing of our time on Grand Lake, we drove back through Grove to visit Lakewood Village, where we owned a mobile home.  As our family grew, and grandchildren came, an RV wasn't quite as comfortable, so we expanded.

Our friends owned this RV and we sure enjoyed lots of fun times with them here.

The unit with the blue umbrella and flag out front was ours.  Dean and I built the deck here, but someone has replaced or covered the wood with vinyl.

This was our view.  We had our boat in the enclosed boat slip.  We loved our time here.  As the kids got older, they didn't come as often and we decided to sell our place and go back to an RV closer to Bernice.

The third from the left is the back of what was our mobile home.  They've added a carport and a storage shed.  We were hoping our old neighbors to the left might be there, but not today.

We had plans this evening to play cards with Cindy and Elmer, so we headed for home.  

On the way we passed through what used to be Picher, OK.  It makes me sad to drive through here.  It is the location of a superfund site that resulted in buyout of most of the homes there, due to the high level of lead found in the area from the huge chat piles that were mined here.  A few years after most people had moved from the community from the buyout, an F4 tornado pretty much decimated the remaining homes. 

We made a quick stop in Miami, OK to grab something to eat at Braum's - no ice cream today.  We made it to Cindy and Elmer's house at 6:10, just a few minutes late. 

As usual we laughed a lot all evening - and the guys skunked us again, but Cindy and I did manage to win the last game!  

When we returned to Bentley, the sky was so full of stars.  It was beautiful.  I tried to take a picture, but of course it didn't take well, but I did catch this shooting star.  How cool is that!

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words.  I think the first few days of news you don't want to hear is the worse - now we are filling our days with good times and fun things.  This too shall pass!

Sunday, July 14 - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - Feeling Frustrated but Trying to Make the Best of It

Sunday, July 14 - Thursday, July 18, 2019 - Feeling Frustrated but Trying to Make the Best of It

I just haven't had the heart to blog the past few days because of my (our) frustration with the RV disc brakes.  Things happen and I'm trying my best to deal with it, but as the days tick by our chances of much travel before we need to be back in Southeast Kansas are growing slimmer by the day.  At this point, we'll be happy if we just make it to Yellowstone. Our reservation is August 16-23, so time is quickly dwindling.  Part of going full-time was supposed to mean not hurrying to get somewhere.  Most of the time it works.  Our original plans included going to north Minnesota and North Dakota (new states to both of us), but that time frame was cut back.  Then we decided we would just go to South Dakota, and work our to Yellowstone.  Now, we are just hoping we'll be able to visit Yellowstone, taking the most direct route possible, while still having a few days rest in between moves.  Moving every day and driving many miles a day is not our style AT ALL!!  If it's not enjoyable, why do it!  

Sunday, July 14 - I went to church this morning and afterwards all of my sisters' gathered at Cindy's house for a nice two hour visit.  Afterwards I stopped by my Aunt Betty's and cousin, Barbara's home.  Barbara's granddaughter is getting married this week in Branson.  She wanted me to look at three dresses.  After trying on each one, we settled on a printed skirt, a top and a jacket.  We visited for a bit, before I headed back to Bentley.  I did some things around Bentley, but for the most part that was our day.  Dean has been working at the garage, washing/waxing Bentley and golfing as much as he can.

Monday, July 15 - Haleigh drove me to Parsons (good practice for her) to pick up Jaxson this morning.  Kamron had a friend spend the night.  Marc will bring her down over his lunch hour.  Jaxson took swimming lessons a few weeks ago, so I called my niece Nikki to see if we could use their pool this morning.  I'm anxious for him to show me what he can do.  

Jaxson swimming with Nana - what fun!

Wow, he does such a great job!  I was so proud of him.  He loves going under water, touching the bottom of the pool, turning in circles underwater, etc.  It was so much fun to watch him and hear his laugh.  Haleigh took a few pictures for me.

After our swim, we headed home.  Haleigh wanted to make chicken, bacon, ranch quesadillas so we stopped at her house to pick up some tortillas - she doesn't care for our low carb ones.   I was going to stop at Mi Pueblo to pick up cheese dip and chips for Jaxson - it's one of his favorite things to eat - but I forgot they are closed on Monday's.  We went back to the RV and I called Pizza Hut numerous times with no answer but I knew they were open.  Marc was on his way with Kamron, so I asked him to stop by and order it for me.  He said they were packed.  I guess they were too busy to answer the phone.  He stayed to visit for a few minutes then left to get back to work - it takes most of his lunch hour to make the drive both ways.

Shortly after he left I left to pick up the pizza.  After we were done with lunch, we watched Despicable Me - at least Jaxson did.  The girls had seen it enough I don't think they were that interested.

Jax intent on TV, Kamron doing her nails and listening to music.

Haleigh was looking at her foot......     oh, and by the way notice those shiny windows!!  Haha

Dean played golf this morning and then took the truck to Parsons to have a new controller put on the truck.  In an earlier conversation about the disc brakes with Michael, he said we needed to pull the truck at least 20-30 miles per hour, not just test it while sitting in the park. Of course, we've usually only made it about that far when the brakes have failed.  So when it was time to take the kids home, we packed up the RV, loaded the kids in the truck and drove to Parsons.....we were barely in the city limits (20 miles) when the brakes QUIT working AGAIN!!!!  You can imagine our disappointment and frustration!!! 


