And it's going to continue that way. Do you ever wake up in the morning so full of hope and anticipation for the good things you know are going to happen? They usually don't come about all at once but like a flower starting off as a bud and then unfolding, the wonders of my life have been unfolding a little at a time for as long as I can remember. At least it is only the wonders that I remember!
Steve and I drove to another RV park yesterday that I had been told had spaces available in February. We had been there before and were not at all impressed by the manager who seemed to not want any new business. He was a little better yesterday but not by much. He discovered I had two dogs, and his face lit up in a smile when he informed me he only allows one pet per site. I think he really wanted an excuse to refuse to rent to me. I have no idea why, but I'm sort of glad because I wasn't thrilled with the park anyway.
When I returned to Cal Expo I told the woman who runs the office that I would like to stay another month due to the fact that I was having eye surgery in early Feb., and wanted to fully recuperate before towing my 5th wheel. She took the information and will have to ask the park manager. The down side is that the manager is attending a conference and I won't know her answer until the 29th or 30th of Jan. That may leave me having to move in a hurry if she says no, but the woman at the desk seemed to think that medical reasons are a pretty sure thing for extending a stay. If it doesn't work out I'll stay at Steve's house for a few days while I'm looking for a place. I looked at Woodall's & Good Sam websites & books yesterday, and it seems that most of the parks east of Sac and out Rt. 50 to the foothills don't have the space for larger rigs.
I sent out several emails last week requesting consideration for volunteer jobs in exchange for campsite/hookups, and got a response back from one this morning. I won't say who it is for fear of jinxing my chances, but it's in the southeast. I was told I need to select a definite 2-month period that can be extended to 90 days and fax a volunteer app back to him, which I will try to do today. If I finish at Lassen in mid-September and then travel east & south, I think I will aim for reaching the post by December, so Dec-Jan-Feb would be doable. I could even stay a month longer if necessary before starting back to California. Depending on how it goes at Lassen I could return there, or go someplace different, such as Dinosaur National Monument, who contacted me after I had already accepted the job at Lassen, and who is putting me on their notification list for next season. So the future holds all kinds of promise, and I intend to go with the flow!
I think the water is hot now so I am going to shower & go over to Jeannie's today. If I get my application finished I will fax it from their equipment.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Weekend again
Another weekend rolls around and I'm planning to take it easy, at least that's the plan. I did a bit of housecleaning yesterday and Steve & Megan came by to pick me up for dinner. We had a glass of wine here, and then went to Chevy's, a Mexican restaurant. Their menu has changed and the food is really good. It used to be that no matter what you ordered it all tasted the same, but it is not that way anymore. We had a great time and good conversation. I hated to get up to walk the dogs this morning, but I made my coffee and took them out. Now I'm thinking about drinking some coffee and then going back to bed for a while.
When I went to get the wine glasses out last night I realized that as I was preparing to bring them out of storage I suddenly decided I didn't want the risk of breakage or the weight, so I left them there, intending to buy acrylic glasses. I did bring a couple of beer glasses though, because that is what I usually drink. I also brought my champagne glasses - 2 cut glass and two silverplate, so we had our red wine in champagne glasses. It was a nice wine and I will have to stock up a few bottles the next trip to Costco. I don't drink much wine anymore, but like to have it for when someone visits.
I was doing some preliminary planning for my 3 months at Lassen this summer. The two dogs eat approx a 40# bag of dog food a month, plus biscuits of course, for when they are "good dogs". I'm fairly certain there will be no Petsmart stores anywhere near the wilderness, which means I need to thing ahead and take enough with me. I know what living in the woods means - field mice, chipmunks, bears! Where in the world am I going to store it all and keep it from being raided. Can mice get into those big plastic totes?
I notice that many of the bloggers are getting a new look, new style, rearranging pages, etc. I'd like to do that with mine but don't want to have to fiddle with it - I'm lucky I can post everyday and hang a picture up there once in a while, although I don't really know where it's going to appear. And at the end of my blog is a list of other blogs I read, but it's not all of them. There is another page that I see when I sign in that has an entirely different list. So it's a bit of work for me to get all of them read, and if you don't see yours on my list, please drop me a comment and let me know the url - it could be that it is already on my "invisible" list. Aah, technology. I hate it and I love it at the same time, which averages out to "I like it ok, mostly".
When I went to get the wine glasses out last night I realized that as I was preparing to bring them out of storage I suddenly decided I didn't want the risk of breakage or the weight, so I left them there, intending to buy acrylic glasses. I did bring a couple of beer glasses though, because that is what I usually drink. I also brought my champagne glasses - 2 cut glass and two silverplate, so we had our red wine in champagne glasses. It was a nice wine and I will have to stock up a few bottles the next trip to Costco. I don't drink much wine anymore, but like to have it for when someone visits.
