Hi from VA

Just dropped in to tell everyone Hello!

Dad went back into The Station on May 1st. :( So, I've been going to Richmond on Tuesdays for supplies again. At first he was only open till 4 pm but it wasn't long until he was back open to 8 pm. *sigh* He keeps saying that he is fine and not doing much work but he looks really tired. Last week I worked Thursday and Friday night, so he could take off. He went to the live music both nights. Said he had a good time. I will do it every other week for him.

Have been keeping busy...mowing grass, yard sales, dog meds, dog grooming and whatever else they come up with. Last month I had only 5 week days to myself during the whole month. Haven't had much spare time to ride my bike or anything else for that matter. Hope to go riding tomorrow. David changed the oil in his and wants to go for a spin! :)

Love to you all!

Trip to AZ

Met up with Rick in Morristown, AZ. He took me to Wal-Mart to get a disposable camera, as I didn't try to take my camera on the plane and his camera had died.


Rick and I climbed this hill behind me.


Rick digging for gold in San Domingo Wash. We carried the buckets back to the camp to pan.


Rick and I took turns panning. We found a little color but not much. We did about 2/3 of a bucket before it got too hot. The sun was nice. Enjoyed the nice weather out there.


That is me. Lots of these big boys in the neighborhood.


Clara teaching Dad how to play Skip-Bo.


Breakfast in Las Vegas!


Lost my betting money but enjoyed trying to win. I'm lucky in love instead!


We rode to Prescott, AZ. There was snow up on the mountain tops there. Lost the rest of my betting money.


Enjoyed the time spent with Aunt Clara and Marilyn.

Roger and Dad just called. Roger wants to go skating tonight. Got to go get ready! I've been lounging around in my comfy clothes and taking it easy today messing on the computer. :) I finally got an anti-virus program downloaded and up and running. Whew! Got caught up reading all the blogs but didn't take the time to comment this time. Good to see everybody still here! Love to you all!

Brownies, Skating and more...

Aunt Clara and Dad taken 5-08 when she came to Victoria for a visit. Dad and I are getting ready to fly out to AZ next Sunday for a week long visit thanks to Aunt Clara. Looking forward to the trip. I plan on taking some hard candy along for my bad ears! The one and only time I ever went on a plane ride I thought I would cry before my ears decided to pop. Hope to see Rick while we are there. He is planning on coming back the end of this month though. He is trying his hand at being a gold miner out there. There is still gold in those hills! :)

Roger, Dad and I went roller skating in Henderson, NC again on 1-21-09. We want to go at least once a month. I need to find my skates! I looked today but didn't see them in plain sight, so I'll have to move some "stuff" around. ;) Mary is a friend of Roger's.

Smile everybody!

Love my Dad!

The van did not get a good report from the shop. They gave us information for a local transmission shop. Oh well, it was worth a shot. We were hoping it was just a blown seal.

Got the Mustang back on the road after much work on the front end and some new brake parts.

The bike turned out to have a bad battery, so I was told. It would only hold a charge for 2 days for Scootworks. I pulled it out and we tried the battery out of my 125 which we had just bought last year but it didn't have enough cranking amps for the 500. David tried to charge the old battery. I decided to look at it and noticed that the fluid levels were way down in all the cells! I filled it up and went to Wal-Mart to buy a charger for motorcycle batteries. I charged it up overnight and it sat for 2 weeks before I decided to go riding. I put it in the bike Sunday and it fired right up, first try. yippee! David and I rode to Kerr Dam lake and then down to the country store in NC before heading back home. It sure felt good! Crossing my fingers today as I walked up front to where I keep my bike. It started right up again, so I rode it to South Hill to get it inspected. I did my banking and mailed my bills while I was in town also. Silly me thought it was warmer then it was and didn't wear my coat! Burr! I came straight back home. Sure hope it last for awhile longer. I'll just have to pull it out more often to keep a check on the fluid levels. It is the original battery, so it is 5 years old. I bought the bike in Sept. 2003. Not sure if I can expect it to last too much longer?!

So far the people are hanging on at The Station and paying Dad like they are suppose to. They kissed and made up, so the guy stayed. He is the one with the money to back the place. Whew!

For Aunt Jan:
Betty Crocker's New Boys and Girls Cook Bookcopyright 1965

Brownies

Heat oven to 350*

Grease a square pan, 8x8x2 inches

In bottom part of double boiler, heat about 1 inch water to boiling.

Place in top part of double boiler
2 squares unsweetened chocolate (2 ounces)
1/3 cup shortening
Set over boiling water to melt, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat.

