We have had a couple of wrinkles in our plans lately. Monday morning Rudee called her Mom and she was not acting right and was hallucinating. Rudee's sister lives right next door so Rudee called her to go over and we loaded into the Dakota and drove over as well.
We took her to the emergency room and they kept her until late that evening doing every test imaginable but could not find a cause for her confusion. She was given a liter of fluids through her IV and the more fluids she got the clearer she became so we all figure it must have been from dehydration. As they were preparing to release her we got a call from Rudee's sister that her Dad was having more difficulty and they wanted to bring him in to get checked out. I drove back to Plainfield, loaded her Dad in the car and drove him back to the ER. He has been retaining a lot of fluid in his legs and his feet are almost double in size. His doctor has been reluctant to put him on a diuretic because his blood pressure has been low but he is now having trouble standing and walking.
When I got back to the hospital and got him checked in Rudee's Mom was being signed out. We hung around for another hour to make sure her Dad was being taken care of. Once her sister arrived we headed home with her Mother. Since it was after 9pm and no one had eaten anything we did a drive through at Mickey D's for a late supper.
Once back at the in law's house Rudee's brother came over to stay with their Mom and we returned to the hospital. They finally decided to admit her Dad for the night to try and get the swelling down while monitoring his blood pressure so Rudee went back to their house and I came back to the 5th wheel. It was past midnight when I finally made it home, a long day for sure.
Rudee has spent the last several days at her parents while I have been commuting back and forth. Her Dad is still in the hospital and we are hoping he will be released today. They were set to release him yesterday but his BP was low. Rudee's sister then found out they were not giving him the medicine he takes to raise it so hopefully that little issue will be corrected today. He is a terrible patient and just wants to be back at home. I guess I can't blame him, I don't like hospitals much either. :-)
I am thankful we have been available to help out during all this, I guess He puts us where we are supposed to be, when we are supposed to be there. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
wedding plans
Our son is getting married in October in Pennsylvania. We have been making plans for "our portion" of the wedding. You know all those things the grooms parents are supposed to provide.
With the wedding in an unfamiliar area it has been a little bit of a challenge finding a suitable place for the rehearsal dinner. Rudee booked a place a couple of months ago and settled on the menu so at least that is out of the way.
Today I did what every man lives for, I took my wife dress shopping. Whoo hoo, that's always a "fun" time. :-)
We hit several of the bridal shoppes looking for "mother of the bride" dresses because they don't have anything called "mother of the groom" dresses. Don't ask me why.
I decided to be a good boy and help pick out a nice outfit for her keeping my fingers crossed that no one I actually knew walked in the door and caught me. :-) Sorry ladies but it's a guy thing, don't expect us to be happy just sitting around while you try on dress after dress after dress. Same goes for underwear shopping which by the way we have totally different ideas of what type and amount of material makes up a "nice" pair of ladies undies! :-)
Sooooo, back to the bridal shop ...... I found a really hot looking number in a color that would match her eyes and is not the same color as what the mother of the bride is wearing. I pulled it off the rack and showed it to Rudee who thought it looked pretty good. I checked the size, yep right size. I then checked the "other" tag. $39.50 Wow, what a deal! I was convinced we had found "the" dress, and it was on sale! That is when Rudee pointed out the decimal point was further to the right. Three Hundred and Ninety Five Dollars???!!! How do these people sleep at night? Now I know why we got the primo parking space right up front, no one can afford to shop here, including us so we headed for more "frugal" pastures. :-)
We did find her a nice dress at another bridal shop that did not have the word "boutique" in it's name. They didn't have any $39.50 dress' but the sticker shock was a little easier to take after that initial heart attack. :-) Plus she looks way Hot in her new digs! Now we have to look for shoes and a purse to match .... will it ever end! I'll keep you posted.
With the wedding in an unfamiliar area it has been a little bit of a challenge finding a suitable place for the rehearsal dinner. Rudee booked a place a couple of months ago and settled on the menu so at least that is out of the way.
Today I did what every man lives for, I took my wife dress shopping. Whoo hoo, that's always a "fun" time. :-)
We hit several of the bridal shoppes looking for "mother of the bride" dresses because they don't have anything called "mother of the groom" dresses. Don't ask me why.
