H'burg, KY...Top of Condo dirty

10:00 Cleaning the top of big motor home

Started Friday cleaning the roof of the big motor home. Didn't look sooo dirty until I got on top. Not only dirty but the stuff was struck.

Friday was overcast, in fact, it rained. Worked several hours and ran out of soap. Not about to go up and down. I was afraid, dumb, I know. So I decided to wait and finish Saturday when Craig would be home to pick me off the ground. Justin Case!!! No, that's not true, but he could help me get hoses, buckets, soap, etc up and down.

Saturday was turfier. Sun came out. I needed a stiffer scrub brush, the soft one we use on the sides just wasn't enough. All is all, it is done and looks better. At least when the satellite dish is replace I shouldn't be embarrassed about a dirty roof.

Maybe I should budget XXXX number of dollars, to have someone else do this twice a year. What you think??

Spent the rest of Saturday in the bed watching TV and napping. Nice!!

Boys and their toys. Tried to put the basement furniture back. (Landlord is not going to fix anything). Craig set his train set back up. He purchase this new train from a hobby shop in Lexington. I haven' t asked how much he spent. I was in Louisiana and he brought a train. Done deal, it is cute, makes train horn sounds and bells. Yea, anyway, the dogs are not sure what this is. A fews years back I gave Craig a remote control car as a gift. That was fun, chasing the dogs around with that. Try it, good for a laugh. What else can you buy, as a birthday gift, for a grown man??

H'burg, KY...just another day

Midnight..Took a nap today so awake now

Remember yesterday 'Old lady in a Caddy'. Dear Husband called a dealer in Lexington and asked how they would get to the fan motor of the AC. The answer was to go thru the glove box, not drop the motor.

Guess I just don't get it. These people will not get a second chance at my business.

Bottom line....Car still needs work.

Tomorrow, I plan on climbing on top of the big coach and wash it.

Danville, KY....Car in shop

10:00 pm Craig's car to shop

The Deville we purchased for Craig in Feb., needed service. The fan on the AC was making a huge noise. Craig asked me to take it in.

Big mistake. It was obvious that the service tech eyes lite up when a older woman driver a Cadillac pulled in. Won't go into details, but their is a big difference in a mechanic and a part changer.

The estimate was $555.00, well he said 'worst case' number. They said they needed to drop the rear of the motor to get to the fan motor, for the AC. No way, not today.

Ok, I will think about it. But they charged me $44.00 to tell me this and kept me their for a hour and half. Saw the car with the hood up but NEVER saw a person looking under the hood.

These people WILL NOT get my business. I became agitated and rude. Time for me to exit.

Drove back home and was still on edge. Had to do something!!! Sooooo, I cut grass. All of my yard and both neighbors front yards. One neighbor is a older lady who wants help and needs help, the other is a newly single 30 something. She just put her 'friend' of 8 years to the curb. Not sure who will do her yard maintenance now.

Bottom line. We will take the car back to the dealer we purchased car from. Somerset, KY is about 80 miles away. Craig will need to take a day off. Look out the sky may far down.

Hello to Connie and Tom and Lynn.

Harrodsburg, KY..Condo ready to go

10:00 pm Big Coach ready to roll

Busy day. Decided to de-winterize the big coach. The coach is going in the shop and I need it ready to pull out, when I say go. Can you spell 'dollars'. Oh well, this is for our retirement. Better to spend the cash now then when we have none to spend.

Pulled the stove top apart and put tin foil, to cover. This should last the whole summer.

Put the direct TV box in and hooked to TV. Set the dish out in the yard and got a signal. Yeaaaa!! Getting good at this.

Then I began closing drain valves and connecting the ice maker back. Hooked the water hose and filled the tanks. Took a while but all is done and looks like all is working. Will have to recheck and recheck, for leaks. Craig got home, he was able to help with looking for leaks. Always nice to have two people. We need to be able to do, all of this, as a team.

Sunday I stopped at Camping World in Bowling Green, KY. Priced out a Slimline Direct TV dish, the 3005 HD dish. For two hook ups, the price was about $2,500. We have a dish on this coach but can not get it to work. Craig wants to push a button and watch TV, like at home. Guess I can live with that.

I plan in taking the coach to Lexington, KY. Bluegrass RV is on the north size of Lexington and that is where Norcold (refrigerator people) said to go for the fridge. We had the recall work done and it has not worked right since then. We also have to replace the awning over the living room/kitchen slide. Hoping they can do the satellite also, I just don't deal well with camping world's ability to do work and not make me want to slap someone.

We paid about $65,000 for this coach in Sept 2008. We added about $4,000 so far and probably will add $4,000 more, this week. What I can remember is $1,100 for Michelin steering tires, $2,000 for 4 Goodyear back tires, $500 for a york thingie, $400 for a fuel transfer pump and $500 to fix steps (this should have been the dealers expense).

Would like, but not now. Better house batteries, more solar panels, better inverter, and remote main awning. Guess I should go buy that lottery ticket now, I might need it.