I was doing some preliminary planning for my 3 months at Lassen this summer. The two dogs eat approx a 40# bag of dog food a month, plus biscuits of course, for when they are "good dogs". I'm fairly certain there will be no Petsmart stores anywhere near the wilderness, which means I need to thing ahead and take enough with me. I know what living in the woods means - field mice, chipmunks, bears! Where in the world am I going to store it all and keep it from being raided. Can mice get into those big plastic totes?
I notice that many of the bloggers are getting a new look, new style, rearranging pages, etc. I'd like to do that with mine but don't want to have to fiddle with it - I'm lucky I can post everyday and hang a picture up there once in a while, although I don't really know where it's going to appear. And at the end of my blog is a list of other blogs I read, but it's not all of them. There is another page that I see when I sign in that has an entirely different list. So it's a bit of work for me to get all of them read, and if you don't see yours on my list, please drop me a comment and let me know the url - it could be that it is already on my "invisible" list. Aah, technology. I hate it and I love it at the same time, which averages out to "I like it ok, mostly".
Friday, January 23, 2009
Finding a doctor
I have been trying to find a doctor that I can go to here in Sacramento and get my prescriptions refilled. I take only three prescriptions, including 1/2 tablet a day of hydrochlorothiazide (what a mouthful!) for mild high blood pressure. I have called several medical offices, but they either don't accept medicare as primary payer, or they don't want to accept patients who are here short term. The last place I called asked me a million questions; I just gave my daughter's address and will explain if I ever get to see a doctor, that I am a fulltime RVer who will be spending a lot of time in Sacramento. I think I will post a question on a couple of forums about finding a doctor, and see what other fulltimers do. Oh, and the medical practice with the million questions - I could be placed on hold for quite some time (while the cell phone minutes roll by) or call back tomorrow to see when and with whom my appointment will be. Is that crazy, or what?
I've been cleaning this morning as my son and daughter-in-law will be over this evening. She went through the RV when it was parked in front of their house, but the slides were in and it was cold & dreary. I want it to look its best, but with two dog beds taking up room in about 275 sq ft of space, there isn't any way it's going to look its best! I also need to empty the tanks but it's cold, damp & drizzly outside, and I dread the simple task. I haven't been feeling all that great the past couple of days.
Well that's it for my short break in the housecleaning routine, but I might be back later on today.
I've been cleaning this morning as my son and daughter-in-law will be over this evening. She went through the RV when it was parked in front of their house, but the slides were in and it was cold & dreary. I want it to look its best, but with two dog beds taking up room in about 275 sq ft of space, there isn't any way it's going to look its best! I also need to empty the tanks but it's cold, damp & drizzly outside, and I dread the simple task. I haven't been feeling all that great the past couple of days.
Well that's it for my short break in the housecleaning routine, but I might be back later on today.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Slow Moving Day
I got dressed before noon today. but since it's a good day to sit inside and listen to the raindrops hit the RV, I probably wouldn't have had to get dressed at all. I've accomplished a few things though: I ordered a replacement for the fenderskirt I messed up on my maiden voyage out of New York. I'm embarrased every time I look at the damaged fender, and will be glad to get it fixed. The part is back ordered right now but I'm assured it should be in within a couple of weeks.
I also talked to someone at my credit union in Cincinnati, where I've banked for as long as I can remember, and had them add another savings account for me to save for my rv & truck insurance. They will make an automatic deposit to the acct every month and keeping it separate should keep me from spending it prematurely. I'm also throwing in an extra $75 a month for unexpected repairs.
I got tired of trying to come up with a decent spreadsheet for keeping track of expenditures for fulltiming. What is needed is a database, but since I'm an expert on DBase III which has long disappeared from use, and since I have never liked Microsoft Access, I went ahead and ordered the software for RV's. I'm eating a little crow right now because I still think it's double work to have to enter info into the program and I swore I'd never do it, but I'll try it and see if it works. I had a hella time sorting out all the receipts & notes I had for my trip beginning when I left NY. I hope I didn't miss any of the fuel receipts, but there is bound to be at least one I didn't keep track of. I'm pretty good at recording mileage & times, amounts spent, etc., but that was a long trip and I'm sure I forgot at least one entry. This isn't going to be audited by anyone, though, and should give me a good idea at the end of a year what I'm going to be spending. Actually I know what I will be spending - my entire retirement check! I will just be able to divvy it up with anything left over to be called Miscellaneous Expenditures.