Beat in with rotary egg beater
1 cup sugar
2 eggs

Stir together in bowl
3/4 cup Gold Medal Flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix these dry ingredients into the chocolate mixture.

Stir in
1/2 cup chopped nuts, if you like

Spread batter in prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into center comes out clean. Cool in pan and cut into squares.

Makes about 16 squares.

Sure am enjoying all the pictures and updates everybody! Keep up the good work!
Love to you all!

Good Company, Good Food and Roller Skating!

Rick is getting ready to head out to AZ for awhile, so we all got together to go out to eat. Shrimp was on special and I ate too much.1-7-09
Rick, Jeanie, Dad and Roger
Rick and Jeanie
Surprise!! We went roller skating after. I haven't been in such a long, long time. I had a blast and hope to go back soon.
Roger
Roger, Mary and Jeanie
Jeanie and Mary (learning to skate)
Thanks Roger, for sharing your pictures with us!

Isn't Life Interesting?

If things didn't go wrong EVER, I think life would be boring. BUT on the other side of the coin, I could do with a little less excitement at times. ;)

Good news first and foremost! I have loaned my bike to ScootWorks for them to use to test fit different parts that they are manufacturing for the 1996+ EN500LTD. It is hard to find accessories for the 500 as it is considered a beginners bike by most manufactures. Anyway, I get to choose the accessories that I want for letting them use it! I'm getting the light bar and the engine guard w/highway pegs built in. Neat! Hopefully I'll be able to SEE the deer now when I don't get home before dark. I'm always trying to beat the setting sun or get David to come escort me home. It is that bad with the stock headlamp! The engine guard is for helping to protect the bike, if/when I drop it. Which I have done 3 times already! Luckily I haven't done any major damage to the bike or ME. ;) I go to pick it up this coming Saturday. Can't hardly wait AND I need an emergency ride! (Explained below)

Rick and I made a trip to AL on Dec 19th. Had a good time and enjoyed the visit. Went to come back home Monday morning the 22nd and my van wouldn't move. Checked the transmission fluid level and it was on the add mark. Added fluid, still no go. Thought it was the frigid temps of 5 degrees, maybe? Kept going back out to try again until it did finally move. Still didn't want to shift well but thought we would give it a shot. Got out on the main road and it wouldn't shift out of 2nd gear. Stopped to check the fluid again. It was low again, I added more and then looked under the van. It was coming out as fast as I had put it in! Yikes!! Turned around and went back to Richard's house. Called David to come rescue us. He got there around 7 AM Tuesday morning with the tow dolly. This is the same van that he came to upstate NY to rescue me a couple years ago. Now to fix the transmission we need Special tools, wouldn't you know. David has gotten around needing Special tools before, so we will see. When we get the trans fixed or replaced it will be like having a new ride. (Motor was replaced already.)

Had a nice Christmas. I cooked ham, mashed potatoes w/browned butter, stuffing and deviled eggs. Roger made chicken stir-fry and tapioca pudding. Ron had given me a platter of shrimp w/cocktail sauce (appetizer) and pumpkin tarts w/cream cheese frosting (dessert). :) Yummy! After we ate, Rick went and sighted in a new gun he had bought. Roger and I ground up some beef that he and Dad had gotten. Ended up with 30 lbs of hamburger. Everybody went home fat and sassy. David and I kicked back the rest of the day.

Saturday Dad, Rick and I went to see Bobby and Wanda. I really enjoyed the visit. We had leftovers for dinner. Ham, turkey, taters w/gravy, collards and rolls. Layered Jello thing for dessert. Again, Yummy! See the pounds lining up? LOL Wanda gave me one of those battery powered Swivel Sweepers, like you have Aunt Jan. It works great for my bathrooms. Sure wish that I hadn't picked that white background vinyl, as it shows off every little thing that gets on it. Now, I have a cure for that!

Yesterday Rick and I panned for gold in my yard. He had a bucket of tailings that he had gotten a long time ago in NC. We found a few flakes. He is suppose to weight it and let me know how much it was. He took me to Hardee's for supper.

Monday Dad got his van inspected so I could borrow it. This morning I got in it to go to Ron's and it kept losing it's oil pressure. I stopped and checked the oil. It was a quart low. Added the oil and topped off the radiator with anti-freeze while I was at it. Started off again and less then a mile down the road the oil pressure drops again?! Came back up, went back down. Pulled over and called Dad. Long story short...I turned around and headed home. Pulling over and turning it off whenever it lost pressure. Back home and blogging. ;) Dad just called and is sending a new oil filter for his van AND has made arrangements to have my van fixed for around $100 next week. Sad news is that he might be headed BACK into The Station and wants me to be able to go to Richmond to get his supplies. :( I don't mind the going to Richmond, I just hate to see him getting back into all that stress of running The Station again. If it does happen, I'll probably go to work for him also. No way do I want him to try pulling those kind of hours ever again! Silver lining, we can use the money, as David is still looking for work. His job ended Dec 3rd. He got a couple of repair jobs this month. He is getting real tired of hearing that he is too old at 55 for the jobs that he has inquired about!!