Reader Tom asked if I plan any RV travel. Yes, ofcourse, but it will be local. Week and weekend trips that will include Craig and in the big coach. That is best for Chief!!! He is doing so great here in the house and with Craig and the other two dogs

Harrodsburg, KY..Back with husband

6:00 PM Home with hubby

Today is Monday. I left Louisiana Saturday, about 8:30 am, drove to Jackson, Tn. That's about 380 miles, turns out to be about half way. Must have really wanted to get home to hubby, because that is a lot for me. Two hundred miles a day is my usual, plus I didn't do any tourist things. Arrived around 4 pm Sunday.

During my stay, at the Louisiana house, I really worked hard. Had a lot to do. But Craig has been busy, also. He works 50 to 60 hours a week, every week. Has two of our dogs to care for and a big house and yard.

Add to that.

Nashville, TN was not the only place that flooded in the last 3 weeks. The basement here flooded, that's about half of our living space. While not all of the downstairs is under ground, half is, as you can see.
He had to pull all the rugs out to dry them, he moved all the furniture away from the west wall. That's the wall that is buried by dirt. Called the landlord who came over with a shop vac.

This went on for two weeks. The rain came most every day. He had to vacuum water before he could leave for work. Craig volunteer to cut the paneling about 3 feet high to see what's behind the damaged paneling. This is what the landlord wanted. I thought all the paneling needed to come down. Can you see how the bottom roll of the concert box has moved about an inch. This shoudl be on the landlord to do but Craig said he would help. We are not do not like having people in the house we don't know.

Look at this corner. That's mold, we have purchased two fans and they have been running for weeks.

Our rent is $700 a month, now we have a hugh mess and can not use half the house. Our landlord is a nice person, hopefully he will come thru with some help. Once, he is over the shock of the mess.

We will probably move, around December. I'm not sure how I will handle the mold?????? I plan on buying that mold stuff from Lowes and start trying to kill it, at least the mold I can see. We will take the cost off next month's rent. The stuff is about $30 a jug.

Maurepas, LA...Van stuck in yard

11:00 pm Out to eat

Neighbor lady, Lyn Painter, and I went out for a hamburger. The place we wanted to go was closed. Sign says they are open Fri, Sat and Sunday. Duh, should have read the sign last week. This is a neat place, on the river, but with a some class. They don't have a pool table but they do have a bar. Very small, food is New Orleans style.

Plus this is only 5 miles from the house.

Well, I made a bad judgment call and tried to move Mr Van to the back yard. Wanted it there to load, but I am stuck at the gate, mostly in the Boat Landing property. Will just leave it, tell tomorrow. Maybe it will be dryer and Mike said he will come with the tractor and give me a tug.

Also, drove to Gonzales, did the Wally world thing

Had to go here, Craig wanted a mounted thingies for a rifle. Hopefully I picked the right thing. This stuff is expensive. They have a 3 pack of LSU t-shirts, got to have that. On sale for $17.99.

Maurepas, LA..loaded Moped

11:00 pm Loaded my Moped

When I first arrived here I made a trip to Baton Rouge to the Louisiana Wildlife and Fishery. I needed to transfer a boat registry, thingie. But it was a Friday afternoon, big mistake. I did succeed with the boat business. The people where very helpful and nice. I had made several phone calls and I had all the documents I needed.

Baton Rouge has become a huge city, but too fast. The streets just don't work. Last time I was in BR, my van was hit and that happened again. Actually the Vesa Haul Motorcycle carrier gets hit. I just talked to the lady who hit me and got her name and phone number and she took mind. I don't want to deal with insurance.

In any case, their was some damage and loading the moped took some time. But all seems OK and I will go with what I have. My Dear Husband will have to check things out when I get to Lexington, KY. He had to fix the carrier last time and will do that again.

Sooooooo, loading the moped, tells all the neighbors that I am about to leave. I have very noisy neighbors, but if I needed help they would be their for me. Yea, I so want to get away from this endless work.

Gonzales, LA..old dog, new tricks

11:00 PM Day in Gonzales

Needed more grass seed for my dirt!!! Made a great list of what I needed, to bad I forgot it at home. Sheesh, I even made a note to remember the list.

Do you sometimes wake in the morning -- still fussing with your problems, in your head? Seems like the best time to fix all. Well, that is what I did and I walked out of the house without my list. Oh yea, still managed to spend over a $100.

Wanted another sprinkle to water my dirt. Purchased the highest price oscillating sprinkle on the shelve, cost $28.97.

Got it home and could not make it work. Called Gilmore’s 800 number and the nice lady said to fax a copy of the receipt to them and they would sent me a replacement. Well, don’t have a fax machine and the nearest one would be 25 miles into Gonzales. Could bring the thing back to Lowes. Besides I was tired and not about to spend $9 dollars, in gas.