I decided to be a good boy and help pick out a nice outfit for her keeping my fingers crossed that no one I actually knew walked in the door and caught me. :-) Sorry ladies but it's a guy thing, don't expect us to be happy just sitting around while you try on dress after dress after dress. Same goes for underwear shopping which by the way we have totally different ideas of what type and amount of material makes up a "nice" pair of ladies undies! :-)
Sooooo, back to the bridal shop ...... I found a really hot looking number in a color that would match her eyes and is not the same color as what the mother of the bride is wearing. I pulled it off the rack and showed it to Rudee who thought it looked pretty good. I checked the size, yep right size. I then checked the "other" tag. $39.50 Wow, what a deal! I was convinced we had found "the" dress, and it was on sale! That is when Rudee pointed out the decimal point was further to the right. Three Hundred and Ninety Five Dollars???!!! How do these people sleep at night? Now I know why we got the primo parking space right up front, no one can afford to shop here, including us so we headed for more "frugal" pastures. :-)
We did find her a nice dress at another bridal shop that did not have the word "boutique" in it's name. They didn't have any $39.50 dress' but the sticker shock was a little easier to take after that initial heart attack. :-) Plus she looks way Hot in her new digs! Now we have to look for shoes and a purse to match .... will it ever end! I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Movin' On
We made the decision to leave the KOA and move on to bigger and better things. The working conditions were "challenging" to say the least. We loved the work and the other workcampers were great. We became lifelong friends with several of them and enjoyed working and spending free time together but other issues prevailed.
We pulled out Monday morning and are headed for what we expect to be a great new adventure. Please be patient with me as I don't want to jinx anything by spilling the beans too early, just rest assured we are landing on our feet and look forward to the next chapter in our lives. I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
plans taking shape
We have been considering where we want to go next and have been weighing our options for possible work locations for next year. I have sent out a few "feelers" and have received some great feedback from other experienced full timers. With that in mind we applied for a position with the Mount Rushmore Historical Society working in their bookstores at the monument. Yesterday afternoon we were offered a position for next year and accepted!
This will be a little different than working in a campground and we are looking forward to it, plus, we like the area and want to explore it some more. Sturgus here we come! :-)
We have also been investigating another opportunity that could lead to a more longer term commitment and provides a more stable income while still letting us travel. We are still in the "talking stage" of this but it may lead to something. We should know more in the coming weeks.
Work this past week has been pretty mundane. The campground was slow and there were very few "projects" to work on so our days were spent cleaning, picking up trash or the other 101 things needed to keep the campground rolling along.
We only have a matter of a few weeks left to work. Our last day will be Sept. 30 and then we will leave here and head north to prepare for our sons wedding on October 13th.
Hard to believe that the summer season will be winding down soon. I remember a few years ago having to start thinking about winterizing the camper. That was always a sad day, knowing it would be several months before our next outing :-(.
No more though! Now we can hook up and head for our next adventure :-). I'll keep you posted.
This will be a little different than working in a campground and we are looking forward to it, plus, we like the area and want to explore it some more. Sturgus here we come! :-)
We have also been investigating another opportunity that could lead to a more longer term commitment and provides a more stable income while still letting us travel. We are still in the "talking stage" of this but it may lead to something. We should know more in the coming weeks.
Work this past week has been pretty mundane. The campground was slow and there were very few "projects" to work on so our days were spent cleaning, picking up trash or the other 101 things needed to keep the campground rolling along.
We only have a matter of a few weeks left to work. Our last day will be Sept. 30 and then we will leave here and head north to prepare for our sons wedding on October 13th.
Hard to believe that the summer season will be winding down soon. I remember a few years ago having to start thinking about winterizing the camper. That was always a sad day, knowing it would be several months before our next outing :-(.
No more though! Now we can hook up and head for our next adventure :-). I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
kids visit
Amanda, Ryan and the grandkids came and spent the week end in the park. They arrived Saturday morning and had one of the 2 room cabins reserved. We still had to work our shifts both Saturday and Sunday morning but were able to spend some quality time with them.
Saturday afternoon was spent at the pool and we had such a good time. The 2 older ones are pretty good swimmers but the youngest, Olivia, was still afraid. Well let me tell ya, that all changed Saturday. Her Dad helped her get over her fears and within an hour she was swimming! Rudee and Amanda had left to make a run to McDonalds for a take out lunch and she couldn't wait to show them how she could swim. She was so proud of herself (so was Dad and Grandpa)!
Here is the gang at the petting zoo visiting Stormy and Cookie.
and another one taking a "train" ride.
Monday was our day off and we took advantage with a bike ride. Our son and fiance' live in Lafayette which is about 80 miles so we headed that way. The day was perfect with clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures in the middle 80's.
Once in Lafayette we made a stop here:
Now, being a guy I love these things ...... the bigger the better! When I see some big ones, or even smaller ones for that matter, I start to get all excited, my eyes bug out and I tend to just stop and stare at them. I just want to reach out and grab one!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Yummm ......... chicken wings! :-)
Sometimes I wonder how Rudee puts up with me! :-)
We are planning on attending the Indiana State Fair today, should be fun. I'll keep you posted.