Marc met us at the Stockade Travel Plaza at the north end of Parsons.  After the kids were secured in the car, they left and we headed back to Oswego - slowly.  We were just sure that we would be leaving tomorrow and now we are back at square one.

Dean called Michael on our way home.  MIchael said he wanted to talk to one of his installers and get back with us, so we'll wait to hear from him.  Later he sent a text that the installer would be calling us.


Tuesday, July 16 - First thing this morning I had to call the campground where we hoped to be staying tonight.  Our Escapee camping club is having their monthly campout this week.  We did not originally plan to attend because we expected to be further north - but since we were here, we decided it would make a great first stop as we headed north.  So, I was very disappointed having to cancel today.  It's over 100 miles away and we just are not comfortable pulling the RV with only the truck brakes.  

Dean didn't play golf today hoping we'd hear from the installer, but the call didn't come until this afternoon when we were driving to Pittsburg to pick up our mail.  When Dean explained what was happening, he immediately said it was the pump (actuator), which is what Dean has felt like it was from the beginning.  Dean doesn't email much or even use it often, so it was late afternoon when he happened to see an email from Michael advising they would be shipping us a new pump.  When he asked how long it would take to get it, I was aghast at "around the end of next week".  We are not even sure about a time for the installation, once it arrives.  The clock is ticking - will we get to travel at all this summer?

On the up side, we received our new TireTracker in the mail today.  Our old one that was five years old quit working at the end of our last trip.    We are anxious to try it out, but.....when will that be?

I took a few pictures on the way to Pittsburg and our way back to share some sites and things to see and/or do in our area.

My Grandpa and Grandma Stapleton lived about 4 miles south of Hallowell so we passed by and Angelo's a lot over the years.  Grandpa loved the big round chunks of cheddar cheese they bought at Angelo's....and all of us grandkids did too! 

About 3 miles east of Oswego, is Angelo's Deli.  This is an icon in southeast Kansas opened by Angelo Sachetta in the early 1950's.  His Angelo's Special - deli sandwich, is loved by many and even though Angelo and his wife have passed on, their secret sauce recipe and choice of meats and cheeses were passed on to new owners and are still great today.  I just had one last week and I can attest, they are still delicious!

Our mail location.

 Big Brutus - I still enjoy seeing this shovel, as it brings back many memories of our childhood.  Click to find out more about Big Brutus.

My dad loved to take us to the site where Big Brutus was digging when we were kids.   I loved visiting there and watching the HUGE chunks of dirt/coal it would pull out of the ground with its shovel.  It was truly a marvel to watch.  We have some old home movies when it was still working, taken in the 60's.  If you haven't visited Big Brutus you should make the trip.  It's well worth it.  

Just a short distance down the road from Big Brutus is Claythorne Hunting Lodge.  We didn't drive by it as we were on the highway, but less than two miles north of this sign you will find Claythorne Lodge, which is internationally known.  Click on it to learn more.

The City of Oswego's airport, located two miles east of Oswego.

What a beautiful day - new crops coming up under a beautiful cloud filled sky.

On the left going up the hill is the northern side of our new property.  It begins a little further up the hill from the road leading off to the left.  The back part is almost all woods.  While working there Dean has seen deer, along with a number of deer tracks in our yard.  We look forward to enjoying a lot of nature in the future.....I'm thinking birds.  I do love them, and the deer....we look forward to it.

Well, no matter the situation, at least we are in Oswego where we are around friends and family.  We are safe here and we have a great place to park under my cousin's watchful eye!  I'm not sure when we will be back on the road again, but when we are, we're sure to have a great time!

Wednesday, July 17
Today, I made up my mind I needed to quit thinking of moving and getting some things done.  I decided to tackle our budget and get it brought up to date.  I made huge strides, but will still work on it again tomorrow to finish it up.  In between I did other things around the rig - just to get up and move every so often.  Dean played golf, so it was a pretty quiet day and evening.

Thursday, July 18
Today I was on a mission to get the budget finished.  I am up to date at this point and happy that it's no longer nagging at me.  I did get out yesterday to go by Cindy's.  She had some more fresh tomatoes and cucumbers for me.  I have to be careful, and she does too, not to eat too many tomatoes.  The acidity in them causes us both to have cold sores.  I used to have them horribly as a kid because I ate so many of them.  I guess I've learned to pace myself as I rarely have them these days.  Dean played golf again this morning.  That is a good thing about being here - he is making use of the annual membership we buy.  He's definitely got his money's worth out of it this year and it's good for him to get out.  I'd say to get some exercise, but since they drive their carts almost to the point of each swing - I'm not sure how much he really gets!  Lol!

Tonight I cooked half a slab of pork ribs in the Instapot, then Dean put them on the grill with a thin coating of barbeque sauce.  By the way, I found a sugar free BBQ sauce and Hellman's has come out with ketchup that has only 1 gram of sugar.  We no longer use much BBQ sauce or ketchup so it's great to have products we can use occasionally.   While the ketchup is pretty sweet - I use Worcestershire sauce on my ham/cheeseburgers to cut the sweet down, as I rarely eat a bun anymore.

The ribs were delicious and very, very tender.  We also had green beans, tomatoes and cucumbers.  I guess we were too full as we never even had any of the fresh cantaloupe I cut up earlier today.