Are there are other RVers out there who have difficulty with clutter? I am looking at so much clutter that I don't know where to begin. I guess a good start would be to shut off the computer!
I also talked to someone at my credit union in Cincinnati, where I've banked for as long as I can remember, and had them add another savings account for me to save for my rv & truck insurance. They will make an automatic deposit to the acct every month and keeping it separate should keep me from spending it prematurely. I'm also throwing in an extra $75 a month for unexpected repairs.
I got tired of trying to come up with a decent spreadsheet for keeping track of expenditures for fulltiming. What is needed is a database, but since I'm an expert on DBase III which has long disappeared from use, and since I have never liked Microsoft Access, I went ahead and ordered the software for RV's. I'm eating a little crow right now because I still think it's double work to have to enter info into the program and I swore I'd never do it, but I'll try it and see if it works. I had a hella time sorting out all the receipts & notes I had for my trip beginning when I left NY. I hope I didn't miss any of the fuel receipts, but there is bound to be at least one I didn't keep track of. I'm pretty good at recording mileage & times, amounts spent, etc., but that was a long trip and I'm sure I forgot at least one entry. This isn't going to be audited by anyone, though, and should give me a good idea at the end of a year what I'm going to be spending. Actually I know what I will be spending - my entire retirement check! I will just be able to divvy it up with anything left over to be called Miscellaneous Expenditures.
Are there are other RVers out there who have difficulty with clutter? I am looking at so much clutter that I don't know where to begin. I guess a good start would be to shut off the computer!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Electric Problem?
Since I have the new electric heater I didn't turn the furnace on before I went to bed last night. It was pretty chilly this morning when I got up, and I fired up the computer first, then the electric heater, and then started coffee. In just a few minutes I came back into the room to find all three were off. I found that the breaker switch for the "middle lights" was tripped and reset it. Now I'm hesitant to use the heater, although it worked fine last night when I tried it out. I wasn't running the coffee maker but did have the TV turned on. Right now I don't feel like trying to isolate the problem so I just turned the furnace on for a few minutes.
It is chilly outside this morning and it looks like rain. I believe rain is forecast for the rest of the week, and Sacramento could use a couple of weeks of good steady rain. When I lived here in the 80's I could never figure out the weather forecasters on TV - they would moan on and on about drought and how far the lake was down, but after one day of rain they would whine about missing the sun. Never satisfied! I don't mean to step on anyone's toes in case you are from Sacramento - I just always thought it was amusing and downright contradictory.
I had planned to go early this morning to get the EKG and blood tests done for my upcoming eye surgery, but I will probably do it tomorrow. My mail was forwarded from SD and is at Jeannie's house - hopefully it will contain a new Blue Cross of South Dakota card. I'm still getting by with BC of North Carolina, but that won't last very long, and labs are the worst when it comes to getting the insurance billing screwed up, at least in my experience.
LATER:
I'm going to add to this post since I just started writing it too early this morning. I just went to the local Rite Aid and saw a display of the Lasko Ceramic Oscillating Heaters, the same as the one I bought at Walmart for $38. I was almost afraid to look at the price, but when I got up the nerve, I saw Rite Aid's price was $59.99. What a difference! They also had another model of Lasko for $10 cheaper, but I love the one I have and glad I bought it where I did.
I got my EKG and blood tests taken care of today, so that's out of the way. I also called Ofc of Personnel Mgmt to ask about the change that was supposed to take place in my Blue Cross. Each state has its own plan administration although my premium is the same no matter where I live. So according to Ruby, with whom I spoke, I should be receiving a new card within 10 business days from Blue Cross of South Dakota. It doesn't matter where I live though, any charges submitted from a provider in the State of California are paid through Blue Cross of California. The paperwork nearly drives me wild - with my pkg of mail forwarded from SD today I received a notice of payment from Blue Cross of NC, plus another separate envelope with a notice that the claim had been paid. How much is all this paperwork and postage costing? At least I only get a notice from Medicare every few months listing all the amts they have paid.
It's raining now that it's time for the doggie walks. I hope no one is out on the parkway now, though when I came back from Rite Aid I saw two horses out there. It seems strange to see people riding horses in the city. When I first went to work in downtown Sacramento years ago, I was sitting at my desk and heard a sound I could have sworn was horses walking up the middle of the street. I looked out the window, and sure enough, there were hundreds of horses and riders calmly going up the middle of J Street! I think they were celebrating the anniversary of something to do with the Pony Express as the terminus was in Sacramento.