Saturday afternoon was spent at the pool and we had such a good time. The 2 older ones are pretty good swimmers but the youngest, Olivia, was still afraid. Well let me tell ya, that all changed Saturday. Her Dad helped her get over her fears and within an hour she was swimming! Rudee and Amanda had left to make a run to McDonalds for a take out lunch and she couldn't wait to show them how she could swim. She was so proud of herself (so was Dad and Grandpa)!
Here is the gang at the petting zoo visiting Stormy and Cookie.
and another one taking a "train" ride.
Monday was our day off and we took advantage with a bike ride. Our son and fiance' live in Lafayette which is about 80 miles so we headed that way. The day was perfect with clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures in the middle 80's.
Once in Lafayette we made a stop here:
Now, being a guy I love these things ...... the bigger the better! When I see some big ones, or even smaller ones for that matter, I start to get all excited, my eyes bug out and I tend to just stop and stare at them. I just want to reach out and grab one!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Yummm ......... chicken wings! :-)
Sometimes I wonder how Rudee puts up with me! :-)
We are planning on attending the Indiana State Fair today, should be fun. I'll keep you posted.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
working the week away!
Rudee made the trip to Plainfield and spent the day with her Mom and sister. Once her Mom's doctors appointment was out of the way they did some shopping and went out to eat making it a "girls day out". :-)
I, on the other hand, took a quick ride on the bike around town. I stopped in a few stores comparing prices on oil for the Freightliner. I need to get the oil changed before we leave here. The truck takes 10 gallons of oil at each change. No, that is NOT a typo, it actually holds 10 gallons! :-o
I found a decent deal at the local farm store, they were having a special on 2 gallon containers of the type I use. I usually buy the 5 gallon buckets but this time the smaller containers are a better deal at just under $100 total.
While riding I noticed the skies getting darker and decided to head home. As usual we had storms all around us but no rain for us. It is so dry here that it will need to rain for several days to rehydrate all the plants and grass.
I was talking to Dave, one of the other work campers, and he told me they had to take the boss man to the hospital. They were trimming some trees and one of the limbs had one of this attached to it
The hornets didn't take kindly to him disturbing their home and he got stung 17 times before he could get away from them. They gave him some benedryl at the hospital and sent him back home to rest. He is fine now and back to work but we still have some p/o'd hornets to deal with. I'm not sure what the plan is going to be but right now we are leaving them alone. Their nest is away from any campers and high enough in the air that they should not bother anybody until we can get them removed.
The weather here is still hot for Indiana, upper 90's most of this week. The ac's are getting a work out but are doing a good job of keeping us cool.
We did venture out Wednesday morning. We picked up the oil I found and then stopped at Napa and got the filters. Doing the basic service on the truck (oil, all filters and lube) costs about $200 as long as I do the labor myself. We only run about 5,000 miles per year on the semi so the good thing is I only have to change it once per year.
Ryan, Amanda and the kids are coming for a cook out this week end so looks like I may have some "cheap labor" available to help me. :-) I'll keep you posted.
I, on the other hand, took a quick ride on the bike around town. I stopped in a few stores comparing prices on oil for the Freightliner. I need to get the oil changed before we leave here. The truck takes 10 gallons of oil at each change. No, that is NOT a typo, it actually holds 10 gallons! :-o
I found a decent deal at the local farm store, they were having a special on 2 gallon containers of the type I use. I usually buy the 5 gallon buckets but this time the smaller containers are a better deal at just under $100 total.
While riding I noticed the skies getting darker and decided to head home. As usual we had storms all around us but no rain for us. It is so dry here that it will need to rain for several days to rehydrate all the plants and grass.
I was talking to Dave, one of the other work campers, and he told me they had to take the boss man to the hospital. They were trimming some trees and one of the limbs had one of this attached to it
The hornets didn't take kindly to him disturbing their home and he got stung 17 times before he could get away from them. They gave him some benedryl at the hospital and sent him back home to rest. He is fine now and back to work but we still have some p/o'd hornets to deal with. I'm not sure what the plan is going to be but right now we are leaving them alone. Their nest is away from any campers and high enough in the air that they should not bother anybody until we can get them removed.
The weather here is still hot for Indiana, upper 90's most of this week. The ac's are getting a work out but are doing a good job of keeping us cool.
We did venture out Wednesday morning. We picked up the oil I found and then stopped at Napa and got the filters. Doing the basic service on the truck (oil, all filters and lube) costs about $200 as long as I do the labor myself. We only run about 5,000 miles per year on the semi so the good thing is I only have to change it once per year.
Ryan, Amanda and the kids are coming for a cook out this week end so looks like I may have some "cheap labor" available to help me. :-) I'll keep you posted.
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