back to work :-(

Well we didn't get our windfall BINGO winnings last night so it's back to work for us.

Rudee got off early yesterday because we had to take our youngest grand daughter, Olivia, to the doctor. She had been having some flu like symptoms off and on for the last several days. She would get sick one day and be fine the next then get sick again. She just couldn't stay well two days in a row.
Her Doctor's offices are next to the hospital in Lebanon and we got there just in time for the appointment, only bad thing is they had moved :-(. We rushed to their new office and they were nice enough to see her even though we were late. Olivia took the exam in stride and the verdict is she has picked up a stomach bug and it will only take some time and it will pass.

Amanda met us at in the parking lot on her way home from work and we transferred all the "stuff" and Olivia into her van. It never ceases to amaze me how much "stuff" you have to lug around to take care of one tiny human being. Seems like the smaller they are, the more stuff you need. Just look around the restaurant next time you are out eating. The young families come in with arms full of huge bags full of who knows what not to mention the little one who is usually strapped into some kind of seat/carrier that doubles as a high chair. I guess I don't remember doing all that but we must have. Glad we don't have to anymore :-).

We met Steve and Trish at the Lebanon Eagles Lodge for BINGO. We have standing reservations in the non-smoking tables. They put a card with our names on it in front of our seats even though we only go once a month or so. We bought our packets and got ready to start raking in the money! We played and played and lost and lost :-( I did get with in one number of winning $1,000.00 on the next to last game. You have to get a BINGO in 6 number or less. If that 6th number was N-37 I would have been one happy guy! It was not to be and someone BINGO'd on the 7th number for $100 and thus ended our last chance of the night for big riches :-)

We enjoyed Steve and Trish's company. Steve is retired from the Frankfort Police Department. We saw each other through some tough times and could count on each other to talk to when times got rough. Sometimes a cop can only talk to another cop and back when I was "on the road" as a Deputy we could always count on each other for support.

Rudee's company is providing her with a flu shot again this year. She will have to drive to the office to get it, but at least they are making all the arrangements. I will have to get mine either at the clinic or the drug store. I missed getting one a couple of years ago and had a bad case that put me down and out for about 3 days so I'm a firm believer in them. This new H1N1 shot is all you hear about on the news. I did see a TV commercial saying they are becoming available around here but only for people between the ages of 2-49. What's up with that??!!! I turn 50 and all of a sudden I'm old and dispensable??!!! Guess I'll just take my chances with the "pig flu".

Work has been slow, slow, slow. I have only gotten 2 new assignments yesterday and none so far today. It's times like these that I worry they will start downsizing again. I keep reminding myself that we are in a good position to weather the storm if I am laid off, just don't want to have to if you know what I mean.

Today has been a wet gloomy day. The farmers around have been out in their fields harvesting corn and beans. The heavy rains we had this morning will put a stop to that for a day or two at least.

The nights have been cooler and we have been running the furnace. Well at least we have since I fixed it, again !! We woke up last Wednesday morning and it was cold inside and the furnace would not come on. I checked and the gas tank was full. Crap, I just had the thing worked on at the factory. I took off the outside panel and there is a switch behind it that I shut off and then flipped back on. The furnace fired right up, hmmmmm. While standing there with a dumb look on my face trying to figure it all out my hand barely touched one of the wires going to the switch and it shut off. Aha!! Loose connection! One of the connectors put on by the manufacturer was not making a good connection so I replaced it with a better one. The furnace fired right up then. I shook the wires and it shut down again. There was another connector that was also loose so I replaced that one too. This seemed to fix it and the furnace has worked great ever since.

I have a few more "projects" in store before winter. I guess I better hurry and get them done because winter may get here sooner than we think! I'll keep you posted.

New desk for me

Friday evening we met Steve and Trish at Stookey's Restaurant in Thorntown for dinner. We had a nice meal. We lingered there talking for awhile but the place was getting busy and people were waiting for a table. Trish suggested we go to their camper which is parked at a seasonal site at a campground just outside of town. We followed them there and just relaxed and talked until after dark.

Back at our home we watched a little TV and went to bed. I was up early Saturday morning and fixed Rudee a gourmet breakfast of frozen toaster waffles and then we hit the road. Our destination was RV Surplus in Elkhart Indiana. They were only open until noon and we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us so no sleeping in today.

We made good time and arrived shortly after 11:00am. We looked around a little and I picked up a new heavy duty extension cord for our portable heater and 3 vent covers. Once I get the covers installed we can open the vents even when it's raining or when we are running down the road for a little extra air circulation in the 5er. Rudee found the table and we looked it over for any defects. Finding none we started to carry it to the cash register. A nice young man, seeing us struggling trying to pick up the heavy table offered to help. I figured he would take one end and I would take the other but noooooooo! He politely asked this old Dude to step aside and proceeded to lift the table over his head and carry it thru the store. Well alrighty then! Kind of took me down a notch :-).