Soooo, I thought. Why not take a picture of the receipt, upload that to my computer and e-mail to Gilmore? That’s what I did. Worked like a charm. Gilmore, emailed me back and are sending a replacement.

Maybe, old dogs can learn new tricks!!!

Maurepas, LA..Slave labor

11:00 pm Slave Labor

Owning a stick house is a money pit, I don’t care what anyone claims. If you are around your home everyday, I think the work and dollars are painless, but that is not my case. I get here about once a year, soooooo for a couple of weeks I have a whole year to catch up. Add to that, this house floods (if you live on waterfront “it will flood”).

Flood water gets under the old part of the house and seats. It will evaporate and when it does the humid air permeates up to the house. This makes all my wood surfaces look moldy. I have to wipe down every surface in this house. Huge job, but it has to be done. The moldy smell makes me sick, I think I am sensitive.

Lowes sales this, call Mold controller. This really is working, just wipe it on and let it dry for a day. The mold is going away and the smell alone with it. Not cheap, of course, $27 dollars a jug. This mold is not black mold.

Because of treating the bookcases and cabinets I have to empty them and wipe it down. Slow process because I look at everything. Oh, the memories, this place is full of them. When I’m gone who will remember?

This is my 5th week being home. One of my longer visits. I haven’t stopped working, either on the house or the RV lot. But all is coming alone and getting done. One good thing about physically working hard is that I can eat anything I want. I like to eat and Louisiana food is great.

Just call me ‘slave labor’. Slave because I don’t get paid.

Mike, my neighbor, is still working, thank goodness. So far he has made about $400 dollars, he also scraped about $300 dollars worth of stuff from here. Good young man, well worth investing in.

Gonzales, LA...back in time

11:00 pm Gonzales, La where I grew up

Although Dad was in the Air Force and I was born in Savannah, GA, Gonzales, La is where I grew up. This house is about 20 miles from Gonzales. Gonzales has all the stores, Maurepas has an IGA grocery and that is all.

After Katrina Gonzales boomed. Seems like New Orleans moved to Gonzales. Now it is the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Decided to go to Lowes for supplies. On the way I stopped at the Baptist cemetery to visit my little brothers grave site. Little Eddie was two years old when he fell into a canal behind our house and died. I was 4 years old. Never really got over that.

That was in Lake Charles, LA. They say my father carried my brother's casket in his car to Gonzales, so he could be buried here. I guess now a days you can't do that. Can you imagine what tough people our parents and grand parents where.

Also, found this site. These are my ex-in laws. I knew that Mr Johnson had passed but I didn't realize that Mrs Johnson had passed, and only 3 months after him. Go figure. These two had quiet the relationship. They did everything together. Very involved with the church

Maurepas, LA..dirt for holes

11:00 pm Hauled dirt for stump holes

Well, it isn't dirt but actually clay. Top soil is the same price as gold, seems like it. So I got a load of clay. This yard is clay and it does grow grass but it just takes longer. Thank goodness for Mike, he worked yesterday and today (part days).

This stump hole was a problem but now the problem is all this clay. I thought Mike could use the tractor with the blade and spread this but he said no. He didn't want to drag the stickie clay all over the yard. He would shovel what needs to be done. He has made great choices so I will go with his choices. The Navy is getting a great candidate, he leaves in July.

This is how the tenant left the post with all the RV hook ups.

So Mike drug up the post and replaced it, then secured the electric and water pipes. Looks much better. Can you see the canal? Nice private yard. Need to find new tenant but it is nice to have it all to myself.

Maurepas, LA..Val's Marina

11:00 pm Local restaurant

When you go home, do you have favorite places to see? I do. Val's Marina is a family owned restaurant, been here for 50 years. They have barely ever changed the menu or how they cook. Locals call this area Chickapen.

Best shrimp ever. I called a neighbor friend and invited her to lunch, my treat. Of course she said yea, Val's is a favorite for her. We had a great lunch and enough left over for a second meal.

One of the most interesting facts about Val's is that this building floods, all the time. Katrina brought the water line above the windows, nearly to the roof. This concret structure just gets pressured washed and cleaned then reopened. The owners just get it done and reopen. All is good.

Maurepas, LA..lawn service

11:00 Paid a lawn service to cut grass



I could get use to this. The man came with a trailer full of lawn tools and worked like a whirl wind for two hours and I wrote a check. Almost all of our friends have lawn service people, so why not us!!



This weekend was the Derby. To bad it rained so hard. I have gone to the Derby twice, in 07 and 08. The Oaks race is the day before Derby and I think I enjoyed that day best. For the Oaks I went to the in field. Very different from the stands.



Oh, by the way. I placed one bet, only on the Derby race, to win. And I did. That year was Big Brown. It was a great 2 minutes.



Only down side was, the only lady in the race almost won, but did not survive her efforts. I could not see those events from my seat. I am thankful for that, also they didn't show it on the TV sets that are all over the place.


Very late, going to bed. Please say tune. More to come.