Loving my new laptop. Glad to see all the new updates lately. I'll try to do better also. :)

Hope 2009 brings good things to all! Love you!

We Did It!

We are now the proud owners of our very own LP gas tank! When I received the bill from AMERIGAS that I was expecting to be $80, as I thought we had agreed to last year around this time, NOT the $125 they now said we owed for tank rental for this year. I was not a happy camper. (Since getting the outside wood furnace they said we were not purchasing enough fuel and would have to pay a tank rental fee.) I spent most of the day on the computer and finally found used tanks for sale in Albemarle, NC. I called David and the seller to make arrangements.There and back in the same day. 10-18-08
10-19-08David unloaded the tank. We did buy one that had some gas in it, as that tank had a 2002 date. The DOT tanks have to be re-certified after 12 years and then every 5 years after that. The guy sold us the gas for $2 a gallon. AMERIGAS offered $2.60 a gallon and then we wouldn't have to pay the tank fee for this year. But we would have been right back in the same boat come next year when we wouldn't need gas for another 3 years!!! AMERIGAS was NOT being co-operative about pumping OUR 97 gallons of gas, that I figure was still left, out of their tank and into our new tank anyway. Even though we would have had to pay $80 per hour to have it done. They told me it was the wrong time of year for pump outs. They were too busy keeping their current customers serviced.
Dad and I made a batch of his homemade sausage. Yummy! Rick arrived just in time to help us patty it all up. I scooped, Rick smashed and Dad boxed it up. We had the 25# pattied up in no time. Love team work! Rick had just got back from his trip to CO and AL the day before. He brought a mess of trout to cook up for lupper. He even cooked them for us, as I had been going since early morning getting ready to do the sausage. I made some coleslaw to go with the fish. David was feeling bad, so he went back to bed. We saved him some and sent some home for Roger as well. David had thought it was his sinuses acting up. Boy, was he wrong! He had a flu bug big time. He was home sick the whole week. (Silly me had thought I had dodged the bullet.)

Monday was a holiday, so I called AMERIGAS Tuesday to tell them we were NOT going to pay the tank rental. She wanted to argue with me when I asked that she make a note for them to be sure to not take our regulator.

By Sunday afternoon I was sick in bed with the flu and did not even hear them outside Wednesday until one of them came to the door after they had the tank loaded up and were ready to leave. I did get out there in time to get a copy of the invoice but no pump out ticket. That guy was long gone. Supposedly if there is gas left in a tank they have to pump it out before loading the tank. Yep...amazingly they had found the time to come get their tank now and not in the spring like the lady told me. They are suppose to give a credit for the leftover gas but we aren't holding our breath. We figure they will come up with fees to eat it up anyway. And they lied on the invoice and said it was only at 25%. I had just checked it when I had called and it was at 29/28%.

11-1-08It ended up costing us to get out of AMERIGAS' choke hold but we both think it will be worth it, not having to deal with this company anymore.

Hello to All :)

Have been staying busy. Babysitting dogs, elderly transport to doctor appointments & some shopping, organizing the dog's room (that led to Spring cleaning most of his house! Yikes!), volunteered to ride with a newbie to Warrenton, VA, fixing a riding mower by charging up a newer battery and installing it, gather yard sale stuff up and loading it into her van, having a yard sale myself, ordered new 24" HD zippers for David's chaps that got run over awhile back and ripped out the old zippers but have yet to tackle trying to sew the new ones in (can you hear me clucking?!), servicing a Bunn A-10 coffee maker for David, straightening up a container to be able to get a 2 drawer bun warmer (boy, that puppy is heavy) out for Dad that was about 10' back from the doors, etc... Have moved up to taking Aleve for the aches and pains. ;)

Have this plant/tree beside my front door that has wonderful smelling yellow bell shaped flowers on it. Have no idea what it is called. My cousins in OH gave me the plant when Dad and I went to visit them in May 2007.

This pic was taken 8-23-08
Went out in the rain just now to take these pics.


Went out earlier to build a fire in the furnace, as a wet cold front has moved in.

Dad just called and wants me to go hunt down about 6 metal electrical outlet boxes in that container that I was talking about earlier. Wish me luck! :D