Ok, I'm outta here for today.
It is chilly outside this morning and it looks like rain. I believe rain is forecast for the rest of the week, and Sacramento could use a couple of weeks of good steady rain. When I lived here in the 80's I could never figure out the weather forecasters on TV - they would moan on and on about drought and how far the lake was down, but after one day of rain they would whine about missing the sun. Never satisfied! I don't mean to step on anyone's toes in case you are from Sacramento - I just always thought it was amusing and downright contradictory.
I had planned to go early this morning to get the EKG and blood tests done for my upcoming eye surgery, but I will probably do it tomorrow. My mail was forwarded from SD and is at Jeannie's house - hopefully it will contain a new Blue Cross of South Dakota card. I'm still getting by with BC of North Carolina, but that won't last very long, and labs are the worst when it comes to getting the insurance billing screwed up, at least in my experience.
LATER:
I'm going to add to this post since I just started writing it too early this morning. I just went to the local Rite Aid and saw a display of the Lasko Ceramic Oscillating Heaters, the same as the one I bought at Walmart for $38. I was almost afraid to look at the price, but when I got up the nerve, I saw Rite Aid's price was $59.99. What a difference! They also had another model of Lasko for $10 cheaper, but I love the one I have and glad I bought it where I did.
I got my EKG and blood tests taken care of today, so that's out of the way. I also called Ofc of Personnel Mgmt to ask about the change that was supposed to take place in my Blue Cross. Each state has its own plan administration although my premium is the same no matter where I live. So according to Ruby, with whom I spoke, I should be receiving a new card within 10 business days from Blue Cross of South Dakota. It doesn't matter where I live though, any charges submitted from a provider in the State of California are paid through Blue Cross of California. The paperwork nearly drives me wild - with my pkg of mail forwarded from SD today I received a notice of payment from Blue Cross of NC, plus another separate envelope with a notice that the claim had been paid. How much is all this paperwork and postage costing? At least I only get a notice from Medicare every few months listing all the amts they have paid.
It's raining now that it's time for the doggie walks. I hope no one is out on the parkway now, though when I came back from Rite Aid I saw two horses out there. It seems strange to see people riding horses in the city. When I first went to work in downtown Sacramento years ago, I was sitting at my desk and heard a sound I could have sworn was horses walking up the middle of the street. I looked out the window, and sure enough, there were hundreds of horses and riders calmly going up the middle of J Street! I think they were celebrating the anniversary of something to do with the Pony Express as the terminus was in Sacramento.
Ok, I'm outta here for today.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Another shopping trip
I just got back from a quick trip to Walmart (just in time to watch the parade). After agonizing over which heater to buy I finally selected a Lasko Oscillating Ceramic heater. I had intended to maybe get an oil-filled heater but found it was just too heavy for me. I know they work well but just didn't want to bring the weight on board I will try this one and if I don't think it will work for me I will return it.
It seemed that everyone in the store was happy and in a good mood, and talking about the inauguration. I'm proud to be an American, and no matter who wins the election I think the inauguration ceremony speaks volumes about our country and our people.
I finally spoke to a person at one of the RV parks I'm interested in moving to, and they told me as it stands now they will have about 4 spaces available, all back ins. I want to go look again, with my son, and see which one he would prefer backing in to! Some day I'll have to do it for myself, but why not give my boy a chance to feel good about his many talents.
It seemed that everyone in the store was happy and in a good mood, and talking about the inauguration. I'm proud to be an American, and no matter who wins the election I think the inauguration ceremony speaks volumes about our country and our people.
I finally spoke to a person at one of the RV parks I'm interested in moving to, and they told me as it stands now they will have about 4 spaces available, all back ins. I want to go look again, with my son, and see which one he would prefer backing in to! Some day I'll have to do it for myself, but why not give my boy a chance to feel good about his many talents.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Shopping trip
I have been wanting to buy a weather radio for some time, not an expensive one, but one that will sound an alarm when extreme weather conditions are coming. I also have been looking for a small ceramic heater for my RV. I went to the nearby Costco but didn't find either one of them, so I just bought a box of frozen chicken taquitos!
I went into REI which is across the street from Costco and couldn't find anything there either. Their weather radios - in fact everything in their store - are outrageously priced. Don't they know we are in an economic slump? No wonder the stores aren't crowded on a national holiday and the parking lots are nearly empty.
I went into REI which is across the street from Costco and couldn't find anything there either. Their weather radios - in fact everything in their store - are outrageously priced. Don't they know we are in an economic slump? No wonder the stores aren't crowded on a national holiday and the parking lots are nearly empty.
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