Hercules carried the table out to our truck and loaded it in the back. Rudee and I covered it with plastic since it had been raining on and off all morning and then we headed out. A couple of years ago we had found a nice little cafe in Elkhart named the "Cock-A-Doodle Cafe" and this is where we headed for lunch. They have the best burgers in the state in my opinion so Rudee and I shared a cheeseburger and fries.

We made it back home by 4pm and moved the table into the 5th wheel. No, I didn't lift it over my head, I may not be the smartest guy in the campground but I do know my limitations! The new table is pretty cool. The top flips up to reveal a deep storage area. Since I use the table as my work station I will be able to put all my work stuff away when I'm done for the day. There is enough room for my lap top, camera, phone and all the chargers and cables. No excuses for a messy desk now!

Amanda had asked Rudee to color her hair and I needed Ryan to do a little welding so we climbed up into the semi and drove to their house. I dropped Rudee off and drove to meet Ryan at his shop at work.

The welding I needed was to attach a nylon hitch plate onto the 5th wheel hitch. The connection between the trucks hitch and the 5th wheel pin and plate needs to have some type of lubrication. Commercial rigs use straight grease which is best but leaves a huge mess. Most 5th wheel owners opt for nylon disks that have a hole for the pin of the 5er and once you slide the pin through, it "grips" the edges by friction that holds it in place on the plate. I have used these in the past with some success but have had them "catch" and bind when hooking up. I opted for a more permanent mounted one that Niles told me about. We both purchased one a couple of years ago and attached them. I really liked the way they performed but I did mess mine up when I didn't raise the 5th wheel up high enough when I hooked on one time and tore mine loose. I found them for sale at a hitch shop in Elkhart last week and picked a new one up. You can see the old damaged one on the hitch in this picture.

Ryan was already at the shop when I arrived. I unpinned the head from the hitch and we carried it in. Ryan had the old one off and welded the new on on in no time. I did take the time to lube all the moving parts and inspect the inner workings of the hitch before putting it back on the truck.

I picked Rudee back up and we headed back to Crawfordsville. We stopped and picked up a pizza on the way home for supper.

Sunday morning Rudee was up and in the shower early. I reminded her it was not a work day and she reminded me it was Sunday and she wanted to go to church! I took a quick shower and we were out the door. The church we attended before we moved is located in Eagletown Indiana and was about 20 miles from our old house making it about 45 miles now. We did have time for breakfast at Flapjack's and still made it with 15 minutes to spare. I must confess it had been a while since we had been to church and it was nice seeing everyone and getting up to speed on all the happenings.

On the way to church we had gotten a call inviting us on a motorcycle ride. Ron and Sandi Mendenhall were getting a ride together to Newport Indiana and we were meeting them at 1:15 south of Crawfordsville. Rudee and I made it home, threw on our biking gear and headed out by 1:00. The gang was waiting on us and we fell into formation. Ron took the lead and we were off. Newport is the county seat of Vermillion County but has to be one of the smallest county seats in the state. Their claim to fame is a large hill on the main street. The story goes that Model A type cars used to have to back up the hill because it was so steep that if they went forward the gas would not flow from the tank to the engine. They have a "hill climb" event that draws old car enthusiasts from all over. The place was truly packed. This was our first time to attend this festival but we had heard about it before. They block off the streets and have vendors of every description for blocks around the town square. On main street they "stage" the cars for the hill climb and one at a time they run as fast as they can up the hill. Here is a photo of the hill and one of the cars building up speed to make the climb.

We had a lot of fun walking around and looking at the old cars as well as seeing them in action climbing the hill.

We sure were busy this past week. Hopefully we can slow down and relax some. We are planning on going to BINGO tomorrow night in Lebanon, maybe we'll win big :-) !! I'll keep you posted

Flyin By

The week that is :-). We have both been busy little beavers this week. I can't believe September went by so fast. The trees are just starting to get their fall color. I guess snow and cold are not too far away ....... yuck.

Last night we carried the kitchen table out and loaded it into the truck. We drove it to Plainfield so we could try and sell it in the garage sale Rudee's Mom and Sister are having this week. They have a lot of stuff in their garage on display and should have a successful sale.

After dropping off the table we drove to Brownsburg and met the gang at Tequila Sunrise Restaurant. We had a large crowd and enjoyed the meal and the company.

Tomorrow is Grandparents day at Avalynn and Nicholas' school. Rudee has taken the afternoon off and it looks like my schedule may work out so I can attend as well. The grandkids get a real kick out of it and truth be told, so do we :-). The worst part is hanging around with all those "old" people. I can't believe how all the people we live around and have known for years have gotten so old while Rudee and I have not a changed a bit :-). I'm kidding of course, but I sure don't "feel" like a grandpa. I guess that's a good thing. Here is a sign I saw at the Montana Rally.

Rudee and I took walk through the fairgrounds one morning and found this guy peeking out to say Hi.

We are still planning to make a trip back up to RV Surplus in Elkhart on Saturday. They are only open until noon so we'll need to get an early start. Maybe I can get a train to go through the campground :-). I'll keep you posted.